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The Iceless Refrigerator
https://preparednessmatters.blogspot.com/2007/09/iceless-refrigerator.html
An iceless refrigerator will keep meats. fruits. vegetables. milk. and butter cool. It costs very little to build and nothing to operate. The following directions will provide a general outline of how to make it. Use local knowledge and materials to make the refrigerator useful for your area.
Make a wooden frame approximately 140 centimeters (55 inches) high by 30 centimeters (12 inches) wide by 35 centimeters (14 inches) deep.
Cover it with screen wire or hardware cloth...the kind that will not rust if possible. If you cannot get such wire, you can use woven grasses or branches. The top of the frame should be covered with wire, but the bottom may be solid.
Make a door for one side and mount it on hinges or leather thongs. Fasten it with a wooden button or latch.
You can make adjustable shelves out of light wooden frames covered with poultry wire mesh or woven grass or other plant material. Put these shelves on side braces.
Paint the woodwork and the shelves. If this is not possible, oil the wooden parts with linseed oil, coconut oil, or cooking oil and let them dry for a few days before using.
Make a cover of flannel, burlap, or other heavy, coarse, water-absorbent cloth to fit the frame. Put the smooth side of the fabric on the outside. Button the cover around the top of the frame and down the side on which the door opens. Use buggy hooks and eyes or large-headed tacks and eyelets, or simply lace cord through worked eyelets.
Place a pan 10 centimeters (4 inches) deep or a shallow bucket on top of the frame. Put the frame in a larger container of water. Both containers should be painted. The bottom of the cover should extend down into the lower pan. Sew four doubled strips of cloth, 20-25 centimeters (8-10 inches) wide to the upper part of the cover. These strips form wicks that dip over into the upper pan.
The operation of this refrigerator is simple. Keep it in a shady place where the wind can blow over it. Keep the upper pan filled with water. The water is drawn through the wicks. and it saturates the cover. Cooling starts more quickly when the cover is dampened by dipping it in water or throwing water on it. The greater the evaporation, the lower the
temperature inside the refrigerator.
NOTE: Modification to the iceless refrigerator: When the door is hinged on the side, the cloth or burlap must come out of the water when the door is opened and will drip on the ground. To avoid this, the door may be made by dividing it horizontally in the center into two doors, placing hinges at the top and at the bottom of the refrigerator. You may fasten the lower and upper doors with latches. The doors will open up and down rather than to the side.
Source: Basic Self-Reliance, 71-72.