Icehouses

[nell67]

I go to an amish store frequently,and noticed that they have an electric freezer (not hooked up) but use large chunks of ice to basically turn it into a refrigerator.

Today,I asked the lady where she gets her ice from,and she told me they have an icehouse,and in the winter,they cut large chunks of ice out of their pond,and store in the icehouse,another Amish family built the icehouse when they owned the property.

Soon as my schedule is free enough for a tour,she is going to show me the icehouse,will try to get pictures,if allowed,but generally,they don't like pictures (depends on the sect of Amish) and my neighbors are very old order.

[laughingbeetle]

wow...I forgot about ice houses. For those of us who live in the snow belts, that is something to look into. The Amish do know what they are doing.

[Pal334]

Nell,, this is a good reminder. Would love to see some pictures (like you say , if they allow). I can read theory all day, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousnand words

[Justin Case]

I honestly don't know whether I envy the Amish or pity them, I respect them , but I like modern conveniences ,

[nell67]

I honestly don't know whether I envy the Amish or pity them, I respect them , but I like modern conveniences ,
Good Lord,do not pity them,they are much more well off then their appearance tells!

[Justin Case]

Good Lord,do not pity them,they are much more well off then their appearance tells!

I just mean , ummmm,, because they do not use modern stuff,, maybe i am using the wrong word, like i said, i respect them, just feel sorry for them because they cut ice out of a frozen lake rather than plugging in the darn freezer :)

[Winnie]

I've been into the Icehouse at Wrest Park near where I used to live. Really interesting structures.
This one was designed with an access tunnel which went into a bank then the Ice cavity was a brick lined well.
I'd be really interested if you could get some pics.

[crashdive123]

Thanks for the post Nell. It brought back some fond memories of summer vacations in Nova Scotia while growing up. There was a big ice house in the village, and quite a few of the businesses (and a couple of the residents) still had ice delivered for their ice boxes. Now I guess we'd call those antiques. Thanks again - it put a smile on my face. Tried to give you some rep, but I gotta spread the love.

[Camp10]

I cant think of any still in use but there is one by a small pond near here. If it is very different from the one Nell takes pictures of, I'll sneak over and take some pictures of it.

[Rick]

We had a pretty lengthy discussion on ice houses last year as I recall. I can't seem to find the thread however. There may have been a couple of them. I know Native Fake had posted about his 3 ft. or was it 4 ft or 5 ft in grounder in one of them.

Pics would be great. The ice house was a cool (pun intended) place when I was a kid. Loved watching them stack the blocks of ice. I always wanted a pair of the ice tongs just to grab the other kids with. Probably why dad never let me have a set.

[Justin Case]

Snippet,

Each year at Howell Farm the program season opens with the annual ice harvesting event. This event recreates a slice of Pleasant Valley life that was an important winter job each year. The ice cut in January or February would typically supply the farmers throughout the year when stored in an efficient ice house such as ours.
CONTINUED @ > http://www.howellfarm.org/calendar/ice_harvest/ice_harvest.htm

http://www.howellfarm.org/calendar/ice_harvest/harvest_overview_jeff.jpg
Visitors help with sawing eight inch ice and moving the ice blocks to the ramp to the icehouse. (Photo by Jeff Kelly)

[crashdive123]

We had a pretty lengthy discussion on ice houses last year as I recall. I can't seem to find the thread however. There may have been a couple of them. I know Native Fake had posted about his 3 ft. or was it 4 ft or 5 ft in grounder in one of them.

Pics would be great. The ice house was a cool (pun intended) place when I was a kid. Loved watching them stack the blocks of ice. I always wanted a pair of the ice thongs just to grab the other kids with. Probably why dad never let me have a set.

Explains a lot.:innocent:

[Rick]

Well..er....what I mean is.....

[welderguy]

Snippet,

CONTINUED @ > http://www.howellfarm.org/calendar/ice_harvest/ice_harvest.htm

http://www.howellfarm.org/calendar/ice_harvest/harvest_overview_jeff.jpg
Visitors help with sawing eight inch ice and moving the ice blocks to the ramp to the icehouse. (Photo by Jeff Kelly)

I feel sorry for the guy on the other end of that saw:online2long:

[crashdive123]

I feel sorry for the guy on the other end of that saw:online2long:

His career on the two man saw did help him obtain work with BP.

[welderguy]

I'm curious, if the ice is from the frozen lakes and ponds, what about the bacterias that were in the water before it was frozen ?

[Rick]

Still there. You can pick them off pretty easy. They are wearing the tiny parkas.

[Justin Case]

I'm curious, if the ice is from the frozen lakes and ponds, what about the bacterias that were in the water before it was frozen ?

Maybe freezing kills everything ? In the old days they used horses to haul the ice of the lake, you know they had to poop on it sometimes :innocent:

[Rick]

Bacteria would go dormant but the cold won't kill it. Can you boil ice?

[welderguy]

Still there. You can pick them off pretty easy. They are wearing the tiny parkas.

That is a great answer, LMAO.

[rwc1969]

It would be interesting to see how they do it nell.

We have ice-cutting demos in the winter here, but they don't use it for anything. JUst cut it and cart it around a while with horses. Then they leave the holes for us ice fishermen to fall thru as were heading out at night to do some crappie fishing.

The fire dept does the same thing except they're practicing ice rescue.

[Siskiyoumom]

Having a source of ice in the event of long term power outages would be a good thing.
Plus, the ice house could double as a fall out shelter in the warmer months.
It seems like the ice being used is not for consumption/drinks, so you would not have to worry about bacteria.

[tipacanoe]

In South Bristol Maine, the town runs a Ice house all year long. In the summer you can stop an buy ice placed in a cooler outside the house for a donation. The fishermen use the ice all year long. I have attached a video link.
http://gonewengland.about.com/library/bl-ice-harvesting.htm

[kyratshooter]

It may sound strange but we had ice houses in the south too.

The last one I saw was still standing in the late 1950s-60s. IUt was a huge barn like building on the outside. Very well made with no doors or windows of course.

That was the outside shell.

Inside was a second building with only a single access to the outside.

The space between the two shells was almost 6 feet and it was filled with saw-dust.

The floor was carefully laid brick, sloped to drain.

The old folks said the ice would keep even through our 100 degree temps of a TN summer. The huge blocks of ice were shipped from "up north" by rail in insulated boxcars.

[nell67]

Tipacanoe,thanks for the video! I still have not gotten in to see the ice house yet,the little store is always busy!

I think she will allow pictures as long as I don't take them of her and her children,but I won't break her trust if she isn't 100% comfortable with it,nor that would get her shunned by the community,as that would devastate her business!

[Alaskan Survivalist]

In places I can dig down to permafrost I go underground otherwise I just take coolers to local glacier and fill them. Ice will keep over a week in a good cooler that is not opened so I keep ice in a cooler to resupply another I keep food in that is opened more frequently. Keeping coolers underground ice lasts even longer. The water is cold enough here to keep things cold so if creek is near I just store food in it. In the winter I can just leave plastic milk bottles outside to freeze and put them in cooler to keep food cold. Some food you leave outside to freeze but be sure to not expose it to sunlght that can thaw the surface on warm days. If you want an ice house it is easier to gather containers you fill with water and let them freeze solid in winter and move them into ice house.