Via an e-mail from reader Richard T., I recently had a special request to write an article. His request:
“From a 1975 The Mother Earth News magazine, I found an obscure reference to the Crosley “Icy Ball” refrigerator and a search found it mentioned in a SurvivalBlog article from 2009. I followed the link in the article which led me on to research it some more. Using “Crosley Icy Ball refrigerator” as a search phrase in Youtube I found several short videos on it. I then discovered this was not a lost technology but this is how RV and propane refrigerators work and they can still be bought today. Recalling that the Rawles homestead uses these, I think that readers, like myself, would like to hear your experience with them. Particularly, I’d like to know how propane can be safely used in the home as well as their efficiency.”
We Are Propane Believers
We have been using Propane upright freezers, clothes dryers, domestic water heaters, and kitchen ranges here at the Rawles Ranch for more than a decade. We also recently replaced our aging electric refrigerator/freezer with a propane model. That now leaves us with just one major appliance that is powered by AC electricity: a top-loading chest freezer. And even that one will probably be replaced by a propane freezer, when we can afford to buy it. Our backup generator has a gasoline engine. But our long-term goal is to replace it with a propane-engined one.Continue reading“Life With Propane Freezers and Refrigerators”
