Author Topic: Using a Heat Sink for Food to save energy  (Read 5190 times)

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Offline WooferHound

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Using a Heat Sink for Food to save energy
« on: January 28, 2012, 05:53:26 pm »
After getting some stuff from my Stor-N-Lock and as I was driving around to the exit, I spotted some electronic equipment that had obviously been tossed out of an unpaid storage unit. One piece was a Old Xerox copier that had been partially disassembled. On the back hanging by a bolt was this heatsink with a buncha transistors mounted all over it. I unbolted it and stripped the parts off.

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I had been thinking about using something exactly like it to speed up the defrosting of food from my freezer instead of using the microwave oven. Plus I would be able to cool things down too Instead of using the refrigerator. I drink a LOT of Fresh Brewed Iced Tea down here in Alabama, which I cool down with the heatsink. And I cook in large quantities then freeze almost all of it. I use the heatsink to precool before going into the freezer. The Idea is, anything that comes into good contact with a heatsink will be rapidly brought to room temperature. So I can get both a cooling or warming effect depending on the temperature of the Items I place on there.

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I cut two small strips of wood to raise it up high enough to get a lotta air, then placed a 12 volt muffin fan to blow under the heatsink fins and blow over the item that's placed on top. One problem I have is condensation from defrosting. (especially this year here in the Alabama)  I have been using this for about 8 years and have been thinking about building it into a One Piece Unit that would help to catch the condensation underneath and the occasional broken soup bag from the freezer.

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 I think it works great. A Single Serving Soup Bag will defrost on the kitchen counter after 2 or 3 hours, but if it's on the heatsink it will only be 35 to 55 minutes. After I cook 1 1/2 gallons of the best Spaghetti ever made (as pictured above) it would take all night sitting out to get cold enough to bag up into the DeepFreeze, but only about 3 hours sitting on the Heatsink/Fan combination.
 I get really excited when I'm Defrosting and cooling something Hot at the same time.

   )}- W o o f -{(
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Offline Rover

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Re: Using a Heat Sink for Food to save energy
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2012, 07:30:26 pm »
This takes it to another level.

Some of you know I cook quite a bit. I use aluminum pots,  lids to thaw meat... has always worked . Using a fined heat sink... now that s a good idea... and I will used it. Thanks Woof.


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(Where did I bury that microcontroller?)