Rick
Zapman
Just wanted to pass some info around we learned this last couple weeks.
We have had a so so plan for a walk in cooler on the place for awhile now. Very handy for the farm and also we have decided to process our own meat since we grow lots of it. We have always gone to the local guy who butchers/cut/wrap/smoke etc. Last year we spent over $400 for two pigs, just butcher, cut and wrap. So it is an economic thing for us to do our own besides just learning more about real life.
The deal with the walk in is how we cool it. That is often the stumbling block for home made walk ins as one can spend a couple thousand dollars at least on cooling a room to a constant 40F or so. The room came together easily as we had an add-on to the shop with an available 10 x 12 ft space. Poured a slab for the floor. $100 as we mixed our own mud, etc. Then our son Mike scored a trade of an old cooler in 4x8 foot panels. Out of code as it was the old way but neat metal lining and insulated well. So we pieced them into the room and put the old steel giant walk-in door on the front with the big old latch that goes calunk when you close it. Room made and insulated, now what?
We had always heard something about room air conditioners used for cooling way beyond their normal use but were skeptical. So I went to good old trusty Google and found this site. http://www.storeitcold.com/index.php
Mike is an HVAC service tech so we went through all the basics of refrigeration, air conditioners, etc and quickly figured out how this guy was "tricking" air conditioners to cool down to even 30F and he does it without voiding any warranty. The boxes are tricked to stay on well past the normal 60 degree low stop that they are set at. They are also tricked to stop any freezing up of the condenser coil which allows them to keep cooling. Normally the coil will frost and freeze up when you try to cool too much, blocking airflow through the condenser therefore stopping all cooling. Air conditioners will cool ambient air in the room. They will lower the temp of the air 10-15 degrees when they are working. So if the ambient air is 50, they will put out 40 degree or lower air, assuming you can keep the coil from freezing up.
So long story short, we have a 15 year old Carrier 12,500 BTU wall box keeping our room at a steady 38-39F. No freezing of coil. I can run 27/28 degree air out of it when the room is 38 and the compressor is running. All we are doing to get this is tricking the compressor to shut off before the coil starts to freeze, then back on in a few minutes. The warmest air coming out of the window box is 37/38F and will instantly go down to low 30s when the compressor comes on. Mike says we are lucky to have an older box because they ran the older refrigerant which was more efficient but not as clean as the new stuff.
I realize this will be something most could care less about but it is something that helps folks become more self sufficient and that is good. If anyone wants to know exactly how we did it, I'll be glad to share the simplicity.
We have had a so so plan for a walk in cooler on the place for awhile now. Very handy for the farm and also we have decided to process our own meat since we grow lots of it. We have always gone to the local guy who butchers/cut/wrap/smoke etc. Last year we spent over $400 for two pigs, just butcher, cut and wrap. So it is an economic thing for us to do our own besides just learning more about real life.
The deal with the walk in is how we cool it. That is often the stumbling block for home made walk ins as one can spend a couple thousand dollars at least on cooling a room to a constant 40F or so. The room came together easily as we had an add-on to the shop with an available 10 x 12 ft space. Poured a slab for the floor. $100 as we mixed our own mud, etc. Then our son Mike scored a trade of an old cooler in 4x8 foot panels. Out of code as it was the old way but neat metal lining and insulated well. So we pieced them into the room and put the old steel giant walk-in door on the front with the big old latch that goes calunk when you close it. Room made and insulated, now what?
We had always heard something about room air conditioners used for cooling way beyond their normal use but were skeptical. So I went to good old trusty Google and found this site. http://www.storeitcold.com/index.php
Mike is an HVAC service tech so we went through all the basics of refrigeration, air conditioners, etc and quickly figured out how this guy was "tricking" air conditioners to cool down to even 30F and he does it without voiding any warranty. The boxes are tricked to stay on well past the normal 60 degree low stop that they are set at. They are also tricked to stop any freezing up of the condenser coil which allows them to keep cooling. Normally the coil will frost and freeze up when you try to cool too much, blocking airflow through the condenser therefore stopping all cooling. Air conditioners will cool ambient air in the room. They will lower the temp of the air 10-15 degrees when they are working. So if the ambient air is 50, they will put out 40 degree or lower air, assuming you can keep the coil from freezing up.
So long story short, we have a 15 year old Carrier 12,500 BTU wall box keeping our room at a steady 38-39F. No freezing of coil. I can run 27/28 degree air out of it when the room is 38 and the compressor is running. All we are doing to get this is tricking the compressor to shut off before the coil starts to freeze, then back on in a few minutes. The warmest air coming out of the window box is 37/38F and will instantly go down to low 30s when the compressor comes on. Mike says we are lucky to have an older box because they ran the older refrigerant which was more efficient but not as clean as the new stuff.
I realize this will be something most could care less about but it is something that helps folks become more self sufficient and that is good. If anyone wants to know exactly how we did it, I'll be glad to share the simplicity.
