It was my pleasure, John. It was certainly nice to have you in town even for such a short visit. Hope the 50th party goes well.
Chris
DIY Walk In Cooler Build
- Thread starter Irrenarzt
- Start date
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Chris
Calfj60
Well-Known Member
This is an absolutely amazing thread! I have enjoyed reading the whole thread from start to finish. Thank you so much for going to all the trouble to document the build,I know it slows down forward progress.
OP
OP
Chris is a stud everybody. A true gentlemen. Buy him a beer if you come across him and I'll pay you back if you do.
It was raining a bit here so I noticed the humidity shoot up in the cooler. Subsequently, it wasn't getting down to the set point of 37 so I investigated a bit and found some ice building up on the lower part of the AC unit. I went through the manual and changed some settings on the coolbot (heater delay, the cooling factor moved to 2 from 0) and now it's running without ice.
I dropped one of the Eva-Dry units I have in there and all the beads spilled out everywhere, causing a huge mess. I highly recommend taping the door shut where you add new beads so this does not happen. Even though I vacuumed for over an hour, I will be finding these damn beads for the next 5 years I bet. They are sneaky little bastiges those beads.
It was raining a bit here so I noticed the humidity shoot up in the cooler. Subsequently, it wasn't getting down to the set point of 37 so I investigated a bit and found some ice building up on the lower part of the AC unit. I went through the manual and changed some settings on the coolbot (heater delay, the cooling factor moved to 2 from 0) and now it's running without ice.
I dropped one of the Eva-Dry units I have in there and all the beads spilled out everywhere, causing a huge mess. I highly recommend taping the door shut where you add new beads so this does not happen. Even though I vacuumed for over an hour, I will be finding these damn beads for the next 5 years I bet. They are sneaky little bastiges those beads.
JackAssBrewer
Member
Holy thread batman! It only took a day of reading on my work computer, don't bug me I'm busy here! Krazy Kick Arse build! Big time kodos! Gotta love the DIYers
Very nice! Thanks for the follow up pics!
OP
OP
I'm glad people are finding the thread useful. It was a fun project and it has really helped out with bottle storage and with having a centralized location for cold crashing/kegging/serving beer. If I have a leftover pizza box, it fits right in there. I could theoretically buy more food in bulk and store it there fairly easily.
It's nice having everything in one place and my costs are lower than I expected. I've been paying less than 100 per month for my electric bill. Might go up once monsoon season hits and we get some humidity. Dog days of summer are still yet to hit. No more icing since I changed the settings on the coolbot as well.
It's nice having everything in one place and my costs are lower than I expected. I've been paying less than 100 per month for my electric bill. Might go up once monsoon season hits and we get some humidity. Dog days of summer are still yet to hit. No more icing since I changed the settings on the coolbot as well.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
OP
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You guys probably won't believe this, but I was given a 900 bottle capacity wine walk in yesterday by a really nice rich guy who was moving out and needed it gone ASAP. I just checked it out online and the thing is over 5K new with the options he had bought it with (everything but the spilt panels). And that's before shipping. He used it for a 700+ bottle collection for a few years and it's in pretty nice condition.
http://www.vintagecellars.com/walk-ins/vintage-series-wine-room-900/
I think I can manage to fit this in my back bedroom and this will bring my capacity to over 1K bottles between the two units. The downside is this is only good for about 52 degrees F, so you can use it to lager ferment in, cool side fermentation temperature control for ales, and cellar bottles more or less. I doubt I would have ever bought one of these, but for free it's a fun thing to think about. I may just end up selling it as I really want to build a yeast lab in the 3rd bedroom, and this would get in the way of that...
http://www.vintagecellars.com/walk-ins/vintage-series-wine-room-900/
I think I can manage to fit this in my back bedroom and this will bring my capacity to over 1K bottles between the two units. The downside is this is only good for about 52 degrees F, so you can use it to lager ferment in, cool side fermentation temperature control for ales, and cellar bottles more or less. I doubt I would have ever bought one of these, but for free it's a fun thing to think about. I may just end up selling it as I really want to build a yeast lab in the 3rd bedroom, and this would get in the way of that...
Sounds like a great way to bulk condition/age sours.
It would also be fantastic for doing barrel age stuff.
I think you need to start shopping for wood barrels to age stuff in.
Sent from my wooden walkie talkie using Home Brew mobile
It would also be fantastic for doing barrel age stuff.
I think you need to start shopping for wood barrels to age stuff in.
Sent from my wooden walkie talkie using Home Brew mobile
OP
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I have 4 barrels at this time. A 10 gallon rum from Farmhouse Supply that has a wee heavy aging in it, as well as 3 different 5 gallon Balcones ones. In fact, I want to do a BA Abraxas clone, so this is good timing.
OP
OP
Glad to contribute to your "productivity" at work. Good times.
Recently, I've been seeing a lot of humidity both in and out of the cooler, as we have had over 2" of rain since the beginning of July. It is our monsoon season now so this is not unusual. Luckily the last coolbot settings adjustment I made a couple months ago have been working perfectly. No icing at all and she's holding steady at 37 F. My last electric bill was only 80 bucks, even with the AC in my room on full time. It seems like this is pretty normal and my bill was down to the low 60's over the winter.
Everything is working perfectly. I am in a quandary though as I've been brewing mostly with brett lately and all my current beers that need to be packaged except 2 are farmhouse/sours. Traditionally, I've bottled all my farmhouses, and kegged all my clean beers. When I say farmhouse, I almost always brew a mixed fermentation with brett, lacto and sacch. Saisons to me are usually clean beers with only sacch used. But I'm thinking it would be fun to have a couple brett lines that are always dedicated to funky beers. With 5 lines, I don't see this as being a big issue but I wouldn't be able to go back once I committed to this, unless I choose to replace the lines.
I'd like to hear what people have done when they are pouring both mixed and clean fermentations...
Recently, I've been seeing a lot of humidity both in and out of the cooler, as we have had over 2" of rain since the beginning of July. It is our monsoon season now so this is not unusual. Luckily the last coolbot settings adjustment I made a couple months ago have been working perfectly. No icing at all and she's holding steady at 37 F. My last electric bill was only 80 bucks, even with the AC in my room on full time. It seems like this is pretty normal and my bill was down to the low 60's over the winter.
Everything is working perfectly. I am in a quandary though as I've been brewing mostly with brett lately and all my current beers that need to be packaged except 2 are farmhouse/sours. Traditionally, I've bottled all my farmhouses, and kegged all my clean beers. When I say farmhouse, I almost always brew a mixed fermentation with brett, lacto and sacch. Saisons to me are usually clean beers with only sacch used. But I'm thinking it would be fun to have a couple brett lines that are always dedicated to funky beers. With 5 lines, I don't see this as being a big issue but I wouldn't be able to go back once I committed to this, unless I choose to replace the lines.
I'd like to hear what people have done when they are pouring both mixed and clean fermentations...
OP
OP
Since I had no replies on how to deal with sours/brett beers on draft, I decided to reach out to Oldsock, who is the man when it comes to all things sour.
He confirmed that basically you have to dedicate lines just to those beers and I have since done so, running through a keg of a brett saison and a keg of a raspberry wild ale that came out really excellent (think Atrial, but not quite as much raspberry). Both kegs poured perfectly and without issues. I've been busy with a bunch of work stuff but soon I'll be over that project and hopefully I'll have some time to brew a few more batches.
He confirmed that basically you have to dedicate lines just to those beers and I have since done so, running through a keg of a brett saison and a keg of a raspberry wild ale that came out really excellent (think Atrial, but not quite as much raspberry). Both kegs poured perfectly and without issues. I've been busy with a bunch of work stuff but soon I'll be over that project and hopefully I'll have some time to brew a few more batches.
Thank you to this thread for giving me the courage and resources to build my cold room.
It is much smaller scale but perfect for my needs and space. I took an existing interior garage wall and built a 3 X 5 X 7 cold room. It is cooled by an 8000 BTU air conditioner.
I use a Rancor controller and heat cable to maintain the temperature. I've been able to chill to 28 but maintain a temperature between 39 and 45. I could use a tighter range but why.
I owe great thanks to Coolbot website for the instructions to build an inexpensive room. I used the design from the Univ of Kentucky. My total cost of the room was around $1200. A buddy and I did the entire construction. Luckily he knew what he was doing.
I used 3" ABS drain pipe for my tap manifold.
It is much smaller scale but perfect for my needs and space. I took an existing interior garage wall and built a 3 X 5 X 7 cold room. It is cooled by an 8000 BTU air conditioner.
I use a Rancor controller and heat cable to maintain the temperature. I've been able to chill to 28 but maintain a temperature between 39 and 45. I could use a tighter range but why.
I owe great thanks to Coolbot website for the instructions to build an inexpensive room. I used the design from the Univ of Kentucky. My total cost of the room was around $1200. A buddy and I did the entire construction. Luckily he knew what he was doing.
I used 3" ABS drain pipe for my tap manifold.
OP
OP
Well done menisale! I'm happy to see this thread inspired someone else to kick some ass!
OP
OP
It has been a while since I have posted on this thread, but I figured I should post up as I have a couple of safety/function related upgrades I am making. I also wanted to report that the cooler is running perfectly and I haven't had any issues. In short, this thing is pretty incredible. After having it for almost 2 years now, I doubt I would want to go back to a keezer or multiple refrigerators. My electric bill is very reasonable and I think I am actually saving money over having all the chest freezers before. I dread having to move (no plans to do so, but I hope I don't ever have to). If you can afford it, I highly recommend doing this.
So one detail I was worried about was the gas cylinder I use for the draft system was not secured in any way. So recently I machined a plate to mount to my draft frame that I can secure a gas cylinder mount to:
So one detail I was worried about was the gas cylinder I use for the draft system was not secured in any way. So recently I machined a plate to mount to my draft frame that I can secure a gas cylinder mount to:
I have a couple questions about your build, as I am currently in the planning phase of my own.
First are your still happy with the energy usage?
Second, did you have any info on the r-value of the cooler panels that you used? I have a lead on some decently priced used panels, but I haven't been able to find any info yet.
First are your still happy with the energy usage?
Second, did you have any info on the r-value of the cooler panels that you used? I have a lead on some decently priced used panels, but I haven't been able to find any info yet.
OP
OP
I am very happy. I had a 52 dollar electric bill last month. Granted it was cooler than normal as we have had a lot of rain this year. But I don't see it getting over 75 bucks very often, and this includes my whole house, with a window AC unit in my bedroom. I am running a regular fridge, a chest freezer and a fermentation fridge as well (usually set at 66).
Walk in cooler panels have an industry standard R value of 26. I imagine this will degrade over time but that's a good number to start.
Walk in cooler panels have an industry standard R value of 26. I imagine this will degrade over time but that's a good number to start.
What's your rate?
OP
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I just tossed my last bill as I paid it the other day and I shred them as they get paid. I won't know until next month.
Thanks for the update. I'm going to check out the panels on Monday after I get home from vacation. If they're in decent enough shape the only thing left for me is to figure out how I'm going to cool it. A window unit isn't an option since this is an interior room, so I haven't quite figured out what is going to work the best for me yet.
OP
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OK I have a power bill in hand and this month was 93.25 total. It was quite warm this month so this is a higher than average use month.
Looks like I used 662 kWh and the rate is 0.0906 for the first 450 kWh ($40.78), then it jumps to 0.137 for the last 212 kWh ($29.12). There are also fuel cost adjustment fees and taxes which brings up the rest.
Y'all can do your analysis as needed but I don't think this unit is causing me much pain electricity wise. The fan is on all the time, but the AC only kicks in very occasionally. If I sit outside the unit for an hour in the middle of the day, it'll kick in 2 or 3 times.
If I can wrangle the funds to do a PV system, this thing will be essentially free to run in the future. I'm sure my dad's house, which has a pool and a whole house AC unit uses way more juice as his bill used to be over 200 a month. He installed a 16 panel PV system last year and now his bill is only about 15 bucks a month.
Looks like I used 662 kWh and the rate is 0.0906 for the first 450 kWh ($40.78), then it jumps to 0.137 for the last 212 kWh ($29.12). There are also fuel cost adjustment fees and taxes which brings up the rest.
Y'all can do your analysis as needed but I don't think this unit is causing me much pain electricity wise. The fan is on all the time, but the AC only kicks in very occasionally. If I sit outside the unit for an hour in the middle of the day, it'll kick in 2 or 3 times.
If I can wrangle the funds to do a PV system, this thing will be essentially free to run in the future. I'm sure my dad's house, which has a pool and a whole house AC unit uses way more juice as his bill used to be over 200 a month. He installed a 16 panel PV system last year and now his bill is only about 15 bucks a month.
I need some of that PV! Mine was $615 and $556 over the last 2 months.
What's a PV? Some kind of solar I'm assuming.
What's a PV? Some kind of solar I'm assuming.
OP
OP
PV is photovoltaic. Solar panels...
johnsnownw
Well-Known Member
Surprised your HOA would allow solar panels...considering how uptight they were about the cooler.
OP
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They do allow panels but there is a big fight about them right now. A couple years back, the architectural committee was staffed by a large number of solar advocates and they allowed 21 large motorized arrays to be installed throughout the area. Now there is an earth biscuit woman suing them for allowing these to be in play. She's upset as she is claiming they ruin her view of the mountains. At this point, I think they are only allowing 10 degree roof top mounted panels, but that's really all you need.
Bump this back up, I'm building one now but the door is the big issue. What sorts of DIY options are out there? I've seen the insulated exterior doors but are the R factors high enough? Doing 4" walls with spray in insulation sone all and ceilings will have R28. The door is the tricky part.
OP
OP
I'm not sure how much detail I posted but I took a walk in cooler panel, deskinned it (took the metal skins off) and glued the foam to the back of the residential door I used. I then re-skinned it with FRP to keep the foam from getting dented and abused (which it will, as you are routinely hitting the door with kegs etc.). It has held up incredibly well and has not been an issue. I had a guy over with a FLIR gun and he couldn't find any leaks at the door or anywhere else.
Or you can frame it out for a cooler door, which are around 1200 as I recall.
Or you can frame it out for a cooler door, which are around 1200 as I recall.
Thanks, we plan to do the same thing. I must have missed tour initial posting about the door, I thought you picked up something used. We will be using the same setup. We are finishing the garage as well right now so this month we start framing and blowing in insulation. I have a header beam to contend with which is going to make this build pretty interesting.
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