Walk in Cooler! homemade
Sept 15, 2018 6:37:34 GMT -5
simplynaturalfarm, Shawn, and 20 more like this
Post by brigitte on Sept 15, 2018 6:37:34 GMT -5
I really wasn't sure this would work.
After researching some means of creating a walk in cooler space without investing thousands in a restaurant style cooler, I settled on the idea of a CoolBot unit.
Here is how it works (disclaimer, I am not related to or have an vested interest in CoolBot beyond building my own) Apparently some farmer out in New York State decided that he could trick his air conditioner into cooling down a small super insulated space to better than the AC's limit of 55 degrees. So he borrowed from the motherboard taken from. a refrigerator and hooked it up with some electrical knowledge to the AC. IT worked a whole lot better than a conventional condenser - things which tend to be expensive to buy operate and not very reliable.
The CoolBot isn't cheap, and when it arrived in the mail it seemed even more overpriced. But hooked up to an AC of proper BTU it does the trick of creating cool air affordably.
There is no right or wrong way to build a space for it- the idea is simply to super insulate (to R-25) a small room or shed. It means finding a door or making one (this is the weak point I found). I searched very hard to find a door and finally did find a used restaurant style cooler door for a good price. The floor was a bit tricky. Cement is not okay- as it is a thermal bridge and wants to dissipate the temperature, so waterproof rigid boards went down over Dri-Core (rubber bottom plywood panels) then some leftover sheets of flooring from the flooring store. An outfit near here tosses out their seconds from rigid insulation production. I did have to call an electrician to add an outlet for the AC but the whole thing might cost $2,000- a good 6 by 9 ft investment for milk, eggs now spilling out of my kitchen refrigerator, and wild game. It took longer than I had it in mind, but I turned it on for the first time yesterday and it worked! (photo taken before front wall was finished)
(after first of two layers of rigid insulation and mineral "wool" insulation- two of the walls are backed by a slightly moist concrete foundation wall)
After researching some means of creating a walk in cooler space without investing thousands in a restaurant style cooler, I settled on the idea of a CoolBot unit.
Here is how it works (disclaimer, I am not related to or have an vested interest in CoolBot beyond building my own) Apparently some farmer out in New York State decided that he could trick his air conditioner into cooling down a small super insulated space to better than the AC's limit of 55 degrees. So he borrowed from the motherboard taken from. a refrigerator and hooked it up with some electrical knowledge to the AC. IT worked a whole lot better than a conventional condenser - things which tend to be expensive to buy operate and not very reliable.
The CoolBot isn't cheap, and when it arrived in the mail it seemed even more overpriced. But hooked up to an AC of proper BTU it does the trick of creating cool air affordably.
There is no right or wrong way to build a space for it- the idea is simply to super insulate (to R-25) a small room or shed. It means finding a door or making one (this is the weak point I found). I searched very hard to find a door and finally did find a used restaurant style cooler door for a good price. The floor was a bit tricky. Cement is not okay- as it is a thermal bridge and wants to dissipate the temperature, so waterproof rigid boards went down over Dri-Core (rubber bottom plywood panels) then some leftover sheets of flooring from the flooring store. An outfit near here tosses out their seconds from rigid insulation production. I did have to call an electrician to add an outlet for the AC but the whole thing might cost $2,000- a good 6 by 9 ft investment for milk, eggs now spilling out of my kitchen refrigerator, and wild game. It took longer than I had it in mind, but I turned it on for the first time yesterday and it worked! (photo taken before front wall was finished)
(after first of two layers of rigid insulation and mineral "wool" insulation- two of the walls are backed by a slightly moist concrete foundation wall)