Improving refrigerator effiency: is this a wasted effort/time?

[Rex Goliath]

My fridge sucks. I mean, it's weak as hell, underpowered, and the only temperature setting that actually brings the bottom of the fridge to 40 degrees also manages to freeze everything on the top shelf.

It occurs to me that I could increase the efficiency of my refrigerator by rotating frozen water bottles between the fridge and freezer. When one bottle thaws, I replace it with a frozen one, the theory being that the ice takes up room normally occupied by air, which is replaced by warm air whenever the door is opened. The great thing about this system is that it is modular, renewable, and infinitely expandable.

Will this even make a difference, though? Can I expect my fridge to remain significantly cooler with a few carefully placed blocks of frozen water?

[Nametag]

Wouldn't a fan be easier? Not to mention that enough bottles of water to displace the cold air you're trying not to lose wouldn't leave any room for food.

[GiantRat]

Originally Posted by Nametag

Wouldn't a fan be easier? Not to mention that enough bottles of water to displace the cold air you're trying not to lose wouldn't leave any room for food.

I scientifically disagree...

Water is darn good at holding temperature... moving the "ice blocks" between the freezer and fridge isn't the most efficient way, but it could help. OP is creating an ice chest with supplemental support from the limited cooling capacity provided by the device.

[Musicat]

Maybe you need a new refrigerator.

Or maybe you are blocking the airflow between areas. If you have so much stuff in the middle shelves, that would do it.

[cedman]

Try cleaning the coils. It does make a difference although I am the only person I know that does this regularly.

[johnpost]

maintain air flow inside so that cool air can sink, leave open space to sides, rear and front of shelves.

[dracoi]

You can keep an ice chest cold with bottles of frozen water, and the earliest refrigerators were literally "ice boxes" that had no other cooling mechanism than a block of ice. So I see no reason why ice couldn't keep the refrigerator colder.

The problem I see is with getting that temperature consistently. You really don't want warm and cold spots and you don't want the fridge taking too long to cool down every time you open it.

I would try the following, in this order:
1) Make sure the refrigerator has open space at the top and sides (I'm referring to the outside of the unit). Some people mess up air circulation by putting too many things on top, which means the coils can't cool down like they should.
2) Check the rubber gasket around the edges of the door. As they get older, they may stop sealing properly. You might also find more obvious damage, like a cut in one section. These are cheap and easy to replace.
3) Clean the coils off. Some models also have an air intake under the bottom; clean that out too.
4) Defrost the entire unit. Sometimes ice builds up inside vents so that air doesn't flow as it should.
5) Call a repairman or get a new fridge.

[YamatoTwinkie]

Freezing water to ice requires a large amount of energy, much much more than cooling room temperature air down. I think the system you're proposing is likely going to waste a *lot* more energy than it saves.

Probably much better off filling ziploc bags with air and leaving them in the fridge.

[Rex Goliath]

Unfortunately, this looks like a rather new fridge. The kitchen was remodeled just before I moved in, and everything else is new. The coils are nearly spotless. The problem, it seems, is that I just have a shitty fridge. I've decided against using a lot of frozen water bottles because, as YamatoTwinkie and dracoi noted, freezing the bottles will require extra energy, and creating cold spots could trick the fridge into shutting off prematurely.

I will, however, keep a couple of small bottles in the door, next to the milk and eggs. Those items go fast entirely too quickly, and I don't think a small boost in the bottom of the door is going to hurt anything.

[Snnipe 70E]

It sound like you have an air flow problem. Can you hear the fan running on the inside of the frig? When the unit is running open the door check the vents and see if you can feel any air flow. From your discription new unit not working properly it isw time to get it looked at.

[crazyjoe]

Originally Posted by Rex Goliath

I will, however, keep a couple of small bottles in the door, next to the milk and eggs. Those items go fast entirely too quickly, and I don't think a small boost in the bottom of the door is going to hurt anything.

Milk and eggs should not be kept in the door (even if your door has gallon storage) precisely because of the temperature swings caused by opening and closing the fridge. The temp in the door is not nearly as consistent as it is on the shelves.

Try giving your fridge a good cleaning, and rearranging items on the shelves so that there is plenty of space for air to migrate.

[Cheesesteak]

If you do everything on dracoi's list, and still have the problem, I'd put my money on a busted circulation fan. My relatively new fridge had a hell of a time keeping up with hot/humid days, it was a bad fan circuit. I wasn't getting enough air flow on the outside coils, the fridge was powerful enough to keep up during normal days, and just couldn't manage it on hot days.

Your problem sounds different, more like an interior fan failing to circulate the cold air. The fridge seems to be putting out a fair amount of cold, freezing your stuff on the top shelves, but the cold air isn't circulating.