1y ago

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.

Videos @kbin.social

Technology Connections did an hour long video on a fridge…

7 1

DACH - Deutschsprachige Community für Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz @feddit.de

Amerikaner wundert sich eine Stunde lang über die extrem simple Funktionsweise von europäischen Kühlschränken und denkt Essen wird bei >4°C direkt schlecht

79 35

139 comments

I've loved Technology Connections ever since I saw his riveting hour long video on dishwashing detergent. I don't even have a dishwasher.
- I used to think dishwashers were kinda rubbish before I watched his video and learned how they actually work and the best way to use them. I recommend that video to lots of people now. Great channel.
  
  He became one of my favorites after he got me to enjoy a half-hour video on storm lanterns. Dude has some serious charisma and really good investigative skills.
  
  I'm still a bit annoyed on how my parents reject dishwashers as a result of the last one being kind of shit.
  It didn't help that they decided to replace the rinse aid with vinegar because "it's cheaper and works just as well as regular rinse aid" no. It did not. It was terrible.
  They never went for dishwashing tablets or name brand detergents because of the price either. But they failed to understand what the pre-wash section means, telling me off if I tried to use it, or explain why it makes sense to use it.
  I love my parents, but they can be frustrating to deal with when it comes to tech. Dad knows just enough to be dangerous, (as a result he's first port of call for tech support) with mum, if you get frustrated when trying to help or to correct a mistake she's about to make she'll tell you to stop acting like a know it all, despite the fact you're getting frustrated because she's not listening to you properly.
  God forbid if they find out that I learned something from someone on the internet because "you can't trust it" and then they'll be even more frustratingly non compliant - a YouTube video, even a well sourced one (in the case of the dishwasher, a primary sourced one) they can still find flaws - "he cut a window in there, and it's a different model therefore it's not going to perform the same, so I don't trust it"
  I understand it's necessary to question anything, but why when it comes to tech are they more cynical than me - someone who uses tech for a living? They trust me completely for information regarding buying, building and repairing computers, and software/ software alternatives, letting me do research for them, but that's about it - despite the fact that I do all that research on the internet. And they're also constantly amazed at all the weird bits of trivia and fact I know, again from the internet.
  But the moment its got something to do with what they're doing, the internet isn't trustworthy enough. It's fucking stupid. I get that I don't know everything, but I understand how to navigate the internet enough to find the information thats needed, and usually it is reliable.
  Yeah, there's my rant for the day.
  
  @Awesomejt @TechConnectify @Rentlar @SilentStorms A few years ago there was a thread on Twitter that basically came down to: either you have a Bosch dishwasher, or you need to study how to properly fill it if you want clean dishes.
  
  I switched to powder detergent and found mine doesn't work as well with it... I don't know why.
- Yes, No way i knew that i needed to know all that info on detergent :P
  
  It changed the way I wash my dishes
- That video has become required watching material / hazing ritual for new roommates. Mostly for the detailed explanation on the importance of pre-wash soap, but also for the tips on preheating the water.
- Same, I ate that video up. Dishwashers are a rich people commodity in my country.
- This is exactly the video that first got me started on the channel as well. It randomly came up in my YouTube feed and I let it play... then have since watched dozens of these fascinating, boring, videos.
- That video of his solved all my woes of using my dishwasher lmao
- I watched that video (twice) before ever owning a dishwasher. I bought a house this year which has one, and if I hadn’t watched his video I would have continued hand washing, believing it to be better! I live by myself so it does feel silly having to wait days before I have enough of a load, but he’s right even that days-old stuff comes off fine.
- I came for the traffic signals. I cringed through the overly-long CED saga. I left after the dishwashers.
  I'll still pop in seasonally though, for the latest on proper LED holiday lights.
  Dishwashing video #1: Detergent pods must be bad, because dishwashers have a pre-wash dispenser. So if you use pods, you aren't using enough detergent!
  Here's my demonstration of how using detergent during pre-wash results in more cleaning occurring during pre-wash (which, you know, isn't the full cycle and isn't how people use dishwashers).
  Dishwashing video #2: Actually, I was totally wrong. But detergent pods are still bad, because they result in using too much detergent and are wasteful!
  
  @JWBananas @Rentlar @SilentStorms sooo... the follow-up had a very specific point. Many people were getting a residue after trying powder detergent, and I wanted to help with that.
  My main issue with detergent pods isn't so much that they're wasteful, per se, but that they cost a lot more for, potentially, worse results.
  Many dozens of people continue to tell me that trying powder detergent both saved money and made their dishwasher work better. I stand by that.

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.
- My favorite is when he releases videos around weekends so I can spend my saturday/sunday morning watching it with a nice cup of coffee.
  
  His videos honestly give off the same vibes as mythbusters and other of those random science tv shows of the mid to late 2000s. I feel like if mythbusters still aired new episodes he would fit right in as a regular guest.
  
  That does sound really comfy.
- Considering he did a video on sprinklers, he already kinda did lmao

WTF, I ain't watching an hour long video on a stupid fridge! I'll just watch the first few minutes and see what's up.....
........
.....
One hour later.....
Okay, that was really interesting. I really love this channel.
- Me at 11pm: why on earth would I watch a long video deep diving into obsolete incandescent headlights?
  Me at 7am: hey did you know that headlights used to be so standard you could just drop in a generic replacement and.........
- I love his videos, especially the video about his toaster. I've actually spent time trying to find that exact toaster at yard sales
  
  I know more than I ever need to about American drip coffee machines, and yet I don't want one and wouldn't know where to buy one here in Australia eveb if I did want one.

There's not a Technology Connections video I won't watch. Always makes the seemingly mundane absolutely fascinating.
- I'm certain he could make me watch an hour long video on almost anything, he's such a talented writer.
- It often turns out that the mundane IS fascinating, it just needs a good storyteller.

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 don't think that ~8°C thing is a universal "European" thing. I'm Finnish and I've always kept my fridge around 5°C, and the food safety authority here recommends 2 – 6°C
- 8C is about 46F.
  Right from the USDA government agency.
  https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/refrigeration#2
  Bacteria grows more rapidly in food starting at about 40F.
  I think I'll trust the food safety agency over some random pretentious guy on Lemmy thanks very much.
  
  Sorry for only telling how it is in europe. Here in Germany the desired fridge temperature according to state guidelines should be 7-8°C and that's what I'm commenting. Just pointing out that the differences are stunning and funny.
  
  It's a bit more nuanced than that:
  https://www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf/Publications/Vie-pratique/Fiches-pratiques/Temperature-de-conservation
  They said up to 8°C is fine for most of the stuff, 4°C for meat and 2°C for minced meat

"So I bought five of these things" lol.
Oh this guy is my inner spirit nerd.
- Oh this guy is my inner spirit nerd.
  Same...

Honestly, the best part about this channel is watching the guy be extremely American.
His fascination at an absolutely run of the mill entry level fridge that everybody outside Muricaland has owned at least once is delightful.
Oh, also, he's on Mastodon here @TechConnectify in case you guys didn't know that.
- No, this is an absolutely bog standard low-end fridge here. He's just interested in clever engineering, no matter how mundane it is. His toaster videos are an excellent example of this.
  
  If you watch the video he explicitly says he hadn't seen a fridge with some of the specific design details of this one. He also keeps calling it a "mini-fridge", which is also a delightfully American thing to say about what is an absolutely standard sized fridge for our standards.
  
  I still debate trying to find a 240V version of that radiant control toaster... I think there was a limited edition orange one kicking around on eBay at one point. Not cheap though. A$220+ for a toaster is a little more than I want to spend for something where a basic unit usually costs $50 at most.
- Haha you linking his Mastodon profile pinged him (on Mastodon) and created a bit of confusion regarding this link between Mastodon and beehaw (lemmy) while you are on kbin. The fediverse gets wild and a bit wrinkly at times.

These videos are so meditative for me.

Oh how I love Technology Connections. He makes the perfect kind of content for me.

Ah. Fantastic.

I still lecture people on the correct detergent to use and to do a prewash because on him. 😂
- I specifically tried the prewash thing after watching his video, it didn't make a lick of difference for me.

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.

Hour long of TC talking about a fridge, you had me at Fridge.
- TBH "hour long of technology connections..." is probably sufficient.
  
  Is it, though? Is it really?
- You had me at “hour long TC” 😂

Really made me understand why my own fridge (and especially the freezer part) is this bad. Bless this channel

I love this guy, one of my few favorite YouTube channels and subscriptions. Anything he fixates on is suddenly interesting.

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

This was an amazing TC video and honestly I love when he goes on deep dive tangents like this. :D

This dude is so good. <3

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.

An hour long video on a fridge, huh
Opening line. Okaaaaay. I'll check it out. Not like I don't need another video-essayist to add to my collection of Hbomberguy, Folding Ideas, etc.
- his maddening descent into obtaining the perfect christmas tree bulbs is great.
- Enjoy the backlog if you get a chance! He's got some good stuff.
- His video on the "colour" brown is absolutely worth a watch!

This guy's videos are getting longer and longer.
(Not that I'm complaining (maybe))
- He resets on No Effort November. Good for him, would hate to see burnout.

@Rentlar That's definitely a fridge

I could listen to an hour of him telling me how terrible I am and I'd still love it

Here's to hoping he does a video on Reddit. Always love his snarkiness.
- Eh, kinda rather he stick to mechanical/ AV systems, plus I'm not really sure what he could say that hasn't been said already
- Not a whole lot to talk about there, I'd think. Nothing in his wheelhouse, at least.
  You can always ask him, though: @TechConnectify

Love this channel, love that you guys over here love it as well. Thanks for being cool, beehaw.

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
I'm excited for this deep dive on Galanz (available at Walmart apparently).
- Alec does say the particular full size model he has there was discontinued, in favour of a model that functions more like your modern fridge, probably due to the flaws he pointed out.

This is the kind of content I enjoy

I love these videos!

I love this channel! There’s just something about going very in-depth on random appliances and things like that that’s just so entertaining to me lol

Typical response from new visitors to his channel: "Why would I be interested in that?" followed by "Stayed for the whole fascinating video."
- He has some serious skill when it comes to making absolutely anything interesting. 3 years ago I had no idea what a CED was, but after watching his 2 hour long 5-part documentary on this failed media format and their history, I now have a small collection of them.

Haha I never knew a fridge video could be so engaging!

Spoilers! At minute 56. Discussing placement of the thermal bulb for the mechanical thermostat.

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.
- The turn signal video is what got me too! After that one I’ve watched videos on so many things I didn’t think I’d care about at all. His chest freezer and heat pump ones have also directly influenced my life.

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 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"!

139 comments