Refrigerator cold air catcher

[wopachop]

Wish i had a FLIR gun. I picture cold air falling out of the fridge. Thinking a piece of something solid might hold a bit of it back?

[profdant139]

Joe, that is a good point. And really, it should not be a light beer -- a stout would have a lot more thermal mass!! 😉

[JoeH]

In looking at your picture, you don't have enough thermal mass in there. Only 1 can of Miller Lite ! more beer and the thermal mass will even out temp changes.

[profdant139]

This could be a major advance in the world of RV fridges -- I will see if I can replicate these results. I have a remote radio bbq thermometer but it does not have a computer-readable output -- I would have to graph it by hand.

Well done!!

[BarneyS]

Very interesting!
What are you using to get the above temps and graphs?
Barney

[wopachop]

Works awesome. The graph below was the first day i put the cardboard in. That big spike to 45F would happen every time i open the door. You can see the immediate change and i promise i was still opening the fridge a bunch of times.

[memtb]

While it may not be a substantial improvement....the “cold” air “WILL” quickly fall out of the refrigerator area. As someone mentioned......think of the ping pong balls! One of several reasons we have chest freezers at home and a small one in our 5er! Efficient!

[profdant139]

So, this must be the origin of the phrase I used to hear from my mother: "Close the dam fridge!" 😉

I am not sure the OP's invention is accomplishing anything, but he gets a lot of credit for thinking inside the box. 😉

No, seriously. This is the kind of smart "what if" thinking that has driven the pace of technological progress in the last two centuries. The idea might not pan out, but creativity has to be applauded.

[joshuajim]

Unfortunately, cold air flows just like water. When you open the door, cold air will settle and warm air will replace it at the top. Might save a degree or 2 in the crispers but that’s just about all.

[prichardson]

One potential problem with putting something in front of the shelves to retain air when opening the door is that now you are blocking it from reaching the door bins when it is closed. Things stored in the door will now be warmer.

[ajriding]

every little bit helps I guess. Can you tell any difference?
The air is so low in mass compared to food though, this cannot be much, but owners of chest-style fridges know that they are "way more better" when open/close bc the air stays in.

[gbopp]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
If you have ever seen a restaurant walk-in fridge or freezer there are plastic strips that hang from the top and limit the amount of air entering or exiting the space while the door is open. If you make something up, be sure to include me on your patent application as we will likely make a fortune!

Possibly the OP is on to something?

Home grade refrigerators have been manufactured for decades without any type of air dam.
Maybe it's time for an 'energy saving change?' I wonder how much energy would be saved if all refrigerators had an air dam?

I'm sure the Wright brothers were told their contraption would never work.

And maybe opnspaces is right. Any energy saved by the dam would be canceled by the vortex created when the door is opened.

[Bill_Satellite]

If you have ever seen a restaurant walk-in fridge or freezer there are plastic strips that hang from the top and limit the amount of air entering or exiting the space while the door is open. If you make something up, be sure to include me on your patent application as we will likely make a fortune!

[opnspaces]

Remember those TV commercials with a standup and a chest freezer full of ping pong balls? When they open the standup freezer all the balls fall out signifying all the cold falling out of the open door?

My thought that is that yes the original cold may fall out of the open refrigerator. But once you close the door all the items in the refrigerator sublimate some of their cold into the open air spaces and cool the interior.

As far as the cardboard dam I'm thinking it can't hurt. But it seems that the vortex created when opening the door will probably just swirl the cold out regardless of the dam.

[bukhrn]

Not really sure what you're trying to accomplish,
#1. that cardboard, or whatever it is at the bottom where the crisper drawers should be isn't accomplishing anything as far as keeping the cold in.
#2. that little white clip with the white "cord" going to is is the thermistor , I've never seen one in that position, usually it is positioned on the far right fin, sliding it up adjust the temperature colder.