Building a walk in cooler

[Cape Brewing]

Sorry... and my AC unit doesn't freeze up. I keep my cooler at about 37-38 degrees.

you need to wrap the ever-lovin' crap out of the thing with a heavy vapor barrier and make sure it is as air tight as possible and then I have the compressor hooked into a temp controller and the fan on the unit runs 24/7. If I ever get any frost on the coils inside the walk-in, as soon as the compressor clicks off, the fan defrosts the coils almost instantly. there are easier ways to fix the problem but that's how I did it.

It's been running for about two years now.

 

[Cape Brewing]

MAN... I should read ALL of the posts before I respond.

Yeah... my cousin has beena commercial AC/HVAC guy for about 20 years and told me there was no way it would work too.

Like I said... mine's been at about 38 degrees for two years now. Every time he comes to my house I ask him if he wants to reconsider his theory.


Terrible pic but here it is....

Mine is in a back storage area so I wasn't concerned with making it pretty...

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

I know a guy who uses a 20' one of these: Refrigerated Containers – Refrigerated Storage Containers | azteccontainer.com for an embryo transfer lab, and I thought it would be great for a walk in cooler. Apparently it holds temps like a champ even in deep south texas, and he got his pretty cheap since it was used, there was some rust, and the actual refrigeration unit was removed. Instead he used a 8000btu A/C unit which would only run about once a day even in the summer.

 

[Cape Brewing]

holy crap... I didn't realize this was a 2006 thread... how did this get dug up??

 

[IncubatorJones]

i'm not sure how this thread got resurrected but if anyone is interested, there is a product called 'coolbot' that addresses some of the concerns listed previously. i havent used it but the theory seems sound.

 

[Wirehead]

I have one that is in progress:
http://www.kenheaps.com/house/fridge.php

 

[thehost]

I also built one and has been running for over 2 yrs
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/walk-under-stairs-55974/

 

[Wirehead]

Hey thehost, thanks for posting... I forgot to update with the finished product on mine. It has been running for about 6 months now... I had a problem that everytime I tried to show it off using photos, people just didn't get it, so here it is: (yes, that is me talking... I am a dork, I know. Also, it is slightly different now as I have more shelving in there to hold the bottles that were in boxes).



-Ken

I have one that is in progress:
http://www.kenheaps.com/house/fridge.php

 

[thehost]

Very nice. I take it you used a cooler door? What idid you use for your A/C?

 

[Wirehead]

Very nice. I take it you used a cooler door? What idid you use for your A/C?

I used a door that you would find at a local convenience store, for the reach-in soda fridge... so it is a little short for me but it works and looks great. That's why is is clear with the lights on the sides.

For the cooling, I am using an upright freezer. The freezer uses shelf-coil based cooling, so I have a fan that blows across the shelves and transfers that cool air to the fridge. You can see it in the back ground once I step inside. I am using a Johnson Control to regulate the temperature.... it maintains about 47*F.

 

[thehost]

Cool

Have you ever tried to get it colder?

 

[Wirehead]

Sometimes. I am a computer geek and so have a computer that monitors the temperature in the fridge and monitors the freezer itself as it cycles on and off. When I turned the controller down to 45* the freezer seemed to run non-stop... so I just keep it at 48*. I have some ideas for improving it, but at the moment the beer seems to taste great coming out at 48*.

It appears you are using a window A/C unit, how is that working?

 

[Randar]

I love these threads and this is a zombie thread if there ever was one, even pre-dating John Beere's epic build.

Been thinking of doing this very soon. I want to build a cool/lagering room and will serve on the opposite side of the long wall. Likewise, I also have been considering ducting in an air exchanger to control temps in my fermentation chamber which will be attached to one end of the room. I have the space in the basement and the ok from the wife, I just need to do some more planning/thinking.