My Latest Project - Walk-in Cooler

[rtockst]

I cannot believe that room only costs about 13 dollars a month to run. In August!!! Very nice! Excellent job John Beere.

I had a strange thought at the beginning of this thread.... but I don't know if it would work. I'm sure many of you know what a Dewar flask is. How about the idea that you can make a walk in cooler using this idea?

I'm not sure if it would be as cheap to build though. I would think you would need steel that's welded very well to get a strong enough chamber to withstand the vacuum. Yea, it sound's crazy... but does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[PhlyanPan]

I just wanted to throw in a small clarification in case anybody else is doing this project. I saw a few people mention vapor barriers and Tyvek along the way. I would caution anyone against doing this.

That's not to say you don't need a vapor barrier...you do. But Tyvek is a moisture barrier, not a vapor barrier. Many people use the terms interchangeably but there is a difference. Tyvek will prevent rain from striking your house and soaking into the wood, but it will not prevent moist air from passing through it and condensing on the other side. Even if it were a true vapor barrier, most people install it with staples...and lots of them. So what happens when you take something that's air tight and punch a thousand little holes in it? No more air tightness.

I just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone else is doing a similar project.

 

[mikemzman]

First off, Great Job! Awesome project ;-)

I just registered to post my congratz as well as offer up another use for your cooler since you mentioned it earlier on....air aging beef ;-) 35 - 37 degrees is perfect for turning an ordinary Georgia hunk of prime rib into something you would swear came from the mid-West.

Simply wrap the roast (has to be a roast, as steaks will dry out) in a towel, place on a wire rack, and change the towel daily. After 7 days or so, it should be good to go. Cut into steaks and enjoy ;-) Don't sweat the expiration date, as that is for 'wet aging' (in the package). Google it and enjoy!

Mike

 

[John Beere]

First off, Great Job! Awesome project ;-)

I just registered to post my congratz as well as offer up another use for your cooler since you mentioned it earlier on....air aging beef ;-) 35 - 37 degrees is perfect for turning an ordinary Georgia hunk of prime rib into something you would swear came from the mid-West.

Simply wrap the roast (has to be a roast, as steaks will dry out) in a towel, place on a wire rack, and change the towel daily. After 7 days or so, it should be good to go. Cut into steaks and enjoy ;-) Don't sweat the expiration date, as that is for 'wet aging' (in the package). Google it and enjoy!

Mike

Hmm... now that sounds like a good idea! The A/C pulls SO much moisture out of the room though - would that be bad on the meat? or is that the point? Silly question, I'm sure...

 

[explosivebeer]

I really like that idea as well. I'm definitely going to have to research it more when I have a little free time. Thanks for sharing mikemzman.

 

[JonGoku]

Thanks for sharing the project. I'm glad I found it way after it was done, as it would have been painfull waiting for the daily/weekly/monthly updates.

Cheers!

 

[xxdcmast]

Yep just spent about 30 minutes of my morning at work reading this. Great looking project. Its amazing how awesome it came out.

 

[John Beere]

R.I.P. 04/03/09

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f19/welp-im-out-business-112710/

 

[Buford]

Your cooler may be gone due to the flood, but this thread and the inspiration lives on. Just wish I had space to do that sort of thing myself.

 

[Jester369]

Wow - that flooding SUCKS! Best of luck with recovering, and very glad to hear you had flood insurance.

 

[G_Brew]

AH MAN! that really sucks! i've been following this thread for a while, LOVED the walk-in cooler.. hopefuly you'l be able to recover.... for the sake of the BEER!

 

[johnlvs2run]

I did not sign up for any linkback notifications, but keep getting linkback notifications to my email from this thread.

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[womencantsail]

I did not sign up for any linkback notifications, but keep getting linkback notifications to my email from this thread.

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Go into your UserCP and choose to unsubscribe from the thread. Also click on "Edit Options" and change your subscription options.

 

[johnlvs2run]

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[TimWeber]

I know it's been a long time since you did this, but I am in the process of doing something similar. I just rewired my AC unit and now want to put fans on the coils as you did. I am a mechanical engineer, and do not know much about electronics. I wonder if you remember how you supplied power to the DC fans? Did you hook them up to a power supply, wire in a transformer, or somehow pull power from the AC unit.

Thanks, any help is appreciated!

 

[TimWeber]

Nevermind... Figured it out. You just pick up an AC-DC converter at Radioshack with the voltage, and amperage you need. Mine is working great now. I was able to chill my chamber to 38F last night no problems. The fans held off the ice, and when the compressor turned off the ice was melted within 20 seconds.

THANKS JOHN! Your thread has helped me immensely!

 

[John Beere]

Sorry I didn't reply.. they blocked HBT at my work and I forgot to reply when I got home last night. Glad you got it working.. I miss mine. :-(

 

[TimWeber]

No worries. I just bugged the crap out of my ELEG friend, and then had a head slapping moment when I realized how to do it.

Aww man I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll get your brewshed up and running soon and be back in business.

 

[c49ermoose]

This is a great project - thanks for posting such detailed information that's easy to follow.

I would like to do the same to a space in my basement - with one problem. The space I want to use is not exposed to any exterior walls, so how would I adequately vent a window A/C unit? I can install ducting and supplement fans if needed, but the space that I envision having the A/C open up to (on the external side of the cooler) is not exactly a big space.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Moose

::Edit::

BTW ... My thought for doing this is to hook up an air duct to the hot air discharge on the back - set an exhaust fan inline with that ductwork and connect it to the Ranco to kick in whenever the A/C is on ... not sure if anyone has any experience in this area.

 

[TimWeber]

I have a 4x3x3 chamber I build with the AC unit mounted to it, it does not vent to the outside. I've been using it in the basement for about 4 months now. It's holding at 36F no issues. It doesn't produce enough heat to warm up the basement.

I'll try and post some pictures this weekend.

 

[c49ermoose]

I have a 4x3x3 chamber I build with the AC unit mounted to it, it does not vent to the outside. I've been using it in the basement for about 4 months now. It's holding at 36F no issues. It doesn't produce enough heat to warm up the basement.

I'll try and post some pictures this weekend.

How large is the space that the A/C exhaust is blowing into?

Thanks for the response!

 

[John Beere]

Hey, sorry.. have been away. My only thought is the amount of moisture that is pulled out of the cooler.. from experience, its gonna draw out a lot of moisture. You will need to think about how to collect it from the back of the A/C unit.

 

[TheBeerNerd]

I would love to do this project! It will be a long time in the future though...

I had the idea of doing a 60° room off the side of the 35° room... using this between the two to cool the 60° room in the summer.... thoughts, suggestions?

 

[ajwillys]

I had the idea of doing a 60° room off the side of the 35° room... using this between the two to cool the 60° room in the summer.... thoughts, suggestions?

My parents have one of those exact same things in their sun room. I suggested it for them and it works great. The fan motor and door motor can be controlled separately also so you can have a variable speed fan.

We are actually planning on doing the exact same thing as you. We have a 12'x12' walk-in that we are going to split into a ferm room and a cold room for storage. I was thinking the same fan would work well for sending air into the ferm room for cooling on demand with a temperature controller.

 

[Wirehead]

I am building one of these right now:
http://www.kenheaps.com/house/fridge.php

 

[Beermaker]

Hey John Beere...any update as to how the window unit is doing after running in the 30's for the last few years?

 

[John Beere]

Hey John Beere...any update as to how the window unit is doing after running in the 30's for the last few years?

Sorry, missed your post. It is currently in storage over at my parents house, but I know it is still running just fine. Remember that it stayed underwater during the flood for 5 days..

 

[malnutriton]

John,

First, SWEET Build! Second I realize that you rewired the AC unit a couple of years ago but I was wondering if you still had the schematic of how you did it. I found a Frigidaire almost like yours on CL for $50 and jumped on it. I looked at this picture and could not totally make out what you did to it

Mine looks to have a similiar wiring set up with the exception of a Yellow and a Brown wire.

Any help you would be able to provide would be great.

 

[John Beere]

Hmm.. I remember simplifying the wiring some when I did this.. could you trace those wires and see where they lead? perhaps they power the fan seperately?

 

[malnutriton]

Thats what I thought but I didnt know if yours had the overload protector (thats where the brown wire is coming from).

Did your Diagram look like this?