Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 275, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 November 1918 — Home-Made Iceless Refrigerators [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Home-Made Iceless Refrigerators

Food Can Be Kept Cool in This Inexpensive and Easily Constructed Convenience

Where Ice Is not obtainable an iceless refrigerator, homemade, will be a useful food keeper and food saver. Maintaining a low temperature through the evaporation of water from its canvas cover, according to the United States department of agriculture, the iceless refrigerator will keep meats, fruits and vegetables cool and will extend the period for keeping milk and butter. It can also serve as a cooler for drinking water. This Is the way to make It: A wooden frame is made with dimensions 42 by Iff by 14 Inches and covered with screen wire, preferably the rustless type, which costs Httle more than the ordinary kind. The door Is made to fit closely, and Is mounted on brass hinges, and can be fastened with a wooden latch. The bottom Is fitted solid, but the top should be covered with screen wire. Adjustable shelves can be made of solid wood or strips, or sheets of galvanized metal. Shelves made of poultry netting on light wooden frames, as shown in the Illustration, are probably the most desirable. These shelves rest on side braces placed at desired intervals. A bread-baking pan, 14 by 16 inches, is placed on the top and the frame rests in a 17 by 18 inch; pan. AH the woodwork, the shelves and the pantj should receive two coats of white paint and one or two coats of white enamieL This makes a very attrac-

tlve surface and one that can be easily kept clean. The screen wire also may receive the coats of enamel, which will prevent It from rusting. A cover of canton flannel, butlap, or duck is made to fit the frame. Put the smooth side out if canton flannel is used. It will require about three yards of material. This cover is buttoned around the top of the frame and down the side on which the door Is not hinged, using buggy hooks and eyes or large-headed tacks and eyelets worked in the material. On the front side arrange the hooks on the top of the door Instead of on the frame and also fasten the cover down the latch side of the door, allowing a wide hem of the material to envelop the place where the door closes. The door can then be opened .without unbuttoning the cover. The bottom of the cover should extend down Into the lower pan. Four double strips, which taper to eight or ten Inches in width, are sewed to the upper part of the cover. These strips form wicks that dip over into the upper pan. The dimensions given make a refrigerator of very convenient size for household use and one with efficient evaporating surface, but it is not necessary to follow strictly these dimensions. If a larger capacity is desired, the height of the refrigerator can be Increased. In homes where large quantities of milk and butter are to be kept it would be well Ao have one refrigerator for milk and butter and another for other foods, as milk and butter easily absorb odors from other foods. It costs very Httle to build thq refrigerator and nothing to operate It The operation is as simple as the construction. The upper pan should be kept filled with water. The water is drawn by capillary attraction through the wicks and saturates the cover. As evaporation takes place, heat is taken from the Inside of the refrigerator, thereby lowering the temperature, of the inside and the contents. Capillary action starts more readily if the cover is first dampened by dipping it in water or throwing water upon it. The greater the rate of evaporation the lower the temperature which can be assured; therefore the refrigerator works best when rapid evaporation takes place. When the refrigerator is placed in ,a shady place in a strong breeze and the air is warm and dry, evaporation takes place continuously and rapidly and the temperature inside the refrigerator ia reduced. Under ideal conditions the temperature has been known to be reduced, to 50 degrees Fahr. When it Is damp and the air is full of moisture,, the refrigerator will not work as well, since there Is not enough evaporation. More water win find its way to the lower pan, but it will be drawn up into the covering by capillary attraction when the air again becomes drier. The refrigerator should be regularly cleaned and sunned. If the framework, shelves and pans are white enameled they can be more easily kept in a sanitary condition. It is well to have two covers, so that a fresh one can be used each week and the soiled one washed and sunned.

Two Views of Homemade Iceless Refrigerator. View on Left Shows Frame. View on Right Shows Complete Refrigerator.