How to make a pot-in-a-pot refrigerator

Video: Homemade Pot-in-Pot Refrigerator "Off Grid Fridge" cools air up to 40F (evaporative cooler/chiller)

Content

Steps
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

In a large company or situation without electricity, long-term food storage can become problematic. One of the simplest solutions is to make your own pot-in-pot fridge using suitable pots, sand and water. This idea was revived by Mohammed Bach Abba, now this refrigerator is used by many farmers living in warm climates who need to store their food as long as possible and protect it from insects.

Keeping the sand moist at all times will allow the fumes to lower the temperature and cool the food in the inner pot. In warm climates, this allows freshly harvested vegetables to be stored for much longer. It is also convenient to use for a picnic or outdoor lunch where there is no electricity and food and drinks must be chilled. Here's how to make your own refrigerator.

Steps

1 Purchase two large clay or ceramic pots. One pot should be smaller than the other. Make sure the small pot fits into the large pot, with at least one centimeter on the sides and three centimeters on top between them.
2 Seal all holes in the bottom of the pots. Use clay, pebbles, corks, homemade putty - whatever is on hand to fill holes. If you leave the holes unsealed, water will enter the inner pot and drain out of the outer, rendering the refrigerator ineffective.
- The hole can be closed with putty or duct tape.
3 Fill the bottom of a large pot with coarse sand. Fill to a height of 2.5 cm.or to a height that will allow the small pot to be flush with the large one.
4 Place the smaller clay pot in the larger one. Anchor its base on top of the bottom layer of sand.
5 Fill the space around the smaller pot with sand. Fill it almost completely, leaving a small gap at the top.
6 Pour cold water over the sand. Pour until the sand is completely wet and can no longer absorb water. Pour in gradually so that the water can be absorbed into the ceramics.
7 Take a piece of cloth, tea towel, or plain towel and dip it in water. Place it on top of the inner pot so that it completely covers it.
- Wet burlap or similar fabric will work as well.
8 Let the inner pot cool. If available, you can use a thermometer, but if you do not have one, check the temperature by hand.
9 Keep the pot-in-pot refrigerator in a dry, ventilated place so that water can evaporate effectively to the outside.
10 Place vegetables or other storage items inside. You will need to regularly check the moisture content of the sand. After the sand dries, add water to it and keep it well moistened.
- You can add food and drinks to the pot-in-pot fridge if you have a picnic or outdoor event. If you have a lot of refrigeration items, make one refrigerator for drinks and one for food.

Tips

To test pots, try storing different vegetables and fruits in them and find out how much they can be stored there. Natural Innovation notes that “Abba's project has significantly improved the lives of the Negerians: eggplants can be stored for 27 days instead of three days, African spinach can now be stored for 12 days, while normally it disappears the next, and tomatoes and peppers can remain in such a refrigerator. fresh for three weeks. Food hygiene standards and general health are improving. ”
The pot-in-pot refrigerator is also known by the Arabic name "Zeer" pot.
[[Image: Drinks in pot.png | 200px | thumb |
Without this device, meat can be stored for several hours, while it can be stored in it for up to two weeks.
When selling products, place them on a damp cloth in an inner pot. This will cool the products on display and show people what you are selling.
Water and other liquids can be stored at 15ºC.
In addition, sorghum and millet can be stored in this way - the pot-in-a-pot refrigerator protects against moisture and prevents fungal growth.

Warnings

Do not use glazed pottery; use only non-glazed ones.
Evaporative cooling works best in dry heat and a pot-in-pot refrigerator is no different. You will see that this solution does not work in high humidity conditions.