Technology Connections talks about a red fridge from Walmart for an hour
In a video by @Techconnectify@mas.to, Alec goes into a deep dive into the simplicity of his particular model, its shortcomings and variety of data logging tests in an attempt to fix them.
TL,DW: Very simple, cheap and ingenious design, with one compressor loop between the fridge and freezer in series. However, its temperature sensor is wonky and so the fridge is more affected by how long the compressor operates than the actual temperature itself. There is a signficant temperature differential between the top and bottom, fans on the exterior or interior could help but with the faulty sensor only made matters worse. With the controller replaced with a proper temp control unit the fridge functioned much better.
His videos are so always random but somehow so entertaining and peaceful no matter what completely random thing he decides to talk about. My man could explain the mechanical differences between industrial farming equipment or something and I’d eat that shit up 100% without any questions.
As a European his videos are sometimes so funny :)
Here in europe we have two kind of fridges: American Style and the showed one (but with the freezer at the bottom). American style is this big bulky fridge that breaks quickly and costs a ton of money, most people use this style. It's just the norm and they work reliable for decades, while also being more energy efficient.
It's also important to note that food doesn't get bad at 8°C (which Alec states in his video), storing food at 8°C is also the norm here in Europe. And I guess using this style of fridge more often in America would also make a lot of sense for most people.
I can see one simple reason why the american fridge with it's self-defrosting feature makes a lot of sense in some American regions: Climate. In humid regions like Florida, the showed style of fridge would just need to be constantly defrosted. Which would be a huge pain in the ass obviously. And in all other southern-american regions where it never really gets cold it's also a pain in the ass to manually defrost a fridge. For all regions where the temperature goes close to freezing temperatures, defrosting is not a big deal. You just need to put your refrigerated or frozen stuff outside for a few hours, defrost the fridge and put everything back inside. The frozen stuff doesn't even get remotely thawn and doing it once a year is more than enough.
I love Tech Connections. Unnecessarily long deep dives, but that’s the kind of content I absolutely appreciate. His stuff is a treat that helps to highlight the rabbit holes that can be found in the mundane.
I watched that wayyyy longer than I thought I would, like most other people here lol
But it was still disappointing that he just hand-waved the two good fridges already having cold stuff (that's when I stopped watching). Anyone from somewhere with constant hurricanes knows that thermal mass is important when keeping a fridge at temp
ah, my favourite videos on youtube. long rants from technology connections and other similar channels. so soothing even though i often have no idea what is happening
I fucking love technology connections. Their videos are perfect to have on in the background and it’s super interesting to learn about the tiny details of things that just work in our everyday lives.
I was wondering about this after I bought my brother a similar not-so-mini fridge from walmart and noticed that the insides didn't feel quite as cold as a regular fridge. This makes me think I was just feeling a "warm spot"!
Hah was super excited to watch this, we have the mini version for storing drinks/frozen snacks in, they also make a microwave so we got it to match. They are pretty mediocre but they work and look great! I wouldn't advise using them as your primary appliances though lol.
I started watching his channel back when he did the turn signal video a few years ago. I was skeptical at first because I had seen his videos pop up in my recommended a few times and wasn't interested in them, but after giving it a chance I love his content and watch most of his videos all the way through.
The only videos I haven't watched in their entirety are the ones on subjects I'm already pretty familiar with. It's hard to sit through 40 minutes of information you already know, but they're excellent for learning about new topics.
I've been obsessed with these fridges! I've been interested in a slightly different brand, Smeg,^1 partially because they also have retro fridges with Dolce^2 & Gabbana^3 designs, as well as other^4 fun designs.^5 (Also partially because of the unintentionally hilarious name. Smegma fridges yecch.)
I'm excited for this deep dive on Galanz (available at Walmart apparently).