Walk-In Cooler.....With a twist

In the spirt of Deep Six's epic walk-in cooler: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=11440 and https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Walk-in_Cooler I would like to do the same type thing... but I have a problem. I have a side facing garage and due to my lovely HOA I can not have a AC unit in the front of the house and the other side is my living room, I am sure that there would be all kinds of issues with me blowing AC exhaust in there. I really don't want to spend a $1000.00 or so on a wall mount unit like this http://www.acfactoryoutlet.com/home.asp?cat=1&_kk=5a389d19-9ff1-48c3-a3fe-3e0322f3347a&_kt=1723633570&gclid=CKH-3qGCxZQCFQUQswodJRdqBg Do you guys think a floor unit would be able to economically cool a walk in cooler? If so any ideas on which one? Any help would be appreciated.

depending on the size of the walk in they do make portable units for around 400 bucks. you basicly exhaust through a tube like your drier vent. so get a tee for the dryer vent and use it. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...ogId=10053&productId=100591717&N=90401+526378

that one is good enough for 400sq foot.

I don't know about that unit, but all the spot coolers I've ever rented (data centers) were about 40% efficient. i.e. a 5 ton unit provides about 2 tons of cooling.

There is also ductless units, you can hide the outside unit perhaps in the backyard. Like these: http://www.minisplitsystems.com/paceair.html

yes splits are better and more efficient and yes the portables are about half. but if one was to keep it to say 10x10 or smaller that thing should cool it. so i guess it comes down to how big of a walk in are you building?

http://www.houserepairtalk.com

this is HBT's brother site. Ask around there too

Wow, thanks guys! I am probably looking at a 6x8 area. I am off to work, I'll look over the info you guys gave me an write more after work.

The split units look like the way you should go, will need to run some lines to the back side of your house it seems, but that way you can conform with the HOA

I don't want to sidetrack your thread, but I hate hate hate HOAs

conpewter said:

The split units look like the way you should go, will need to run some lines to the back side of your house it seems, but that way you can conform with the HOA

I don't want to sidetrack your thread, but I hate hate hate HOAs

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was checking the prices of the splits and they are going for 900 to over 2 grand. 6x8 is only 48sq foot. even though the portables only allow 40 to 50% efficiency i am still thinking a 10k btu portable unit would work in this room. if all else hang the through wall/window unit and vent to the garage. yes you'll add heat to the garage but shouldn't add that much heat since if designed like the other it may kick on 4 or 8 times a day. build the room go grab a portable put the vent where you think you would add a window unit. fire it up try it out for a week. if it doesnt work then put in a window unit and return the other. wait and try to score a split unit

The one thing that still amazes me about my walk-in cooler is the amount of moisture that is pulled out of the cooler through the A/C. The exterior wall behind the A/C is always wet.

If you went with a portable A/C unit, you would have to figure out a way to drain it automatically.

I don't live in a HOA ruled neighborhood, but if I did, I think I'd just install the A/C real low to the ground and plant something in front of it to hide it from the street.

pen25 said:

was checking the prices of the splits and they are going for 900 to over 2 grand. 6x8 is only 48sq foot. even though the portables only allow 40 to 50% efficiency i am still thinking a 10k btu portable unit would work in this room. if all else hang the through wall/window unit and vent to the garage. yes you'll add heat to the garage but shouldn't add that much heat since if designed like the other it may kick on 4 or 8 times a day. build the room go grab a portable put the vent where you think you would add a window unit. fire it up try it out for a week. if it doesnt work then put in a window unit and return the other. wait and try to score a split unit

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John Beere is right, I would have to find out a way to deal with the moisture, I could probably rig up a drain line and run it under the garage door. As a mater of fact, I could do that for a portable unit as well.

John Beere said:

I don't live in a HOA ruled neighborhood, but if I did, I think I'd just install the A/C real low to the ground and plant something in front of it to hide it from the street.

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Lucky Dude!, I might just start looking for fast growing shrubs....

Before I built these, I was really considering building two smaller versions of the cooler based on two 5k BTU A/C's but didn't feel like dealing with the heat and moisture that would be produced as they would not be vented outside.

John Beere said:

Before I built these, I was really considering building two smaller versions of the cooler based on two 5k BTU A/C's but didn't feel like dealing with the heat and moisture that would be produced as they would not be vented outside.

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I might just go that way, in the long run it will probably be cheaper and more efficient. Maybe a larger chest freezer for my 5 gal batches then a stand up for the 10 gallons....Maybe I could get a chest freezer, collar it like a keezer, get an additional 6 to 12 inches and drop my 10 gallon fermentors in as well. I could add the electronics to the collar...

brauhausjoe said:

John Beere is right, I would have to find out a way to deal with the moisture, I could probably rig up a drain line and run it under the garage door. As a mater of fact, I could do that for a portable unit as well.



Lucky Dude!, I might just start looking for fast growing shrubs....

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some of those ue what they call nonomist. basically it auto evaps the water. you could use a sump pump and evacuate from there. i think the one i linked was a dumpless type.

from the homedepot site

The Amcor NanoMax12000E portable air conditioner is designed to condition an average-sized room up to 400 sq. ft. Our patented Evaporative Booster Technology is coupled with our patented innovative AutoDrain NanoMist Technology which redirects excess water in the drain bucket, up through a small hose mounted within the hot air discharge hose located at the rear of the portable air conditioner. The water is expelled through a fine mist water atomizer, snap mounted within the hot air hose assembly, which prepares the fine water mist to be vaporized by the hot air discharge of the unit. The water vapor is then passed through the hot air hose, and out the window. This simple device has revolutionized the portable air conditioner product category, as it eliminates the aggravating chore of emptying the water drain bucket.

* 12,000 BTU's of cooling power
* Patented AutoDrain NanoMist Technology – eliminates the need to drain or empty the water tank
* Small footprint - weighs only 50 lbs. making this unit easily portable from room to room
* Dehumidifier for moisture removal - up to 60 pints/day
* MFG Brand Name : Amcor
* MFG Model # : NanoMaxA12000E
* MFG Part # : NanoMaxA12000E

Here's an idea. On the celing of your walk in cooler build a box around the AC and cut a hole in your garage celing. Not only would it look similar to how the big boys do it in commercial grade walk in coolers but it would be the same as putting it in a window. You could even engineer it to have a thick insulated panel that drops out from the bottom so you could access the bottom, sides and back of the AC unit. Why reinvent the wheel. Just make your own window but have it leading to the attic.

That assumes that he has attic space above the garage. It very well could be.....or bedrooms. I like the idea though. If you've got good venting in there, it should pose a problem. You'd have to route a drain to get rid of the condensate, but it could work.

Yea, the kids might get a little upset with the AC exhaust blowing in their rooms. If I go this route, I might be able to put a vent next to the garage door. I am also taking a serious look at John Beere's freezer solution above. Maybe using a chest freezer....

brauhausjoe said:

Yea, the kids might get a little upset with the AC exhaust blowing in their rooms. If I go this route, I might be able to put a vent next to the garage door. I am also taking a serious look at John Beere's freezer solution above. Maybe using a chest freezer....

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Here's how you do it.





You will need some fans inside keeping the air circulating.

That is pretty bad arse, reminds me of those boxes at the store that hold bags of ice.

Sweet! Do you have any problems moving your fermenter in and out?

They say no A/C units exposed but what if you install the entire thing inside the garage area in a box and put a louvered vent leading outside? If it's down low, no one could tell what it is.

Thats what I was thinking, I also have about a foot and a half next to the garage door. I could use that as well. EdWort also has a good idea too, I love this place!

If water is not expensive you could use a water cooled condensor split system in the garage and pipe the waste water to a drain. Split ac units are a tremendous improvement over the window shakers as the do not have the moisture flowing through the openings in unit from the warm/humid outside into the colder/dryer area inside the walk in. For those folks with window ac units the best thing you could do was to seal all the areas that would let air& moisture flow from outside into interior of cold box. You normally get to a point where the window ac unit is spending most of its capacity just condensing the moisture from the space and icing up or overheating.

One of those portables can easily cool a Class B RV, I know several people who have them, so there wouldn't be any problem cooling a well-insulated walk-in.

They're great for B's, because you can leave them at home in cool weather.

I am planning one too. You can find mini splits on eBay for under 600 bucks.

KD

what about building a a frame with a cover so that from the street you cannot see the unit at all, but it vents to the sides and up and down? Maybe even a louvered cover if you can make a nice looking one, so it still vents on the front some as well.

You just gave me an idea...what if I make it look like a flower box or planter? Put in some low maintenance / water plants (maybe even fake) and have the exhaust blow into a false bottom with correct ventilation?