Useful acquisition - cold accumulator
There are things you can live without, but when they appear in the house, they make life so easy that they become irreplaceable and necessary. This concerns a useful invention - a cold accumulator.
Cold accumulator: properties and application
It is very convenient and effective to use the cold accumulator in summer cottages, in field conditions. They perfectly keep cold in refrigerator bags as a cooling component. Manufacturers advise using 1 standard battery for 15 liters of cooling product volume, but to effectively keep cold it is better to use 2-3 containers.
And at home stationary conditions, you can successfully use the battery to save energy, placing it in the freezer and thereby maintaining a stable temperature in it, and even increasing the freezing power. The accumulators will also serve in case of hygienic defrosting of the refrigerator.
In case of problems with electricity, the battery will help preserve food until the electricity problem is eliminated.
Industrial cold storage accumulators are used in the sale of frozen products and in the transportation of products, which have perishable properties.
Preparation and action
It is not difficult to prepare the cold accumulator for use. The containers are placed in the freezer, turning on the maximum cooling mode, for the time necessary to completely freeze the liquid. The freezing time directly depends on the type of filler. Then you can use it in an isometric bag for a day, the battery will take heat from the food, keeping them fresh.
Battery life depends on several factors:
- battery type;
- insulating properties and volume of the bag;
- rationality of placement;
- the initial temperature of the products.
Multiple batteries may be required depending on the size of the bag. It is very important to correctly place them in the bag space:
- can be put on top of food;
- transfer horizontally in layers;
- place top and bottom.
As the composition is thawed in the battery container, it is taken out of the bag, washed with water, wiped dry and placed back in the freezer.
It is necessary to store the cold accumulator when it is not in use in the refrigerator, this ensures the safety of the accumulator and increases the life of the refrigerator and freezer.
Types of cold accumulators
The design features of cold accumulators depend on its purpose. Most often they are rectangular and flat, which provides good contact and fit. The shell is made of a tough, strong polymer that does not change its shape, or of a dense plastic film, which makes it possible to give the battery the desired shape before freezing.
Manufacturers are most often engaged in the manufacture of three main types of cold accumulators, depending on the filler:
- gel;
- water-salt;
- silicone.
Gel battery - a bag with a gel filler based on carboxymethyl cellulose, used for a dual purpose, as a cooling element and an element capable of maintaining, if necessary, high temperature. The effective action time is long. Safe and efficient.
The water-salt type of cold accumulator in solid plastic containers is capable of maintaining temperatures from -20 to +8 degrees Celsius. Convenient because you can add solution to the container.
Silicone - a film bag filled with silicone. Despite the fact that the temperature of its composition is in the range from 0 to +2 degrees Celsius, the duration of maintaining such a temperature regime can reach up to seven days.
Choosing the right battery
When choosing a cold accumulator, it is important to take into account that the characteristic blue color has no functional properties: such an effect is exerted by a dye. The life of industrially manufactured batteries is unlimited. Manufacturers guarantee the environmental friendliness and safety of materials that do not change their characteristics depending on time and sudden temperature fluctuations. Usually the capacity of a standard battery is 250-800 ml.
When choosing a battery for your needs, consider its parameters: volume, design, composition of the filler.
DIY battery
Batteries can be purchased in specialized stores, place an order on Internet resources, but you can make it yourself, according to the "cheap and cheerful" principle. Of course, the key point is the composition of the liquid that is used as the filler of the plastic container. In industrial batteries, the refrigerant contains water, an antibacterial additive and carboxymethyl cellulose. The latter serves as a thickener and controls the expansion of the water during freezing.
Given the above, we offer several recipes for preparing liquid for a homemade cold accumulator.
Recipe number 1
Manufacturing process:
- in a liter of ordinary drinking water, preferably warm, prepare a saturated solution of table salt by adding about 400 grams of sodium chloride (table salt) to it;
- add three liters of water to the composition and add the required amount of wallpaper glue. The consistency of the liquid should be gelatinous;
- pour the solution into plastic containers with a screw cap or plastic bottles;
- put in the freezer and freeze.
Such a battery can keep the temperature in a special bag down to -20 degrees C for a long time.
Recipe number 2
For a homemade cold accumulator: you need to prepare a 20% solution of Glauber's salt. For 100 grams of solution, the following ratio of substances must be used: 20 grams of anhydrous salt, 1 gram of CMC (wallpaper glue) and a certain amount of water.
This composition of the battery is capable of maintaining cold temperatures down to -10 degrees C.
Recipe number 3
This is the simplest, one might say force majeure way to make a cold accumulator. It is necessary to mix water and wallpaper glue in the proportions: 96 grams + 4 grams.
Minus 1 degree Celsius in a bag of groceries can create refrigerator conditions, and will allow you to hold out for a while.
At home, it is difficult to maintain tightness requirements, therefore, special attention should be paid to safety when using homemade cold accumulators, especially if they are planned to be used for cooling food.
The article is interesting! Tinkering self-made batteries, thank you!
I have the entire budget of 1200 rubles for a 40 liter box, together with foam glue.