Published on Tuesday, 11 February 2025 at 2:51:46 PM
The “ICYBALL” is an absorption refrigerator built by the Crosely Radio Corporation, Cincinnati USA. An Australian refrigerator pioneer, Edward Hallstrom, also produced a model using a similar design.
The “IcyBall” consists of two spheres about 10 inches (25.4cm) in diameter, one sphere is the “evaporator” and is placed in the chest cabinet with the other sphere, the “boiler”, clear of the cabinet on the outside.
The system contained a strong solution of ammonia in water and was charged to a pressure such that the ammonia would evaporate and condense with readily achievable temperatures.
In operation the unit is removed from the cabinet and for a time hung to ensure that all the liquid runs into the boiler sphere. The evaporator sphere is placed in a bowl of cool water. The boiler sphere is then heated with either a kerosene lamp, primus or a wood fire. The heat drives the ammonia from the water in the boiler and across to the evaporator. It also increases the pressure with the ammonia condensing in the cool evaporator.
The heat is then removed from the boiler and the evaporator ball placed inside the chest with the lid closed.
As the boiler sphere cools down and the pressure drops, the ammonia evaporates in the evaporator and produces refrigeration so cold as to produce frost on the outside of the evaporator sphere, hence the name “IcyBall”.
Refrigeration will continue until all of the ammonia has evaporated, or about 24hrs.
The ammonia returns to the now cool “boiler” to be dissolved back into water. This was not a continuous system and the whole procedure had to be repeated each day.
If too much heat was applied the water would boil and steam would pass across to the evaporator and stop the system.
To remedy this, the whole unit had to be hung up overnight with the boiler sphere downwards until all the ammonia solution returned to the boiler.
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