Thread: Need help on making a tiny, tiny fridge

I was wondering how one would make a tiny minifridge. Taking about a very small box of glass to contain a flower. (Maybe see-through plastic, as glass and cold dont go together well?)

Also as a side note, would freezing cold preserve a flower like this or would it still rot?

Im not sure how much space is required to create such a small freezing environment like this, but i assume the scale of gear is reduced by the amount of space you would want to heat down?

If this is to technical to make on my own, what sort of craftsman should i look up to make this?

You might want to look at Peltier modules for cooling:
Thermoelectric cooling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thermoelectric cooling, coolers, modules, heat sinks, exchangers, Peltier coolers, devices - TE Technology

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn239/XVVV/box.png this is sorta what i had planned.

But ive now decided i want a music box/cooler/display combo, adding a music box inside. Maybe some kind of rotating device for the contents when you play the music.

Aaaannd there my plans of making it myself went out the window.

Any help or tips/advice on how to make such a seemingly easy yet kinda advanced "thing" or what kinda craftsman would be most suited?

If you consider yourself somewhat of an inventor/engineering etc. with some skill, what would you take in comission for helping to make this, considering someone else bought all the raw materials? Would you think 200-250 dollars would be a fair price for such a project?

This is an interesting project, and you may want to reconsider some of your assumptions. Backing up far enough, I think I hear you asking how to preserve a flower, almost like a solid glass paperweight, (which I don't think contain real flowers), but without all that glass. Many/most vegetation is relatively rigid and structural, so the situation is how to preserve the flower's "fresh" status.

Would it still rot? So ask yourself what makes vegetative material rot/wilt/dry/etc? The answer might be bacteria, evaporation, sunlight, etc.

So, what kills bacteria? Refrigeration is one method, but what about eliminating oxygen? Consider a hollow glass container filled with a gas that preserves, such as a noble gas (like argon) or something relatively inert (like nitrogen).

So, what prevents evaporation? Etc, etc.

So, what blocks sunlight (or just the destructive part of the sun's spectrum)? Etc, etc.

I think we need to know a little more about how this is to be used. Apparently it is for a display. Does it need to be portable, or could you have your display case piped into a standard sized refrigerator, perhaps hidden under the table? How long does it have to be displayed at a time (maybe an ice compartment would work)?
To answer your question about how long the flowers would last, just stick some in a regular fridge and see.

On edit: I see you want to freeze it, rather than just cool it to refrigerator temperature. That doesn't seem like a good idea. Frost kills plants.

Thanks for your replies so far

Originally Posted by Harold14370

I think we need to know a little more about how this is to be used. Apparently it is for a display. Does it need to be portable, or could you have your display case piped into a standard sized refrigerator, perhaps hidden under the table? How long does it have to be displayed at a time (maybe an ice compartment would work)?
To answer your question about how long the flowers would last, just stick some in a regular fridge and see.

On edit: I see you want to freeze it, rather than just cool it to refrigerator temperature. That doesn't seem like a good idea. Frost kills plants.

Portable, it is supposed to be a christmas gift for a girl i am in love with. So i dont want it to be too heavy or large, but as small as i can get away with.
So frost kill plants hmmm. I thought that if the temperature was exactly 0 or -1. (30.02-32F) it would freeze enough to dont kill it or something but im no botanist.

Good tip on the fridge. I will put a cherry blossom in there and see how long it will be preserved.

Edit: Btw, Monroe, are those gasses dangerous if "leaked"?

Originally Posted by Raziell

Edit: Btw, Monroe, are those gasses dangerous if "leaked"?

They would only be dangerous in a confined space where they could displace the air and suffocate someone. Nitrogen is the major component of the air we breathe.
http://www.airgas.com/documents/pdf/001004.pdf
http://www.airgas.com/documents/pdf/001040.pdf

One thing seem to confuse me at the moment. Isnt it possible to permanently preserve a flower? Ive been googling methods and all methods i see includes preserving them longer, not permanent. Maybe the solution is in putting the flower in some kind of liquid instead?

Originally Posted by Raziell

Maybe the solution is in putting the flower in some kind of liquid instead?

Perhaps using Glycerin or some form of clear wax? www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf2446.pdf

That way, you can work on the refrigeration without having to worry about the decoration since it will be a separate component.

acrylic may work

How about freeze drying.
Wedding Bouquet Preservation Company, Freeze drying flowers and fine custom picture framing. Serving Boston MA, New England and USA from Southern NH

Originally Posted by brane wave

acrylic may work

This might just work. I have a little experience working with clear resin, but from my limited experience, the only potential problem I foresee will be air bubbles forming while placing the flower into the mold and also possibly having air bubbles being released from an improperly prepared organic flower (not that I've ever tried them). I did find a video on how one can be made using coins, and another using insects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Wp9CmSKFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Z6KxQUra8

i would try a few tests first..im sure the risk of bubbles could be minimised through technique,and perhaps the resin consistency...perhaps some kind of treatment to the flower beforehand may help..

WOW! resin... brilliant... will need alot of pratice first it seems but great advice.

Ok ive seen people do this with flowers by drying them and lowering them into resin upside down. Im gonna go with this instead. Thanks to all of you who helped out

Hi everybody. this looks like a great forum. Keep up the great work