Top Beer Cooler Tips to Live By

If you are an avid drinker or you love to set up parties, it is time to get yourself a beer cooler. Moreover, when you do have one, please do keep note these following tips:

Find one that fits the beer. There are different sizes of beer coolers you can get in the market, so your choice will depend on how many packs of beer you are willing to put inside. If you are thinking of dozens and dozens of them, make sure to buy the large-sized chiller.

Go for the sturdy one. There is a good chance that you will be bringing the beer cooler with you when you go on trips, such as camping. Along the way, there will be a number of curves and bumps, which can disturb the cooler and its contents.

If you are not traveling, then most definitely, you are putting your cooler someplace else. There is also the possibility that you are going to put a number of things on top of it, particularly if you do not have much space. Therefore, it is a wise investment to buy a very sturdy cooler.

Do not dare to put food inside. You are thinking, “Hey, I can definitely save on space and even money if I just combine food with the beer.” Well, it is actually wrong thinking. Food should never be combined with beer. Even if you are going to put a lot of ice to keep both of them cold, your food will immediately spoil because you are going to keep the door of the cooler open frequently. Coldness will just escape from the container, allowing the moisture to build inside.

Bring some ice. If you are going on a long trip, do not forget to pack some ice. Your cooler can only do so much. It will not be able to function well if there is no ice inside it. You can pack as many blocks of ice as you like. As long as you do not open your cooler several times during the journey, your ice can surely last until you reach your destination.

Get some warranty. Some manufacturers can offer you warranty for the beer cooler. As a wise consumer, it should be something you take advantage of. This way, you can receive a refund or an exchange item if it turns out defective. You may also look forward to a discount for repairs.

Another beer beverage cooler tip is icy cold beer. You will not have to worry about hot beer with the right cooler. Buy one that has a temperature regulator to keep your beer as cold as you want. Beer chillers come in many different sizes and types. Check out a custom beer cooler to show off your passion for your favorite sports team!

How to Find the Right Dorm Size Refrigerator For You

If you are a college student living away from home, or an independent individual in a small apartment,most likely your space is limited. A normal to large sized refrigerator is just out of the question. Your solution may be a dorm size refrigerator.

Before shopping for compact refrigerators, you might want to measure the available room space. Sanyo is a recommended brand with various sizes on hand. The smallest one currently being offered is 1.7 cubic feet – available in the sleek SRA1780 series, priced at around $120 – $180 (depending on the store). The width-height-depth dimensions are 17.75″-19.38″-18.63″. These models have a freezer compartment, drinks compartment for 2 liter bottles, a wire coated interior shelf and reversible door. Available colors are black and white. If you want more space, there is also an available 2.4 cubic feet size – SRA2480M. This is a widely popular model. At $140-$190, it has two shelves, a vertical can dispenser, and a half width freezer compartment with ice cube trays. An even larger sized model is the SR-560 that comes with a built in additional vegetable bin. Priced at around $300, it is perfect if you share a place with roommates.

Another brand with good ratings in the dorm size refrigerator department is Avanti. One of the 1.7 cubic feet models is the BCA1802SS1 1.7 All Refrigerator, made with stainless steel. It has an auto defrost feature, flush back design, and the door rack can store 2 liter bottles which is really convenient for large sodas. The price is reasonable at $127 to $170. If you want more space with less width, the RM3250W Counterhigh refrigerator is available, featuring 3.1 cubic feet of space at only 17 inches wide and 32 inches tall. It has a can dispenser which can store up to seven 12 oz. cans, slide out shelves and a separate chiller compartment which is great for fresh produce. It is usually has a price range of $150 to $250. The RM4550 is another larger sized option.It features three shelves and it has 4.5 cubic feet for storage and is priced between $180 – $216. It has a standard white exterior, manual defrost system, adjustable shelves and a can dispenser. It also has a flush back design and recessed door handles to save even more space. This is important when every inch counts.

In choosing a dorm size refrigerator, it is important to buy those with at least one year warranties – as smaller refrigerators are not as durable as larger ones. Make sure to check out the refrigerator’s storage shelves too – they should be efficiently arranged to give you the most space possible. And as with all refrigerators, make sure that the thermostat works, check for energy efficiency, and make sure that it doesn’t hum too loudly!

These are just a few options in dorm size refrigerators.

Next, discover all the different types of refrigerators at www.refrigeratorreport.com and find the one that will save you money.

Phase Change Materials – Eutectic Thermal Energy Storage Products

Ice Thermal Energy Storage (TES) has the advantage of universal availability, low cost and transport ability through other system components. However, a conventional ice TES system for air conditioning application requires low temperature chillers and therefore standard water chillers must be replaced with low temperature glycol chillers which operate with a lower evaporation temperature and consume more power.

If we can offer designers an ice which freezes and melts above or below 0°C (32 °F) these new products will open new horizons for environmentally friendly and economical systems for both New and Retrofit type process cooling / heating load shifting applications.

Phase Change Material (PCM) Eutectic solutions are  mixtures of two or more chemicals which, when mixed in a particular ratio, have a freezing / melting point below or above water freezing temperature of 0 °C (32 °F) and they offer a thermal energy storage facility between -114 °C (-173 °F) and +164 °C (327 °F).

Eutectics are well-known and in fact early applications date back to the late 18th century however the separation and the life expectancy of these mixtures were unpredictable and therefore their wide spread usage was limited.

The disadvantages of a conventional HVAC chiller and ice (water ice) storage system can be overcome by utilising the latent heat capacity of various “Eutectic” mixtures without the need for minus circulation temperatures. 

Phase Change Material (PCM) thermal energy storage not only enables the designer to utilise existing chiller technology but also enables charging by means of free cooling, i.e. without running the chillers

Although the term “Eutectic” is widely used to describe the materials we are interested in, a better description would be “Phase Change Materials” (”PCMs”). Unfortunately, very few of the documented PCM solutions are true Eutectics and so many have to be modified to obtain a material suitable for long term use.

PCMs can be broadly grouped into two categories; “Organic Compounds” and “Salt-based Products”. The fundamental requirement for a modified Eutectic (PCM) Solution can be classified in three categories, namely stable solution (no separation or degrading), minimum supercooling / heating and finally close freezing and melting temperatures.

There are three fundamental additives commonly used to modify hydrated salt based Eutectic PCM solutions. These three components are firstly Nucleating Agent which encourages Crystal formation and therefore minimizes super cooling and the secondly additive is Freeze Depressant to achieve a lower phase change temperature and thirdly Gelling / Thickening Agent in order to overcome separation and degrading problems.

Once the above components have been carefully applied, a satisfactory Eutectic PCM Solution can be produced from the physical and thermodynamic point of views and commercially available solutions offer a range of  -114 °C (-173 °F) and +164 °C (327 °F).

However, majority of suitable PCM solutions for HVAC and refrigeration systems are corrosive to commonly used pipe and line components and therefore suitable encapsulation techniques must be applied to overcome this problem while providing the best thermal performance. Various encapsulation techniques such as tube, flat container or alternatively ball concepts have been developed whereby the PCM solutions are encapsulated in plastic and / or metal shell.

The heat transfer between the surrounding media, which flows around or inside the unit and the surrounding PCM solutions, takes place from the outer or inner or the combination of both surfaces of the encapsulated PCM unit. These techniques are generally eliminates the contamination risk and offers an efficient, cost effective, practical and flexible new type of TES designs.

Modern society’s reliance on refrigeration and air conditioning indicates that refrigeration and the associated environmental issues will be with us for a considerable time and therefore one has to utilize existing and available alternative technologies with minimum usage of energy.

A Positive Temperature Eutectic Phase Change Material (PCM) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) not only provides the end user with an Environmentally Friendly design but also the following additional benefits can be obtained:

o Reduced Equipment Size

o Capital Cost Saving

o Energy Cost Saving

o Environmentally Friendly Installation

o Improved System Operation

o Flexibility for the Future Capacities

The temperature ranges offered by the proposed PCM solutions utilize conventional chilled water temperature ranges for both the charging and discharging sides of the system. Hence, they can be applied to any new or retrofit application with minimal technical and economical impacts.

Furthermore, the possibility of Free Cooling Cycle, Absorption Chillers, Co-Generation, Solar, Hot Water and Heat Recovery TES system combinations offer new horizons for designers to control the energy balance to match the load and electricity demand / consumption of the system as a whole.

The task for designers is to explore all available technologies towards achieving improved efficiency regardless of which refrigerant is used, and apply where and when possible diversification technologies in order to minimize the overall CO2 emission related to energy usage. A carefully balanced Eutectic, Phase Change Material (PCM) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) may be the answer for some of the cooling applications for an Environmentally Friendly and Economical alternative.

Zafer Ure, M.Sc., C.Eng., MCIBSE., MASHRAE., MInstR., is the Managing Director of Environmental Process Systems Ltd. and has 25 years experience in the HVAC industry and has written many papers for industry conferences and magazines. Details of PCM Products can be found at http://www.pcmproducts.net and Zafer can be contacted on +44 1733 243400 or at z.ure@epsltd.co.uk