> My open-loop heat pump discharges 40 degree water at a rate of 5
> gallons per minute when the heat pump is running (which is nearly 30%
> of the time). I'd like to use some of that water to chill a food
> storage box in my pantry. I was hoping the refrigerant coils of an old
> refrigerator would carry this low-temp water and drop the temperature
> inside the refrigerator to 40 degrees without the use of electricity.
> Does this seem feasible? Are there any sites online that discuss this?
> Is there a better way of doing this?
I don't see any reason in principle why it wouldn't work, but there may be
some practical difficulties. Number one is that you don't want to restrict
the flow of the discharge water from the heat pump. Number two is that
you'd have to pump that water from the discharge point to the food storage
box in your pantry and that would probably mean using an electric pump.
Number three is that for refrigerated food the usual recommendation is to
keep the temperature above freezing but below 40 degrees. When the average
cost of running a refrigerator-freezer is in the $50 to $60 range (depending
on your local electric rates and the size and features of the appliance), I
doubt that it would be worthwhile.
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> gallons per minute when the heat pump is running (which is nearly 30%
> of the time). I'd like to use some of that water to chill a food
> storage box in my pantry. I was hoping the refrigerant coils of an old
> refrigerator would carry this low-temp water and drop the temperature
> inside the refrigerator to 40 degrees without the use of electricity.
> Does this seem feasible? Are there any sites online that discuss this?
> Is there a better way of doing this?