The American supplier of butter, Thomas Moore, in 1803 came up with the idea to cover the oil tank with rabbit skins to increase the shelf life. He called his brainchild a refrigerator. In 1805, the American Oliver Evans developed the design of a machine for producing cold by the method of vapor compression, but it never came to practical use of the invention. In 1834, improving the ideas of Evans, Jacob Perkins patented a refrigerator.
When the fridge appeared: timeline
The first mention of the technology of cooling products in the Dark Ages
About the benefits of the cold, for storing supplies, people know more than one century. Archaeologists excavating on the territory of ancient Persia (modern Iran) found huge storages underground, the wall thickness exceeded 2 meters, which were used to store ice and were called “Yakshal”. Glaciers were widely used, deep earthen pits with a roof, which were dismantled and put into blocks of ice, the ice was kept in the cellar so that the hostess would not run into the yard for every petty need. Medieval alchemists discovered that when saltpeter was dissolved with water, it became cold in the room.
Who invented the first devices that turned water into ice
The American doctor John Gory invented the use of a compressor in the Evans circuit and in 1851 introduced to the public a patented ice-making machine. In 1857 a refrigerator car appeared. Karl von Linde's chiller using ammonia produced ice on an industrial scale and was a huge commercial success (1879 g).
Creative methods for producing artificial cold in the 19th century
In 1841, using the Evans method, John Gorey built a device that reduces the temperature of the air in a room. This car could be used as a freezer and as an air conditioner. Carl von Linde created the prototype of the first household refrigerator (1873). The bulky brainchild of the inventor, in which the highly toxic ammonia was a refrigerant, could not be widely used in everyday life as a hazard. The first electric-powered refrigerator appeared in 1913.
The development of the refrigeration industry in the USSR
VNIII was established in the USSR by a government decree in 1930, and its own laboratory dealing with “cold” issues was established in Leningrad. Scientists worked on a variety of topics, for example: invented heat-insulating material, instead of cork purchased abroad. In 1951, the ZIS plant (subsequently ZIL) manufactured the Moscow refrigerator with a refrigerator capacity of 165 liters. Its net weight is 85-95 kg. The production of small-sized devices with a chamber volume of 65 liters is located at the Saratov plant. In 1961, the Minsk Refrigeration Plant (Since 1977, the Atlant Scientific Production Association) launched the production of Minsk-1. Using the achievements of these plants, the USSR launched mass production of refrigerators in the 60s. For this, factories were built in Baku, Murom, Orsk, Absheronsk, Krasnoyarsk, etc.
What prototypes of modern refrigerators existed in different eras
In Europe
In Germany, the production of refrigeration machines in 1912 began the company AEG. The first German serial refrigerator was equipped with a double-leaf door, which was tiled. At the Leipzig fair in 1927, eight companies already presented their products.
In Russia
The first industrial cold in Russia was used in Astrakhan in 1888, the fish processing plant was located on the banks of the Volga. At the beginning of the 20th century, a refrigerating machine was sold in Moscow, under the name Eskimo, it could freeze up to 12 liters of water. In the USSR, in 1934-1935, the production of commercial refrigeration equipment at the red torch factory began. The first serial refrigerator, with a cooling chamber capacity of 120 l, was produced by the Kharkov Tractor Plant under the brand name “KhTZ-120”
In America
In 1926, the Danish Christian Steenstrup proposed the design of a home refrigeration machine, the patent for which was acquired by the American General Electric. This company in 1927 launched the “Monitor-Top” model. Sold a million refrigerators of this model. In 1939, GE made a model with a freezer.
The most popular models of refrigerators in the world (indicate old models)
The most popular models of refrigerators in Russia are Zil, Minsk, Saratov. Some of these old men from the 70s of the last century can still be found in working condition somewhere in the country.
How refrigerators have evolved
From the first bulky crates that use toxic gases in their work, and weighing under a hundred kilograms. Refrigerators acquired elegant forms, “lost weight”, increased useful volume. Modern models use environmentally friendly freon non-destructive ozone layer and completely safe for humans. Several cameras, work from several compressors, with access to the Internet, equipped with a television display, this is a household refrigerator that continues to improve.
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