| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| JB |
Keeping milk cold without a fridgeAnyone tried doing this? The milkman where I live doesn't turn up till about 10 in the morning so it could be 9 hours or so before I take the milk in. I was thinking of making up an insulated box to hold this stuff just lining an open topped wooden box with insulation and hoping that would be sufficient. Any suggestions on how I could make that more efficient at keeping stuff cold? |
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| jocorless |
Great subject for a thread - we have the same problem - eagerly awaiting all replies | ||||||
| Chez |
What about those bendy freezer packs that go in eski's, in the bottom and around the sides? | ||||||
| RichardW |
What about an evaparative one? drape wet cloths over it. How cold is it when delivered as its prob been on the van since the night before & out of the cooler since early morning.
justme |
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| toggle |
Re: Keeping milk cold without a fridge
i'd use a ploy box full of cold water, leave the top off overnight for it to cool, ask milkman to out the top back on with the milk in it. or drape with an old towl for the evaporation cooling leave it somewhere shady |
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| marigold |
Shade helps keeps things cool, so put your coolbox under a shady plant, or give it a parasol. A couple of frozen picnic bag blocks would help keep the box cool, but add to your energy costs refreezing them every day.
My dad made sank a couple of lengths of ceramic drainpipe into the earth by our front door for the milk bottles. They were shaded by the philadelphus bush and had a plank of wood to go on top to provide more insulation and to keep the bluetits off. |
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| Jonnyboy |
same here |
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| JB |
Re: Keeping milk cold without a fridge
Our milkman usually sprints past at a rate of knots, it took us several months to catch him just to put an order in for milk and he never did get an order right for extra bits. So I suspect I can't do much more than use an open box. (I'll try with a lid but I don't hold out much hope of his realising how to use it ! ) |
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| JB |
Ah, this of course depends on my remembering to transfer one out of the freezer each morning doesn't it? |
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| Chez |
I guess you could always move the freezer to just outside the front door and get him to put them straight in? 
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| thos |
I've got a terracotta pot for keeping wine cool while on safari (so it says on the pot) which works well for keeping drinks cool. You fill with cold water and pop the bottle in. The water evaporating through the terracotta keeps the inside cool.
So how about: a large terracotta pot filled with water and open on top and side. In this place a smaller waterproof container with lid, sitting on bricks to keep it above the water level. This requires a milkman intelligent enough to lift the lid to put the milk inside. |
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| Grimnir |
As far as the lid goes, how about using a pedal bin or the gubbins from one so Milky only has to put foot on pedal and deposit milk? That would keep the tits out and he wouldn't forget to shut it. | ||||||
| goldy1 |
something like this? http://www.milkdeliveries.co.uk/doorstep/pdfs/coolbag.pdf | ||||||
| JB |
Sort of, but Mrs JB would probably veto that as being too naff looking to be allowed space on the doorstep  .
Actually the pedal bin idea is good but in reverse. Put the mechanism inside the box so that the weight of the milk closes the lid after the milkman puts it inside. |
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| Rob R |
Yeah, though with a bit of a time delay to stop it being like arkwright's till.
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| JB |
Spoilsport
Actually that would be easy enough, just put a soft spring at the top of the mechanism. |
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| Rob R |
Yep, my thought was a hydraulic connection, but yours is probably less of a faff
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| JB |
Spooky! A hydraulic thing was my first though as well, but as this is basically a box I don't want to over engineer it
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| sean |
You know that you want to over engineer it really.Think of how many more power tools you can use if you build something really complex. 
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| Rob R |
The technology could be quite simple, it'd take some experimenting getting the right time delay though...
Ah go on, you know you want to.
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| Jonnyboy |
You could get really clever and use some kind of gas based heat exchanger. |
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| gil |
If I had had a mouthful of tea, it would have been all over the keyboard
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| RichardW |
For the amount of power (cash) saved would you not be better to make those savings in other places? Most new ones should only cost about £30-50 a year to run.
Justme |
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| Tradbritfowlco |
a bucket of cool water in the shade would do the job fine. When camping that's what I do and it's always been fine. | ||||||
| nats |
I've got a terracotta box that my Grandmother made (I had a FAB grandmother!) It used to have a proper lid that broke so now I just have a little piece of wood that sits on the top. I put water in the bottom and the milk stays lovely all day. When the milko remembers to put the lid on to stop the birds that is! | ||||||
| Cho-ku-ri |
Buy a goat? Or buy fom the supermarket and freeze.  A shame for the milkman, but if he doesn't deliver till late, it is a poor service.
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| Rob R |
That would keep the milk warm, surely.
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| Blahah |
If you ask your milkman, the dairy (if it's a large one) normally sells bottle holders which insulate and protect the bottles from thirsty blackbirds. We used to have a plastic one when I was younger, did the job perfectly well. Milk was still cold when I got home from school at the end of the day. |