Homemade Clay Refrigerator - BEING ECOFRIENDLY !

by Chitlange Sahas

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Intro: Homemade Clay Refrigerator - BEING ECOFRIENDLY !

Hi, I am Sahas Chitlange , aging 14 , from India . Here's my new innovation on fridge from clay. Its very easy and cheap to build and very cheap. In india the cost is about Rs. 300 only. The project's principle is based on evaporation. you can take this system for camping where you need a fridge to keep your cokes cool. The materials required for making this easy fridge are:
1) Clay pots
2) some sand
3) water

For the first time to get the cooling effect you need to wait for 10-12 hrs. The thing you need to remember is adding water after a day.

Snapchat and Instagram: @chitlangesahas

I'd love to connect with you guys on Snapchat and Instagram, I document the experience, learning lessons and also answer questions on those platforms. Looking forward to connect! Here is my username for both: @chitlangesahas


STEP 1: Chose Correct Pots

You need to chose correct size pots so that they go into each other easily. Prefer new ones because old ones have their pores blocked. This affects cooling.

STEP 2: Adding Sand

Add some sand in the base of the larger pot. You may close the pot holes. I did not.  You may also heat the sand strongly to kill the germs as in India you get the sand on roadsides!

STEP 3: Insert the Smaller Pot

Now insert the smaller pot in the larger one. Take care you may get your hands jammed during this process. I got once, Very painfull...
Also see that you have some gap left on the sides , you need to add sand there later.

STEP 4: Add Sand to the Sides

Carefully add sand on the sides of the pot. Avoid spilling it into the smaller pot , its very difficult to get that stuff out once spilled in ! Also add some water after you add sand.

STEP 5: Cover It

You can make a cover out of old pots as i did or simply cover it with a damp cloth.

STEP 6: Enjoy Cooling

Its the time to enjoy cooling.

51 Comments

vincent7520 10 years ago

Great.
This is the basic cooling system by evaporation? And let me tell you, it works great !
The same idea has been use by putting large jars full of water in egyptian house where the could pass a stream of air that was cooled by passing between the jars and the refreshed ai cooled the house. The technique worked for centuries in Egypt and other countries in the region … 
In rural France (before the 40's I saw many butter jars that prevented butter from melting by covering the butter pot with a cover that that was designed to contain water that could evaporate.
You certainly will not get a chilling effect … but it will keep food and dairy stables at a reasonable temperature under strong heat.
The basic ot what on may call "pottery refrigeration" is to use non varnished pottery for you can soak the part you want to be evaporated first in the water (ie cover) Ideally no varnished pottery should be used at all because … the higher the evaporation rate the more efficient the system will be

JadeC1 6 years ago

I still use a butter bell like that in my kitchen. You just push your butter up into the top of the cone which sits at the top of the apparatus. It stays cool and soft, not hot and drippy!, and the bell sits in a shallow dish with minimal water which you change out with chilled water every 3 days. Some people in humid areas add a tiny pinch of salt to the water to prevent mildew, but that’s debated- necessary/ unnecessary? I just love it because I don’t have to open the fridge for butter or microwave it to soften it. And I’ve given many, many as gifts and they’re always used- I see them when I visit! (And Amazon has an inexpensive one by Norpro for $12-13, while William Sonoma’s is QUITE a bit pricier!

andriajithu 8 years ago

Good idea... can try it at home.... Thank you...

jacobpv 10 years ago

how long it will take to get the required low temperature???

CarlaBurke 8 years ago

That depends on the sizes of the jars, how cold the water was, when you dampened it, the ambient temperature, and the relative humidity. So, it would be difficult to give an accurate answer.

Cambenora 8 years ago

Cool instructable (if you'll pardon the pun...)

In Australia in the 19th century there was a thing called a Coolgardie safe:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolgardie_safe)

which was a refrigerator which used water evaporation as its cooling mechanism much in the same way as you have here. A different design, but the same principal.

Good work.

TrevorS3 9 years ago

So this stays outside? Should it be in the shade or out in the sun? If it is in sun then it will evaporate faster and cool better but will also need more evaporation to compensate for greater heat... I live in a smallish trailer and don't want to use propane to keep food cool and don't have it in the budget for a large solar panel.

I will try and rig up a drip irrigation emitter to drip over bowl part into sand and either use timer or get very low flow emitter and drill an overflow opening towards top.

burnettis.1 9 years ago

very nice and more power to you for sharing your knowledge.

I live in Morocco, so it is good news for poor people and those with out electricity.

I will share your generous work.

snoopindaweb 9 years ago

cOOl.! ~( : - } )=>=== ] Favorited. The vote don't seem to work.

aebe 10 years ago

Low tech is always good , even if it just sits in the back of your mind , waiting for a need. In areas of low humidity , you might find that ice (frost) is possible , just by using a northern exposure at night .

jsolterbeck 10 years ago

This is so cool thanks for posting! I will try it here in America! ;)

tekaka 10 years ago

thanks Sahas, we have been working on this for a couple of years, next spring we will go for our tenth year without fridge here in hot andalucia. thanks for giving us, he world, this support in surviving. abrazo tkk

rkrishnan7 10 years ago

Great Instructable! Your instructions are brief but clear and illustrated well. You may want to add that the temperature difference that you get between the ambient outside and the inside of the pot depends a lot on the relative humidity in your region. The effectiveness is best in arid areas where the relative humidity is low. I recall that these worked well during the hot New Delhi summers, but were not too good during the Bombay monsoons :)

gn0stik 10 years ago

The terra cotta should do a pretty good job at absorbing most ambient moisture, just keep it out of the rain. As long as it is well sealed, and covered, it should be fine.

rimar2000 10 years ago

Excellent work! I certify that these simple water based coolers are surprisingly effective.
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