I foresee a problem in the near future. The top and side vents are for cooling the outside condenser coil. You have blocked them with the foam and plywood. In warmer weather the heat won’t be released, compressor will overheat, room will warm.
Great stuff!!! As a baker working in a grocery store bakery dept. we had walk-in fridges and freezers.The temp in the freezer was minus figures F. and I get an idea of what winter is like where you are.Cant imagine going through a winter like that! In the summer everyone would volunteer to go to the freezer and put stock away. We shared the walk-in freezer with the meat dept.
I'm glad someone showed how to hook it up and make it neat,Iv hooked a lot of these up and fixed a lot that are a mess ,people catch stuff on the wires and cords while moving product
Al, running that CoolBot. Will not be cheap in the summer, that is why I did not mention the device earlier. Still, far less stress in constant checking or loosing a room full of food if the room were to freeze. Overall, this is a very wise move. Padre+
I’m a florist and found that this winter it wanted to freeze up so we put a lamp with out a shade and a 100 watt bulb next to the outer room sensor and it held the room temp just right. Also made sure we sealed up around the unit, works great.
You can use silicon or the metal duct tape (not the cloth duct tape) to finish sealing the bottom of the a/c. With lots of love from sunny 🌞 Arizona 🌵, 90/61 today.
Is the concrete basement wall insulated on the out side? Even if it is you may still want to insulate the inside as the concrete will act as a heat sink
Wonderful planning Al- thank you for always sharing hacks and structure to alternative ways to be self sufficient. Always blessings to you and your family. Cant wait for next weekends videos!!!!
Good day to you Al, Gina & Olivia !! 👍👍😁😁 Thanks for sharing your thoughts, knowledge and experiences on your Modern Steader update with us all today 😁😁👍👍
Menards sells a long grey foam which is perfect for sealing ac gaps, it's in their millwork doors area. It's like a 2"sq about 30" long. I take a utility knife trim both side tear off to make what's needed. Better than caulking, keep up the good work.
everything seems pretty straight forward but I believe you should have mounted the coolbot to the side of the unit rather than under to prevent condensation from dripping on it. Also, what models is it compatible with? I assume any digital brand? may I ask what brand/model you used?
I was wondering if the humidity will stay at the higher level you need for curing the meat? I know here an AC unit pulls a lot of moisture from the air.
Thanks for the video and the information! That appears to solve the issues of temperature and air circulation. I guess the a/c unit has an internal sensor that stops at 60, but the CoolBot overrides the sensor to allow for cooler temperatures that you can control. Have you found a solution that sets humidity to your satisfaction?
It's pretty evident you planned this in detail from the beginning of the cave build. I had always thought that the cave was to be strictly a naturally cooled root cellar. I guess I wasn't in on the plan.
Love it! I don't currently have the space because our basement is partially finished... but if we ever add a garage, I'll try to incorporate something like this into the design.... and a little more shop space :)
Al you may want to check with the coolbot information but typically you are not supposed to route power cable adjacent to control/instrument cables their could be interference, noise from the A/C could impact sensor cable.One other thing is you may want to put an old fashion spring closer on the cooler door if you forget it sometime those critters will be in there.
You should keep checking the outside wall. Just like real cave's. Cement or rock holds temp right around 41. I would think maybe adding some insulation foam board to that wall will not wick in the ground temp inside the room. Just saying as I remember last summer we went to some real cave's in NY and it always stays 41.3 in the cave. Great video.
To fix the gap at the bottom, you could cut another piece of that foam, into the shape of a piece of corner moulding. Then glue it in place, against the other foam. Contact cement will do the job.
I had no clue it was so easy to use one of those. I know in my homestead searches, I have been looking for one with a basement so that I can do a similar project as you in my basement. Thanks for all this good info. Looking forward to seeing snipets from your pig class next week. I don't think I will do pigs but definitely will be doing chickens.
Below your cooling air conditioner in the Cave instead of caulking use aluminum silver tape to seal up all the drafts from outside. Heating and cooling guys use this tape on all there applications an on duct work
I really like this idea. I've wanted a 'root cellar' forever, but no way I can have one here. So this might just work. I haven't seen your 'cave' mentioned since this video. Does it work ok? Can you give me links to videos where you talk more about a actually using this?
That's cool..haha..no pun intended. Thats a great walk in fridge and it seemed pretty straight forward to convert the ac unit. Can I ask whether you will have to put seals on the door as well. I know from watching the root celler build videos that the door closes quite snuggly already, but with cold air trying to escape and warm air trying to enter I was wondering whether you needed proper seals. Great video.
First seen on Urban Farmer Curtis Stone For got about till now. Thanks! I wonder why other Homesteaders were not using this trick for coolers for there chickens, vegs ect.. also was wondering how you were going to keep it cool in your root cellar when it got warm Great job!
Might want to see if the condensor fan has a sling ring on it. If it does then you want to leave the plug in on the back of the unit. Many of the window units are designed to sling the water up onto your condensor coil which causes it to evaporate off the condensor and improves the efficiency of the unit. The fan would have a plastic ring on the outside of the fan blades. Just a thought.
Read through most of comments to see if anyone else saw this. Did not. When putting in the foam you blocked off most of the intake vents for the outside heat removal coil. This will cause the coil not to remove heat efficiently and may overload the compressor to the point of burnout.
I too have been reading down the comments for this. I think Al would be better off leaving out the plywood and second layer of foam. I guess he might need to rig some other support although it didn't seem to be going anywhere without the plywood.
Agreed. It would be better to mount the AC on a sheet of plywood at the interior face of the foundation, and leave air / drainage space all the way around clear to the outside edge. Then add your insulation inside the foundation / plywood. Let those vents breathe (They're the intakes for the condenser coil fan many times)
Doing the technical things l don't understand. But l do understand why you need a freezer for all that farm fresh food. I never knew you could do this to a whole room. Are you going to insulate the room more? In my old house l had a stone root cellar and it was a constant temperature. I was wondering about the price of electric bill. I saw the
Future episodes will include a chair. LOL. I remember the hot summer heat in the bakery I retired from and going in the cooler and sitting on a bucket for a few. 🤣
hi good morning beautiful family may you day be filled with lots and lots of 😍 love peace and happiness , happy Sunday, till the next video 👋 bye. 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕.
I have seen a Cool Bot used to make a walk in cooler for truck gardening. They seem to work great and provide homemade, home built walking coolers at minimal costs. I was going to mention a cool bot to you a while back but I did not feel comfortable mentioning some that high tech. I am now sorry for the oversight. A little duck tape around the edges of the a/c unit will improve you air efficiency. Al, you are a genius. I thank you in advance for the cool bot discount. Blessings, Pafre+
First and best idea on refrigeration. Time to call solar city best battery backup. With smart meters Tesla power wall. 13.4 kwh. About 3 to 4 days emergency backup and add panels that are being replaced with the newest and latest must have first blue bloods. Too bad you had to roof conventionally vs using the new solar shingles with a lifetime warranty. Around same cost as replacing a cement tile roof. Our cost of install on Owen's Corning $350.00 best 50 year roof I've found. They make there shingles and supply many others. You would be a perfect fit for a Lucas mill, field of hemp to do post and beam slip form construction. Get paid to make hardwood building materials. Thank goodness Citi folk only see a problem.
could probably use one of these for that also.. theres also analog ones too..but i dont know if you can get it below the ac units temps (im a hombrewer and am familar with that stuff) www.midwestsupplies.com/johnson-a421-digital-temperature-controller but the cool bot is really spendy man $350 bucks wow man
Chinese panels loose efficiency over 25 American and German panels rock. Solar City sold out may need to get on wait list. Cool it made a very wise marketing choice. I see the first appliance for the outdoor kitchen making room in the ultimate walk out basement. Everything on slabs due to earthquakes sucks for sub anything. I could easily see you doing building classes for remote b&b usage and student housing. Give me a hint and I'll walk for days. Make me hike up a mountain to walk back down empty handed, with Motherinlaw expert at every bird and plant without duct tape..darn near suicidal trying to run in front.
I foresee a problem in the near future. The top and side vents are for cooling the outside condenser coil. You have blocked them with the foam and plywood. In warmer weather the heat won’t be released, compressor will overheat, room will warm.
Great stuff!!! As a baker working in a grocery store bakery dept. we had walk-in fridges and freezers.The temp in the freezer was minus figures F. and I get an idea of what winter is like where you are.Cant imagine going through a winter like that! In the summer everyone would volunteer to go to the freezer and put stock away. We shared the walk-in freezer with the meat dept.
They work really well and it will keep the garden produce cool as well. I'm sure you will love it. Looking forward to the class.
I'm glad someone showed how to hook it up and make it neat,Iv hooked a lot of these up and fixed a lot that are a mess ,people catch stuff on the wires and cords while moving product
i had a cousin in Arizona that use to build walk in coolers using a/c units way back n the 60s.He said the saving even then was substantial
Well now! That's what you were talking about back along. Very creative and super useful!
Al, running that CoolBot. Will not be cheap in the summer, that is why I did not mention the device earlier. Still, far less stress in constant checking or loosing a room full of food if the room were to freeze. Overall, this is a very wise move. Padre+
I’m a florist and found that this winter it wanted to freeze up so we put a lamp with out a shade and a 100 watt bulb next to the outer room sensor and it held the room temp just right. Also made sure we sealed up around the unit, works great.
Cool project. Please follow up with efficiency later this summer.
You can use silicon or the metal duct tape (not the cloth duct tape) to finish sealing the bottom of the a/c. With lots of love from sunny 🌞 Arizona 🌵, 90/61 today.
Is the concrete basement wall insulated on the out side?
Even if it is you may still want to insulate the inside as the concrete will act as a heat sink
Wonderful planning Al- thank you for always sharing hacks and structure to alternative ways to be self sufficient. Always blessings to you and your family. Cant wait for next weekends videos!!!!
Thanks again for sharing your video, I love your films on the farm,I am a retired carpenter who is crippled thank you 👍🇺🇸
You can use a spray in foam insulation, low expansion type, then seal the inside with silicon to moisture proof it!💕
Good God. Now I have to send my husband to the Lumnah HVAC Trade School. 😂 (my other half is a gospel musician)
Al, I didn't have any idea that this was on the market. What a great idea I am going to buy one to cool down our room. Thanks buddy good information.
Good day to you Al, Gina & Olivia !! 👍👍😁😁 Thanks for sharing your thoughts, knowledge and experiences on your Modern Steader update with us all today 😁😁👍👍
Menards sells a long grey foam which is perfect for sealing ac gaps, it's in their millwork doors area. It's like a 2"sq about 30" long. I take a utility knife trim both side tear off to make what's needed. Better than caulking, keep up the good work.
Thank you AL for sharing your video homestead chicken farmer garden 👨👩👧👸👕👓🐩🐈🌱🐔🐓🐥🏡🎥👍👍👍
everything seems pretty straight forward but I believe you should have mounted the coolbot to the side of the unit rather than under to prevent condensation from dripping on it. Also, what models is it compatible with? I assume any digital brand? may I ask what brand/model you used?
I was wondering if the humidity will stay at the higher level you need for curing the meat? I know here an AC unit pulls a lot of moisture from the air.
Another excellent video! If this ain't Modern Homesteading then nothing is!!
That is a great idea. Well done. I'm interested in knowing if it saved money on your energy bill. How did you find out abt the coolbot?
Thanks for the video and the information! That appears to solve the issues of temperature and air circulation. I guess the a/c unit has an internal sensor that stops at 60, but the CoolBot overrides the sensor to allow for cooler temperatures that you can control. Have you found a solution that sets humidity to your satisfaction?
Humidity needs to be quiet high for a root cellar, no? If I recall it needs to be 80-90% depending on the items you are storing.
It's pretty evident you planned this in detail from the beginning of the cave build. I had always thought that the cave was to be strictly a naturally cooled root cellar. I guess I wasn't in on the plan.
Love it! I don't currently have the space because our basement is partially finished... but if we ever add a garage, I'll try to incorporate something like this into the design.... and a little more shop space :)
Thats so awesome Al. Might need something like that in the future. Greetings from Andreas on Off Grid Sweden
Al you may want to check with the coolbot information but typically you are not supposed to route power cable adjacent to control/instrument cables their could be interference, noise from the A/C could impact sensor cable.One other thing is you may want to put an old fashion spring closer on the cooler door if you forget it sometime those critters will be in there.
You should keep checking the outside wall. Just like real cave's. Cement or rock holds temp right around 41. I would think maybe adding some insulation foam board to that wall will not wick in the ground temp inside the room. Just saying as I remember last summer we went to some real cave's in NY and it always stays 41.3 in the cave. Great video.
I was thinking how were you going to keep everything cold in the summer time perfect thank you for the idea
Thank for showing us the best video you are excellent and brilliant. God will be with you forever and ever
To fix the gap at the bottom, you could cut another piece of that foam, into the shape of a piece of corner moulding. Then glue it in place, against the other foam. Contact cement will do the job.
I really like that idea! Thanks!
Great video. We may be adding a coolbot so I will be rewatching again when I do it. Have a great day.
Do you have an update on how it’s working and what all you store in it
Did I miss the install or did you install the plug for the a/c without us? With lots of love from sunny 🌞 Arizona 🌵, 90/61 today.
That’s a great idea!! You are crazy smart!!!! The farm is going to be off the chart awesome!!!🕊🙏☺️🌞
This is so cool...what an idea!
🌻🌻 Happy Sunday 🌻🌻
I had no clue it was so easy to use one of those. I know in my homestead searches, I have been looking for one with a basement so that I can do a similar project as you in my basement. Thanks for all this good info. Looking forward to seeing snipets from your pig class next week. I don't think I will do pigs but definitely will be doing chickens.
Wow such a good idea.
Are you still using the air conditions for cooling the cellar space?
Al, What a good idea. My worry for you is what kind of backup system can you do if the electric goes out?
Below your cooling air conditioner in the Cave instead of caulking use aluminum silver tape to seal up all the drafts from outside. Heating and cooling guys use this tape on all there applications an on duct work
How's it going with the ac? Is it still working and any problems?
Great project !! I'm interested to see how it works long term. Keep us advised. Thanks-Stan
Is there an update on this? I love this idea!
I really like this idea. I've wanted a 'root cellar' forever, but no way I can have one here. So this might just work. I haven't seen your 'cave' mentioned since this video. Does it work ok? Can you give me links to videos where you talk more about a actually using this?
That's really awesome! Thanks for sharing.
That's cool..haha..no pun intended. Thats a great walk in fridge and it seemed pretty straight forward to convert the ac unit. Can I ask whether you will have to put seals on the door as well. I know from watching the root celler build videos that the door closes quite snuggly already, but with cold air trying to escape and warm air trying to enter I was wondering whether you needed proper seals. Great video.
Do you still have this walk in freezer? We are wanting one and wondered how long the coolbot lasts.. like months? years?
First seen on Urban Farmer Curtis Stone For got about till now. Thanks! I wonder why other Homesteaders were not using this trick for coolers for there chickens, vegs ect.. also was wondering how you were going to keep it cool in your root cellar when it got warm Great job!
Looking great Al your walk in fridge! :)
What a neat idea, gives you so much flexibility throughout the year
Might want to see if the condensor fan has a sling ring on it. If it does then you want to leave the plug in on the back of the unit. Many of the window units are designed to sling the water up onto your condensor coil which causes it to evaporate off the condensor and improves the efficiency of the unit. The fan would have a plastic ring on the outside of the fan blades. Just a thought.
My AC unit is not getting to the set temperature what do you think is the issue?
Love watching your earlier videos!
Love the cooler Al. I started making cheese and need a cheese cave, I am thinking this would work. Thank you for sharing. 💕
Read through most of comments to see if anyone else saw this. Did not. When putting in the foam you blocked off most of the intake vents for the outside heat removal coil. This will cause the coil not to remove heat efficiently and may overload the compressor to the point of burnout.
I too have been reading down the comments for this. I think Al would be better off leaving out the plywood and second layer of foam. I guess he might need to rig some other support although it didn't seem to be going anywhere without the plywood.
Might make the AC overheat/go bad sooner.
That's why I just suggested the foam, we used it in hotel maintenance.. it works great.
Agreed. It would be better to mount the AC on a sheet of plywood at the interior face of the foundation, and leave air / drainage space all the way around clear to the outside edge. Then add your insulation inside the foundation / plywood. Let those vents breathe (They're the intakes for the condenser coil fan many times)
That's just totally awesome!!!
Congrats on 25k Subs!!! Another great video. Ty vm
100 k today !
and as I am usually accustomed to, . Lumnah Acres, A, guide to Modern Homesteading, Self-suffentioncy and Freedom
Doing the technical things l don't understand. But l do understand why you need a freezer for all that farm fresh food. I never knew you could do this to a whole room. Are you going to insulate the room more? In my old house l had a stone root cellar and it was a constant temperature. I was wondering about the price of electric bill. I saw the
This is what Curtis Stone used for his walk-in veggie coolers. He used the cooler shells that he got with no compressors.
Do you know how long he could use it for? Wondering if we need something that we could get more years out of for our walk in.
Who would have guessed? To use an air conditioner for a walkin cooler. That is a really good idea.
What is the size of the walk in cooler? I’ve been wanting to build one and I will order it they your channel buddy. Thank you for this video!!!!!!!
How does your cooler work now with all this heat this summer, is it efficient?
It has been working great. It's 38 in there right now
Looks nice.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us have a gr8 day
i see sneaking of to the pantry in the heat of the summer is in your future
I agree!
Future episodes will include a chair. LOL. I remember the hot summer heat in the bakery I retired from and going in the cooler and sitting on a bucket for a few. 🤣
Mr Figaro wanted to inspect the prosciutto...
Quality assurance.
I wonder how well this works in the summer here in the south 🤔🤔
really like this idea
Good share of a nifty idea Al😊
Very “cool.” 🤪 TFS God Bless ~Lisa
How many btus does you need? is 15000 enough?
Use two pc. of foam on the bottom and them caulk around.
Very cool
Thats pretty awesome!
This was some great information thanks.
How did the meat do you were curing?
It is still curing but so far it is doing very well!
WOW 100 K !! Very nice work
ingenius
Spray foam the bottom of AC from outside.
hi good morning beautiful family may you day be filled with lots and lots of 😍 love peace and happiness , happy Sunday, till the next video 👋 bye. 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕.
I have seen a Cool Bot used to make a walk in cooler for truck gardening. They seem to work great and provide homemade, home built walking coolers at minimal costs. I was going to mention a cool bot to you a while back but I did not feel comfortable mentioning some that high tech. I am now sorry for the oversight. A little duck tape around the edges of the a/c unit will improve you air efficiency. Al, you are a genius. I thank you in advance for the cool bot discount. Blessings, Pafre+
How when the AC is set on 60 does it get 40 inside????
good morning sir
Got Chicks chick hatching
So how is it doing on your electric bill?
It made it go up $20 a month
Lumnah Acres Oh no!
Great place to hang meat for a few days after kill before processing
Al, I hope you don't go into shock when you get the electric bill LOL
First and best idea on refrigeration. Time to call solar city best battery backup. With smart meters Tesla power wall. 13.4 kwh. About 3 to 4 days emergency backup and add panels that are being replaced with the newest and latest must have first blue bloods. Too bad you had to roof conventionally vs using the new solar shingles with a lifetime warranty. Around same cost as replacing a cement tile roof. Our cost of install on Owen's Corning $350.00 best 50 year roof I've found. They make there shingles and supply many others. You would be a perfect fit for a Lucas mill, field of hemp to do post and beam slip form construction. Get paid to make hardwood building materials. Thank goodness Citi folk only see a problem.
could probably use one of these for that also.. theres also analog ones too..but i dont know if you can get it below the ac units temps (im a hombrewer and am familar with that stuff) www.midwestsupplies.com/johnson-a421-digital-temperature-controller but the cool bot is really spendy man $350 bucks wow man
I see you haven’t priced a walk in refrigerator
@@Gmanboobies dude I wrote that 2 yrs ago, probably half in the bag lol
I'm so disappointed. I really only want to make a root cellar to store my garden vegtables. I was hoping for the results.
Chinese panels loose efficiency over 25 American and German panels rock. Solar City sold out may need to get on wait list. Cool it made a very wise marketing choice. I see the first appliance for the outdoor kitchen making room in the ultimate walk out basement. Everything on slabs due to earthquakes sucks for sub anything. I could easily see you doing building classes for remote b&b usage and student housing. Give me a hint and I'll walk for days. Make me hike up a mountain to walk back down empty handed, with Motherinlaw expert at every bird and plant without duct tape..darn near suicidal trying to run in front.
It's call aluminum foil. Not tin foil !!!!
Same thing