Technology Connections talks about a red fridge from Walmart for an hour
Technology Connections talks about a red fridge from Walmart for an hour
In a video by @Techconnectify@mas.to, Alec goes into a deep dive into the simplicity of his particular model, its shortcomings and variety of data logging tests in an attempt to fix them.
TL,DW: Very simple, cheap and ingenious design, with one compressor loop between the fridge and freezer in series. However, its temperature sensor is wonky and so the fridge is more affected by how long the compressor operates than the actual temperature itself. There is a signficant temperature differential between the top and bottom, fans on the exterior or interior could help but with the faulty sensor only made matters worse. With the controller replaced with a proper temp control unit the fridge functioned much better.
I've loved Technology Connections ever since I saw his riveting hour long video on dishwashing detergent. I don't even have a dishwasher.
I used to think dishwashers were kinda rubbish before I watched his video and learned how they actually work and the best way to use them. I recommend that video to lots of people now. Great channel.
He became one of my favorites after he got me to enjoy a half-hour video on storm lanterns. Dude has some serious charisma and really good investigative skills.
There's not a Technology Connections video I won't watch. Always makes the seemingly mundane absolutely fascinating.
His videos are always so random but somehow so entertaining and peaceful no matter what completely random thing he decides to talk about. My man could explain the mechanical differences between industrial farming equipment or something and I’d eat that shit up 100% without any questions.
WTF, I ain't watching an hour long video on a stupid fridge! I'll just watch the first few minutes and see what's up.....
........
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One hour later.....
Okay, that was really interesting. I really love this channel.
Me at 11pm: why on earth would I watch a long video deep diving into obsolete incandescent headlights?
Me at 7am: hey did you know that headlights used to be so standard you could just drop in a generic replacement and.........
Honestly, the best part about this channel is watching the guy be extremely American.
His fascination at an absolutely run of the mill entry level fridge that everybody outside Muricaland has owned at least once is delightful.
Oh, also, he's on Mastodon here @TechConnectify in case you guys didn't know that.
No, this is an absolutely bog standard low-end fridge here. He's just interested in clever engineering, no matter how mundane it is. His toaster videos are an excellent example of this.
As a European his videos are sometimes so funny :)
Here in europe we have two kind of fridges: American Style and the showed one (but with the freezer at the bottom). American style is this big bulky fridge that breaks quickly and costs a ton of money, most people use this style. It's just the norm and they work reliable for decades, while also being more energy efficient.
It's also important to note that food doesn't get bad at 8°C (which Alec states in his video), storing food at 8°C is also the norm here in Europe. And I guess using this style of fridge more often in America would also make a lot of sense for most people.
I can see one simple reason why the american fridge with it's self-defrosting feature makes a lot of sense in some American regions: Climate. In humid regions like Florida, the showed style of fridge would just need to be constantly defrosted. Which would be a huge pain in the ass obviously. And in all other southern-american regions where it never really gets cold it's also a pain in the ass to manually defrost a fridge. For all regions where the temperature goes close to freezing temperatures, defrosting is not a big deal. You just need to put your refrigerated or frozen stuff outside for a few hours, defrost the fridge and put everything back inside. The frozen stuff doesn't even get remotely thawn and doing it once a year is more than enough.
8C is about 46F.
Right from the USDA
Bacteria grows more rapidly in food starting at about 40F.
I think I'll trust the food safety agency over some random pretentious guy on Lemmy thanks very much.