lakeshorebrewer
Well-Known Member
I just finished my small walk in cooler. The intent was to be able to control the fermentation temps as needed. I have a smaller home without AC and no basement. Since I have a decent sized entry way, I built a 5 x 3 1/2 x 8 cooler in it. I figured that since the total area is so small, I could use a cheap $99 window unit to cool it down. Sure enough, after 2" of foam boarding around the sides and top, plastic barrier on the outside and a small adjustment to the A/C unit I can get it to 40 pretty quick.
I basically disconnected the temp sensor on the coil so it would run when powered on. Then I used this thermostat initially for the cooling. I think I might get a second one for heating in the winter and hook it up to a light bulb.
This was an easy one to justify since I also wanted to be able to store apples, potatoes and whatever else might make sense. All together I kept the entire project under $500 with all new material. I bet if you had access to seconds on foam boarding and other material it could be done for half or less. I'll post some pic's tomorrow.
I basically disconnected the temp sensor on the coil so it would run when powered on. Then I used this thermostat initially for the cooling. I think I might get a second one for heating in the winter and hook it up to a light bulb.
This was an easy one to justify since I also wanted to be able to store apples, potatoes and whatever else might make sense. All together I kept the entire project under $500 with all new material. I bet if you had access to seconds on foam boarding and other material it could be done for half or less. I'll post some pic's tomorrow.