Wine chiller

I live in Queensland and I have problems with my axie in summer (ice bottles, fans etc just dont work too well). He often spends a long time in the fridge over summer but that causes problems over prolonged periods because he stops eating.

I have a wine fridge at home that keeps the temperature between 12 and 18 degrees. Its just like a small fridge thats warmer.

I thought it might be a good solution to keep my axie in a container in there over summer... He may eat if I keep him in there. Also, I will be able to see him because it has a glass door!

However, my only concern is that he might not have enough oxygen? Usually in the fridge there are no problems with oxygen because it is colder and it is quite large. However the wine chiller is only small (70 litres) so there isn't as much oxygen in there in the first place and it wont be as cold.

Do you think he will run out of oxygen if I dont open the door for a while?

Ps. That home-made chiller looks great but isn't an option for me really...for a number of reasons.


(Message edited by christine on July 26, 2006)

Cold blooded animals have significantly lower oxygen requirements than do mammals and birds.

The wine chiller is probably not air tight. You can also use an airstone if you're worried. Leave the pump outside the chiller (well away from the hot exhaust), and run a tube in through the seal around the door, and the stone in the bottom of the tank. This will provide ambient air, but will also warm the water slightly (as you're running warm air through it). You may want to test this first, and see if the chiller can overcome the warm air to make it worth it.

Thanks Joan.

When you say I should run the tube through the seal in the door, wont that mean the cold air will escape through the door being ajar? Or do you mean I should sort of punch a hole in the seal and run the tube through so there is no gap?

Cheers.

If you can get the door to shut around the tubing, that would be great. But if not, I don't see harm in punching a small hole in the seal to run a tube.

I use a wine chiller from time to time....they often have a small hole in the back to let out excess condensation...much like a fridge. Have a look at yours, it may have one

even with an air stone you will need a air outlet otherwise the fridge will just pressurise depending on the amount of psi that the pump can kick out. so you're probably better of breaking the seal so as to allow a small amount of air to escape and be introduced into the fridge.

I highly doubt the fridge is air tight enough to allow for significant pressurization. Refrigeration works on the basis that cold air is pumped into a chamber, and if significant pressurization occured, your door would blow open on your home fridge every time you open it.

well i wouldn't take the chance, they still remove the doors on all fridges and freezers to stop kids getting stuck, and the amount of force a child can produce is more than 10psi

Peter, children getting stuck in a fridge has nothing to do with how a fridge works. This is because fridges are usually disposed of on their back, which means young children (those who often get INTO the fridge) have to fight gravity to get the door open. It has nothing to do with pressurization.

As Joan noted, at the lower temperatures there is a significantly reduce oxygen need. There is a significant difference in the metabolic requirements of a amphibian and a large mammal in this space (which is an inappropriate comparision due to how large difference between the metabolic needs as well as the difference between the volume of the container versus the size of the animal).
If there is any concern about the oxygen levels in the fridge then open the door and check the animal daily.

Ed

Thanks very much for your help everyone. I'll give it a go as temperatures start to heat up here.

Cheers.