Cool It!... Build an Ice House

(Page 3 of 3)

September/October 1972
By the Mother Earth News editors 
Article Tools
Print
Comments
RSS
Bookmark and Share

Pick a cold, dry, windy day for your ice cutting (to lessen the chances of your chunks melting and sticking together).

RELATED CONTENT

Scrape off the snow and plane any soft, porous ice away from the area of the lake's surface that you plan to harvest. Mark the hard ice you intend to cut into blocks (two feet by two or three feet is a good size) with a series of grooves about three inches deep . . . and have at it.

Make a ramp or runway from the water to your wagon, truck or sled and pull the blocks right out of the water with tongs or a hook. When you've got a load, take it back to the icehouse and start filling the structure.

Put down one layer of ice at a time, pack each block in sawdust and make sure it doesn't touch its neighbors. Hold the outside blocks eight to twelve inches from the walls and—as each tier is finished—fill in and around it with sawdust and cover each layer of ice with four to six inches of the ground wood. Repeat until the ice-sawdust is stacked to within a foot of the ceiling (and finished off, of course, with a layer of sawdust).

As you need ice, all you do is go in and get it . . . letting in as little of the warm outside air as possible and always remembering to leave what's left covered with sawdust. The next winter, when you're ready to refill the house, haul the old sawdust out to the compost heap or the garden and pack the new ice with fresh ground wood.

The above information came, in part, from HOUSEHOLD DISCOVERIES, by Sidney Morse (1914, The Success Co.), THE SEASONS OF AMERICA PAST, by Eric Sloane (Wilfred Funk, Inc., N.Y.) and MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED, October, 1969.

Page: << Previous 1 | 2 | 3 |
Bookmark and Share
RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

Comments

  • Stephen Aberle 5/17/2009 3:49:18 PM

    I have read about using sawdust for ice house insulation. Has anyone built an icehouse or ice chest in your basement using styrofoam? That would interest me much more.

Add Your Comment

Please note that there is currently a problem with the comments function and your comment may or may not post successfully. We are working to correct the problem and thank you for your patience. 

You can use this comment form to enter your personal experiences or additional information and resources that you'd like to share with Mother Earth News readers. Your helpful advice will be posted on this page.  E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to Mother Earth News?
Sign up to share comments.
Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.
Name*
Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*
This will be your login ID.

City State Zip Code

Password*


Confirm Password*

Comments
1500 character limit (Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.
FEATURED ARTICLES
MOST POPULAR


Subscribe Today - Pay Now & Save 66% Off the Cover Price

First Name: *
 Last Name: *
Address: *
 City: *
State/Province: *
 Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:
 Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here

Lighten the Strain on the Earth and Your Budget

Mother Earth News is the guide to living — as one reader stated — “with little money and abundant happiness.” Every issue is an invaluable guide to leading a more sustainable life, covering ideas from fighting rising energy costs and protecting the environment to avoiding unnecessary spending on processed food. You’ll find tips for slashing heating bills; growing fresh, natural produce at home; and more. Mother Earth News helps you cut costs without sacrificing modern luxuries.

At Mother Earth News, we are dedicated to conserving our planet’s natural resources while helping you conserve your financial resources. That’s why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing through our Earth-Friendly automatic renewal savings plan. By paying with a credit card, you save an additional $4.95 and get 6 issues of Mother Earth News for only $10.00 (USA only).

You may also use the Bill Me option and pay $14.95 for 6 issues.