20.02.2025 New fridge-freezer.

 ~o~

  Thursday 20th 29F/-1.7C [8.30] Bright but breezy. With a thin overcast of high and diffuse clouds in the east. Last sunny day for a while. Rain this evening and overnight.

  Up at 7.30 after previous failures to lift off. Another quiet night.

 8.40 59F/15C in the room. The stove is lit. I put a another log on last night but it went out. 

 It looks bigger in the image due to the viewpoint.

 I am expecting the new fridge-freezer delivery this morning. The poor old fridge is completely unstable as to temperature. from -30C to -8C. Who know? It may have been unstable for ages. How would I know? I haven't put a digital thermometer sensor in the freezer compartment before. 

 9.40 32F/0C. Bright sunshine. A cold SE wind. I have emptied and taken the old fridge outside. The frozen and cold stuff is in cool bags outside in the cold. I have cleaned and tidied inside and out of doors. Brought the recycling bin back along the drive.  My way was blocked by the neighbour builder the other day. The ground is frozen solid. So there will be no vans stuck in the mud.  

 10.30 The new fridge freezer is indoors. The young man was obviously experienced and it went very smoothly. 

 10.45 It took 15 minutes to reach freezing point in the freezer compartment. It is set to Eco. I am using my digital thermometers to monitor progress. The cool cabinet seems not to be cooling so far. 

 11.10 It has reached -16C in the freezer compartment. Still stuck at 18C in the fridge. 

 11.20 The freezer has already reached -18.7C. So I have put the frozen and cold foods away. The cool compartment is sinking slowly past 14C. I have added a second [third] digital thermometer sensor in case the first is malfunctioning. I am searching online for the instruction in English to avoid confusion. The tiny text in the printed instructions manual is beyond the capabilities of my magnifying glass and patience. Found, saved and understood. 

 11.45 The freezer is now at -21C. According to the instructions: It takes a while for the entire structure of the fridge and its contents to cool and stabilize. Currently at 7C and still falling. Which is fine. No plastic spacers were provided to distance the appliance grid from the rear wall. The grid is actually touching. It suggests a gap of no more than 75mm total. Presumably for a chimney effect for efficient cooling. I'll space the grid appropriately. 

 First I must decide on its exact positioning. I usually like to have the waste bin beside the fridge. Which means moving the fridge towards the pine, recycling cupboard. Ideally the waste bin would fit between the cupboard and fridge. There just isn't enough room. The waste bin is now considerably oversized. Particularly following the introduction of increased recycling sorting. It was a luxury item. In which I invested when first setting up the kitchen for myself. After my wife died. Now it is mostly used for making paper. [UK:Grease proof paper.]

 12.00 35F/1.7C and slightly weak sunshine from a rather white sky. Breezy. The digital thermometers are now reading 4C & 22C. There seems to be masses of room in the fridge. Rather less, but more than enough, in the freezer. I'll leave it to stabilize. With minimum disturbance from door opening.

 13.30 38F/3C. Still sunny. I have fitted a fresh battery in the e-bike and intended to ride somewhere. The SE breeze is not enticing me to go very far. Where have I not been recently? Where will I obtain maximum reward for my suffering out there in the cold wind?  I think I shall ride into town. That will put the wind to one side on both journeys. It will still feel like a headwind but that would happen anyway.

 16.30 Returned from town. A 32km ride. Just as I feared the wind was icy cold. The "skiing" gloves were not warm enough again. I had my glasses fixed. The left lens kept falling out. I failed to find another warm jacket like that I was wearing. I hoped for one without lap pockets. Which hinder pedaling. 

 I found another breakfast bowl in one of three charity shops I visited. To replace the one I broke the other day. Though not the same. Where I also bought an ultra-compact glasses case. [Also recycled] I bought a digital kitchen timer. Now stuck to the new fridge door with its internal magnets.

 There was more of a headwind on the way back. I caught up with and passed a gaggle of ancient cyclists of my own age. They hadn't a clue. Wandering all over the country lane three abreast. Clearly experienced cyclists judging by their bikes, e-bikes and specialized clothing. I put my foot down and had half a kilometer on them before they were lost to sight. 

 The new fridge is still wandering up and down in temperature. Then settles on -18C and +4C.

 Dinner was cheese on toast with cherry tomatoes.

 

  ~o~