@@samscoalfiredpizza8152 The Inkbird controllers work at below freezing temperatures. However, I can't speak to how well a window air conditioner would work to create freezing temperatures for you.
So I did exactly as you said I have a 4x12 walk in cooler insulated to r30 and it will not get down below 44*f and it's a 15000btu whirlpool unit any suggestions on what to do?
This video was by far the best one I found for the AC set up. Mine is working great in the first 24 hrs with only a single Inkbird unit. I just had to adjust the location of the temperature prob vertically at the bottom of my AC’s fins and adjust the temperature a few times to dial everything in. It’s holding a steady 41 degree temp without freezing up. I’ll probably take it down one or two more degrees in the coming week. And I’m using a really old, dirty 5,000 BTU window AC. Update - one week in and absolutely love this system. The single Inkbird has worked great with the probe positioned vertically against the fins, centered and about 1/2' up from the bottom. I used a short piece of electric fence wire in a u shape inserted into the fins to hold it in place. So glad I came across this video while researching cooling options.
Nice. I think you could accomplish almost the same level of control with one Inkbird. I am running ours right now with just the one probe in the fins and it's doing alright. One difference is that the air conditioner turns on a bit later, because the fins warm up a little more slowly than the air in the cooler. The air conditioner also seems to be cycling on and off more frequently because as soon as the fin temperature drops substantially to cool the air, the Inkbird cuts power to the lightbulb and turns of the air conditioner. I imagine this would be more of a problem in the hottest part of the year when the air conditioner needs to be running more often. This would mean that the fins would usually be at a lower temperature than the room air so the ideal temperature setting on the Inkbird might not be the room temperature you are shooting for. Setting the Inkbird might require some experimentation and adjustments throughout the season depending on your climate. Have fun fine tuning your setup. If you can't dial it in, you always know that you can add another Inkbird for the best precision.
This is by far the best hack guide thanks! Currently installing my 25000 btu LG in my flower cooler after my old industrial compressor kicked the bucket. Didn't want to spend 8K+ (Canadian) so your guide was a lifesaver thanks!
Awesome video! This is the first video that clearly describes how the 2 functions are accomplished to cool the room below the minimum thermostat setting and to provide a defrost cycle to prevent ice build up on the cooling fins. 👍
I am very pleased watching you video, it's been long since I had the conviction that a home A/C can be turned into a cooling unit for veggies. Thanks for this video.
Perfect. I once converted a chest freezer to a kegerator using a temp controller like this. I've been looking for an alternative to the Coolbot, knowing of these things, but not understanding how the Coolbot fully worked! Easy setup, can't wait to build our walk in for next season!
I priced out all the items needed for this homemade version of a cool bot. I used Amazon and I live in Arkansas. The total price with tax is $109.98. Just saying it saves so much money. I am going to use this method to make a walk-in cooler for my flowers. I cannot afford a cool bot.
Ok, I'm sold. I need a walk-in for my just-licensed winery, and I think this will do the trick. Building out a 6'x10' space inside the winery to meet regulations. This will hopefully help me battle super high August temps in West Tennessee so that I can begin fermenting our white grapes at the appropriate temperature. Thank you for such an excellent and thorough explanation! I'm on to Amazon to make my order, then to the lumber store to purchase my lumber and insulation panels.
You're welcome. Have fun with your build! Since you're just about to buy materials as well, remember that investments in insulation will pay you pack in the long run. This will be especially important in Tennessee summers. Let me know how it goes.
@@VegetableAcademy will do. Planning on regular batt insulation in the wall, as that's what is in the other 3 walls I'll be incorporating, then foam boards on top of that for a total R-value of around R-25 to start, then go from there. Fingers crossed 🤞!
@@VegetableAcademy one final question--the window that I have to place the a/c unit in has a max opening of 16" in height, which will only accommodate a 12,000 BTU unit. Will this be sufficient to cool without failure?
@@StillwatersFarm Use this CoolBot sizing calculator to answer that question. staging1.storeitcold.com/build-it/ac-calculator/. You can enter the dimensions of your cooler space there to get a recommended AC size. I believe the walls are assumed to be R20 for this calculator.
Great video. I use this system to cool our cooler at Burning Man. Our theme camp gifts about 5000 lbs of organic fruits and vegetables during the burn, We have a retired semi refer trailer. we use to store our camp infrastructure. We walled off a 10' x 12' area in the front of the trailer, With a stand up room ac we can keep the temps below 40f easily. We went with a single hose stand up ac because it does not draw in air from the outside as it is very dusty on playa.
We already bought a coolbot for my ice hash cooler (legal in CA). Come to find out we need another A/C unit to reach the temps we would like. I bought all the parts and will be using this instead of buying another coolbot! Thanks for saving me 320$! Ill update this post with the results and my findings once its set up next monday.
@@snakeprairie It went great! We are now able to get down to 35 degrees inside the trailer without the unit icing up! running 1 month no issues at all now :)! Definitely recommend over a coolbot!
The basic coolbot is now $534cdn and the bits and pieces for your system are approx $125. So over $400 savings. No brainer, thanks for the very clear instructions.
Kallstrom Sweet corn in Ephrata Wa. uses a Colbolt 0n 10 bins of corn ,and temp can go down to 41 degrees in a 20 ft insulated cargo container and we love it .
Extremely helpful video. Very informative. Thank you! I plan to build a walk in cooler for hanging meat so I can process my own venison. It's always too warm where I am to hang them, so I end up paying alot of processing costs. This way I can do it myself without a time crunch! Thanks again. Now to draw up some plans on building my cooler 😎
Best video on this, BY FAR! I just got my 6x8x10 cooler built and every video I had come across, up to this point, just seemed to make things so much more confusing. Your video explains everything (except for which plugs (heating/cooling) you use on the inkbirds for which purpose....but I found the answer under the comments) very well. Thank you! I just have gotten my inkbirds delivered and going to run electric to the cooler this weekend, so hopefully, I'll have everything up and running next week! Thanks, again!
Thank you so much for this video and detailed information. I converted a closet into a walk in cooler for my dahlia tubers. I purchased the humidity controller as well so I can run a humidifier.
First off I want to thank you for the video. Here's what I came up with using your step by step instructions. My cooler 7Hx8Lx7W with 5" thick cooler panels. Built inside a 30' shipping container with a roof. I'm located in South Georgia. Go Georgia Southern Eagles! 1. I purchased a 10000 BTU Toshiba A/C and the exact materials listed in your video. Ok, I built this cooler to hold deer meat prior to processing. I want to keep the temperature between 36 & 38 dergrees. Here's my issue. I've only been able to keep the temperature between 40 & 45 degrees consistant for several days. My units keeps freezing up. I've set my controllers to 36, 37 & 38 degrees for room temp. and 29 - 34 degrees for fin temp. The lowest temp i've got in a 96 hour test run was 39 degrees and that was on Friday morning when the outside temp was 47 degrees. Now, I know that the outside temp. plays a roll. However, I have a co-worked that has the same setup I do and he has used a the same Coolbot for 11 years straight with no issues while maintaining a 36-38 degree temp. So, here's my assessmetnt. I think your method will work fine with the inkbirds for folks in the south who just want to keep veggies cool. From my experience, It's just to warm in the South for a meat cooler at the beginning of deer season. May work great when the temperatures in the south get cooler, say late November. So, I just wanted to let folks know about my experience in the deep south. Thanks
This whole project took me about 20 minutes to complete. I can confirm that it works as intended. You don't need to be an HVAC tech or all that handy really as long as you have the right items. The 4W bulbs highest temperature was around 99 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. One thing to keep in mind is the length of the temperature sensor on the air conditioner. The one on my AC barely has any wiggle room. I am going to have to set the bulb piece very close to the AC. With that in mind it was still reading 99 to 100. Thank you so much.
As an hvac tech, I applaud you. If you are willing to learn a bit about the AC then you can get rid of the light bulb. If you run constant power to the compressor circuit but break it with the first temp controller, it will pass power to the compressor when temp rises. Leave the fan on all the time. Use the second temp controller as is to reduce freezing if needed.
I like that idea but lack the know-how. Could you please share an example of the type of resistor you would choose and describe how you would hook it up to be activated by one of these Inkbird controllers?
@@VegetableAcademy probably the easiest way would be to use a small DC power supply. You probably want it to be 10W or more for reliablility. I bet you could get by with a 2 watt resistor that you operate at 1 watt. power = v^2/R or R= V^2/P 5V*5V/1W = 25 ohms. 1 watt might not be enough, so might need to have a 10 or 15 ohm available too. also this would be nice because it would be low voltage.
what a tragedy - my family's farm already threw down on a $$$ coolbot before I could intervene. I just don't see how coolbot can justify their price for something you STILL have to DIY hook up to an A/C unit. Thanks for the helpful video explanation.
This was a great video there eh! I will be building one of these for my homestead want to hang harvested meat to store before butchering, thanks for sharing you explained it very well...
At 7:04 he mentions the cooling controller is set to 4° C. At 8:21, the pre-icing sensor is set to 1.5° C, just above the temperature where ice will potentially form.
I just used an industrial thermostat and tired into the compressor relay. I just ran the fan on high and used the thermostat. Never had any ice issues and had the thermostat set between 28 to 38 degrees. and averaged about 35 degrees. When I used it as a drying chamber I set the fan speed to low and set the thermostat to 50. I used a 12k btu LG window unit.
That was an excellent video I've been thinking about doing this by installing a rheostat and maybe resistors but I think I like this light modification better
good build i think you might be confused on cleaning the coils. the indoor coil (evaporator) yes you could clean with a brush. the air is drawn from the outside in through the coil in the duct then back out the top. all the dirt is on the outside of the evaporator. the outdoor coil (condenser coil) you wont be able to clean so easily. the air is drawn from the sides of the case and pushed through the coil inside out. all the dirt is on the inside of the case on the condenser. youll have to A. Take it apart to clean or B hose from the outside in with water.
Your setup worked great for my 8x8 cool room, My 15k AC maintains 2-4 Dec C even in eco mode. The only issue I have it with the Inkbird WiFi. The final layer of foam board I used has a tin foil coating which is blocking the signal.
Thanks for the great video. I am about to set my cooler up with this method. I was hoping to keep my inkbirds on the outside as my cooler is inside a large shop. The problem is the cord from the inkbird is too short for the light bulb plug in the go through the 6inch wall. Do you know if you could use a short extension for this? Hope this makes sense!
Do you happen to know whether a 2000 watt generator will run/start up a 10,000 btu air conditioner? I plan to build my cool room where there is no electricity. thanks so much!
The air conditioner will have a continuous draw of nearly 2000 watts with a surge/start up draw of much higher. The continuous draw will suck a bunch of fuel and be hard on both machines and the start up surge will be likely to trip the overload on the generator constantly, causing the cooler to malfunction when you’re not around. The 2000 watt will probably run it in an emergency but for continuous use I would get a larger generator. I hope this helps🙂
@@LivingGoodAlaska Thanks so much! Very good answer, well explained! I may have to rethink this project. (Though I’ve purchased all the stuff….the incremental cost is getting quite a bit higher for something I may use for only a couple days, or not need it at all. Thanks again!
Great video! One thing though, but in my country it's much cheaper to buy one arduino and two temperature sensors than an inkbird, could this be the case for the US also?
It may very well be cheaper to program an arduino to perform the same task with two temperature sensors. I don't have any arduino experience, but it still sounds like a fun project despite that. If you've got the skills to make that happen go for it, and please share how you made it work. The solution described here is a simple system anyone can assemble with off the shelf parts and no programming skills.
That depends on the specific settings of your AC unit. On our current model, I can select a setting that will run the fan constantly to circulate the air even when no cooling is happening, or I can select an energy saving mode that shuts the fan off completely once the cooling cycle is done. I use the latter to conserve energy.
Thanks very much I'm building at walk-in cooler as we speak what are the settings for the temperature readers you said in the classes you have classes thanks
Great tutorial. problem though. started it up this year and it seems the ac doesnt shut off now. im using same setings as last year. what could be the issue? i swear tge ac shut off last year now it just continually runs. when the light goes off shoukd the ac shut off??
One of the settings is likely different from last year then. Our AC has an econo mode that shuts down everything when no cooling is called for, (ie. when the light turns off) but there are a few other modes that keep the fan running at all times with different fan speeds even when the compressor is not running. This is great for air circulation in the cooler and CoolBot recommends that the fan be left on, but it can use a lot more energy. I'd take a closer look at the manual for your AC to make sure I understood the settings correctly and maybe read through the CoolBot troubleshooting pages in their installation manual as well.
@@VegetableAcademy thank you. you were right. i couldve sworn i only hsd the ac on cool and fan high last year. but i was wrong. when i put tge eco light on sure enough the ac shut off about 5 mins later. thank you. i know you prob arent an ac guy but our ac is only a year old and this year it most def runs alot louder. you know of a reasoning for this?
I installed a resistor parallel to the AC room temperature probe. Costs less than $1. It makes the AC think its warmer than it is. This also allows the AC to make use of its inverter technology, saving power and giving a very stable temperature - somehting the Coolbot doesn't do either. I only need to go to 10°C, so freezing up the fins isn't an issue, I just need to keep the fam running at max.
I built a cooler like this based on this video. I now slaughter my own angus beef and age it in the cooler. One thing I found was that the amount of moisture coming off 4 beef quarters for the first 6 hours or so quickly frosts up the coils and condenser. I had to use a hair dryer about every half hour to defrost the first one. The 2nd one I left the cooler door open about a foot and put a big fan on high just inside the door to blow the moisture out of the cooler for about 2 hours, then left the fan on after closing the door. I put a dehumidifier in for the first 24 hours also. It only frosted up twice this way.
Not all AC units work with coolbot or ink bird controllers I tried a manual AC unit did not work I bought a digital one it works great this video is awesome just thought I would add that
Excellent. So I'm just attempting to get my window ac to stay on lower than 62f. Maybe 50f or so. If I understand correctly I can simply do the first part with the light bulb and the temperature controller?
I don't think I understand exactly what you're proposing, but if you can figure out how to accomplish all of the same control functions with one Inkbird, go for it. I just don't yet see how that would be possible.
Really great video though. only 3 issues i see with this set up as well as the coolbot. 1) im not sure what time of the year this box is being used, but there is no head pressure control for the colder months. you may or may not find you need this. 2) i see a potential for short cycling if for some reason youre bouncing around 1.5 c which could kill your compressor. 3) newer ac units use flammable refrigerants, such as R32. by doing all of these modifications youre changing the UE listing and assuming liability in the event there's a leak in refrigerant and it ignites. but again i really do like how you considered defrost. smarter guy than most.
I've got a bunch of questions 1. How big is that room? 2. what Kind of AC do you use? or am I overthinking and is any kind of AC enough? 3. How much per month does that cost in electricity?
1. It's 5 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 6.5 feet high 2. We have an 8000 BTU window air conditioner. Don't just use any AC. Use CollBot's AC guide to help you find a unit that is compatible with this method of control. 3. I don't know exactly. I have done some heat loss calculations that showed the cooling cost for a room this size would be a little under $100 per year if the cooler temperature was always 4ºC and the temperature outside the walls was always 20ºC and the walls, ceiling, and floor were all insulated to R20. So there is a rough ballpark answer for you. I would like to put a meter on the AC circuit and track the power usage each month, but that's a project that hasn't been my top priority. This summer we switched to using an air source heat pump as the main cooling device. This is fantastic because all the energy removed from the cooler now goes into our hot water tank so any money spent on cooling just heats our water.
On the round LED bulbs, the round part is just a plastic diffuser, you can cut it off or drill a hole it in a stick the probe in. However, there are also tiny 4 and 6 watt reptile aquarium heaters that will plug straight into the thermostat.
Super cool The more time and money that you spend on making the room, absolutely airtight, including electrical outlets, and if there’s any piping from electrical outlets that the opening inside, the pipe is sealed with some sort of putty to stop airflow and extremely airtight sealed gaskets around the door . Double the doors, and even insulate the doors.. Better insulation on the floors and the walls and the ceiling The less money you will spend on electricity And the smaller the air-conditioning unit can be . Consuming less electricity
Great Video !!! Have you considered an ac fin comb to straightened the bent fins on the evaporator coil and condenser coil (if needed) for better air flow through the ac unit and better cooling efficiency?
Hello, First of all I want to let you know, I appreciate all your videos. I have the exact set up as you but the incbird that is connected to the bulb doesn't come on when I plug everything in. Do you have a drawing or diagram showing the same setup that you have in the video by chance, thanks.
Great video, thank you. I ordered the bulb that you linked and it says 50w. I hooked the sender to it and it instantly melted. I'm going to find a less wattage bulb and try again but I hope the brand new ac unit isn't garbage because the sensor is melted. Your bulb says 50w and 4w, why is that?
I love this video. Question: If I have a very small closed off room in my basement (I live in Maryland, US), and only need to reduce the temperature a few degrees (from 65F to 55-60F), what would you recommend to achieve this?
Even though the LED is very low wattage I'd be inclined to find an alternative, similar to what Coolbot uses, a resistor of some kind. Perhaps even a traditional filament bulb. Heat is an enemy to semi conductor which is what a LED is. Covering it in any way will tend to shorten it's life & in the case of a larger bulb become a fire hazard. Seems to work for you though, so what do I know haha. Another thing with LED bulbs, most are fitted with a heatsink base. That might be a better place to tack the sensor rather than blocking the light itself by taping it over.
+1 to this, having worked in LED lighting mfg. LEDs dislike heat and LED lights are generally designed to run as coolly as possible. Still an excellent video, and I love the simplicity of this setup.
@@VegetableAcademy your ideas and videos are genius, Jared. I wonder would metal mesh gauze help substitute the tape? It would hold the sensor in place on the bulb stronger than aluminium foil would without blocking out the light?
@@homebuddha I use foil tape for this purpose. It looks like aluminum foil, but it's actually sticks in place quite well. The metal mesh gauze you are thinking of might serve the same purpose.
@OP Remember we're talking about a refrigerator here, not massively high temps. Just needs to be hot enough to trigger the compressor to run. The passive cooling from being in a fridge should be more than enough to compensate for any "overheating" of the diode, if any. Hell, my pocket LED flashlight is so bright that the light itself can burn your skin or clothes if you put it right in front for just a few seconds. If you leave it on long enough on turbo, (a few minutes) the body of the light (which acts as a heat sink) will get hot enough to burn you if you hold the tip too long. It has active temperature regulation though, which drops the output of the LED precisely to protect it from too much heat. Still, it sustains high output for long periods of time, takes the high temps and the LED doesn't fail. That's a class leading, ultra high output LED chip on a tactical flashlight though, not a regular, low power bulb like the one he's using so I'm sure it'll be just fine and nowhere near a fire hazard.
Great! There's a much more in-depth lesson on building a cold storage space on the Seed to Table Supplements page here: www.vegetableacademy.com/supplements. You'll likely also find that useful if you haven't found it already.
You can buy the modules themselves without the case and cords coming in, dual stage or single stage. You gotta provide the wires as such. Can get them in 110 -220 as well as in 12v that controls a relay for 110-220v. And depending on where you go you can get them dirt cheap. Run them to outlets and flush mount them, even outside the room so you don't have to enter the room to adjust things. You could also run an Arduino with a program and a couple relay boards, and set it precisely to do certain things. Turn on light when over x temp. Turn off the light when a different probe hits x temp, and even do a third or fourth to measure different parts of the room or fins. But I'd prefer to get in and pull out the electronics and wire it up to a PID or Arduino with pid, and a couple of proves to measure room temp, as well as make sure the fins aren't icing up. Arduino and the modules are dirt cheap to buy, even dirtier cheap to build. Cut out the entire light system, and just turn on and off the compressor based on temps you see. Many options here and the more techy you are, the cheaper it can be.
You can accomplish this with an arduino style controller, $5-30, depending on which one you get. 2 thermisters, $2 each. And a 120v 30A? relay, $15. Then some programming. So we are looking $25-30? You can also set the arduino up to do other stuff, control humidity, lights, and send alerts when the temp is out of range.
I'm assuming, after a power outage you would have to go and manually turn the AC back on given that it's a digital control panel and would probably default to off after a power outage
Yep. The air conditioner and method of control I describe here still works just fine, but I didn't like that the air conditioner was mounted indoors and was pumping excess heat into our basement during the hottest part of the summer. When I first built this cooler, our basement had bare concrete walls so this extra heat easily wicked through the walls, but after insulating the basement really well, that heat had more trouble escaping in the summer. We now use an air to water heat pump to pull the heat out of our cold room and use that energy to heat our home's hot water tank. You can see how that heat pump is set up in this newer video. ua-cam.com/video/gM2OGzx-ReU/v-deo.html
The first Inkbird (the one with its sensor in the fins) is plugged into a wall outlet as a constant power source. The second Inkbird (the one with its sensor on the lightbulb) is plugged into the cooling outlet of the first Inkbird. The lightbulb is plugged into the cooling outlet of the second Inkbird. The air conditioner is plugged into the wall outlet as a constant power source.
Want to grow better vegetables to store in your cooler? Kickstart your vegetable game with my Free Workshop: www.vegetableacademy.com/yt-freeworkshop
I have built a 44 foot walkin. Using it as a freezer. Will this work where I can get it to freeze. Coolbots can’t be used as a freezer
@@samscoalfiredpizza8152 The Inkbird controllers work at below freezing temperatures. However, I can't speak to how well a window air conditioner would work to create freezing temperatures for you.
So I did exactly as you said I have a 4x12 walk in cooler insulated to r30 and it will not get down below 44*f and it's a 15000btu whirlpool unit any suggestions on what to do?
basically a $400 coolbot down to $80 in parts. And honestly, the work to set them up is about the same. Great video
$50 in parts if you buy them on black friday.
This video was by far the best one I found for the AC set up. Mine is working great in the first 24 hrs with only a single Inkbird unit. I just had to adjust the location of the temperature prob vertically at the bottom of my AC’s fins and adjust the temperature a few times to dial everything in. It’s holding a steady 41 degree temp without freezing up. I’ll probably take it down one or two more degrees in the coming week. And I’m using a really old, dirty 5,000 BTU window AC. Update - one week in and absolutely love this system. The single Inkbird has worked great with the probe positioned vertically against the fins, centered and about 1/2' up from the bottom. I used a short piece of electric fence wire in a u shape inserted into the fins to hold it in place. So glad I came across this video while researching cooling options.
Nice. I think you could accomplish almost the same level of control with one Inkbird. I am running ours right now with just the one probe in the fins and it's doing alright. One difference is that the air conditioner turns on a bit later, because the fins warm up a little more slowly than the air in the cooler. The air conditioner also seems to be cycling on and off more frequently because as soon as the fin temperature drops substantially to cool the air, the Inkbird cuts power to the lightbulb and turns of the air conditioner. I imagine this would be more of a problem in the hottest part of the year when the air conditioner needs to be running more often. This would mean that the fins would usually be at a lower temperature than the room air so the ideal temperature setting on the Inkbird might not be the room temperature you are shooting for. Setting the Inkbird might require some experimentation and adjustments throughout the season depending on your climate. Have fun fine tuning your setup. If you can't dial it in, you always know that you can add another Inkbird for the best precision.
@dgilchrist6361 if you're only using a single Inkbird unit, what do you have connected to the Ac temperature probe?
How big is your bid walkin?
Just finished insulating and wiring this system in a walk-in built from scratch. Works perfectly. Thanks for the awesome hack and video!
That's great to hear! Enjoy.
Lifesaver. This saved me hundreds of dollars. I already had everything I needed for it. Thank you
This is by far the best hack guide thanks! Currently installing my 25000 btu LG in my flower cooler after my old industrial compressor kicked the bucket. Didn't want to spend 8K+ (Canadian) so your guide was a lifesaver thanks!
How does it keep the compressor from overheating and burning the place down?
Awesome video! This is the first video that clearly describes how the 2 functions are accomplished to cool the room below the minimum thermostat setting and to provide a defrost cycle to prevent ice build up on the cooling fins. 👍
Coolbot alternative for Dummies. Such thorough explanation. TY!
I am very pleased watching you video, it's been long since I had the conviction that a home A/C can be turned into a cooling unit for veggies. Thanks for this video.
Perfect. I once converted a chest freezer to a kegerator using a temp controller like this. I've been looking for an alternative to the Coolbot, knowing of these things, but not understanding how the Coolbot fully worked! Easy setup, can't wait to build our walk in for next season!
Fantastic video and so well explained step by step. Best instructional video I’ve watched in a long time!
I priced out all the items needed for this homemade version of a cool bot. I used Amazon and I live in Arkansas. The total price with tax is $109.98. Just saying it saves so much money. I am going to use this method to make a walk-in cooler for my flowers. I cannot afford a cool bot.
Hi Branken! $250. cheaper, I get it!!!!!
I’d love to see how you build out your space for the flowers! I’m thinking of doing the same thing right now and doing preliminary research.
Dude . No damn Celsius!!! Farenheit man!
Arduino, relay board, a couple thermo couples, a couple sacrificial power cords and a few lines of code is all that's needed. $15 max
@@PokeWitty show us how please
I built one a while back, but didn't think about the fins and I broke my compressor. Then I find this awesome video. Thank you very much!
Excellent. I currently use a CoolBot but am needing another cooler and this is awesome. Thank you.
Ok, I'm sold. I need a walk-in for my just-licensed winery, and I think this will do the trick. Building out a 6'x10' space inside the winery to meet regulations. This will hopefully help me battle super high August temps in West Tennessee so that I can begin fermenting our white grapes at the appropriate temperature. Thank you for such an excellent and thorough explanation! I'm on to Amazon to make my order, then to the lumber store to purchase my lumber and insulation panels.
You're welcome. Have fun with your build! Since you're just about to buy materials as well, remember that investments in insulation will pay you pack in the long run. This will be especially important in Tennessee summers. Let me know how it goes.
@@VegetableAcademy will do. Planning on regular batt insulation in the wall, as that's what is in the other 3 walls I'll be incorporating, then foam boards on top of that for a total R-value of around R-25 to start, then go from there. Fingers crossed 🤞!
@@VegetableAcademy one final question--the window that I have to place the a/c unit in has a max opening of 16" in height, which will only accommodate a 12,000 BTU unit. Will this be sufficient to cool without failure?
@@StillwatersFarm That sounds like a good plan.
@@StillwatersFarm Use this CoolBot sizing calculator to answer that question. staging1.storeitcold.com/build-it/ac-calculator/. You can enter the dimensions of your cooler space there to get a recommended AC size. I believe the walls are assumed to be R20 for this calculator.
Great video. I use this system to cool our cooler at Burning Man. Our theme camp gifts about 5000 lbs of organic fruits and vegetables during the burn, We have a retired semi refer trailer. we use to store our camp infrastructure. We walled off a 10' x 12' area in the front of the trailer, With a stand up room ac we can keep the temps below 40f easily. We went with a single hose stand up ac because it does not draw in air from the outside as it is very dusty on playa.
We already bought a coolbot for my ice hash cooler (legal in CA). Come to find out we need another A/C unit to reach the temps we would like.
I bought all the parts and will be using this instead of buying another coolbot! Thanks for saving me 320$!
Ill update this post with the results and my findings once its set up next monday.
How'd it go?
@@snakeprairie It went great!
We are now able to get down to 35 degrees inside the trailer without the unit icing up!
running 1 month no issues at all now :)!
Definitely recommend over a coolbot!
@@dr9759what are your setting for the unit probe going to the A/C and the A/C probe attached to the light?
The basic coolbot is now $534cdn and the bits and pieces for your system are approx $125. So over $400 savings. No brainer, thanks for the very clear instructions.
Kallstrom Sweet corn in Ephrata Wa. uses a Colbolt 0n 10 bins of corn ,and temp can go down to 41 degrees in a 20 ft insulated cargo container and we love it .
Great information! I just built a walk-in cooler and this is going to fix my coil freezing problem!
Extremely helpful video. Very informative. Thank you! I plan to build a walk in cooler for hanging meat so I can process my own venison. It's always too warm where I am to hang them, so I end up paying alot of processing costs. This way I can do it myself without a time crunch! Thanks again. Now to draw up some plans on building my cooler 😎
I built one 6yrs ago on my channel. Just did a 6yr review. Money well spent.
Best video on this, BY FAR! I just got my 6x8x10 cooler built and every video I had come across, up to this point, just seemed to make things so much more confusing. Your video explains everything (except for which plugs (heating/cooling) you use on the inkbirds for which purpose....but I found the answer under the comments) very well. Thank you! I just have gotten my inkbirds delivered and going to run electric to the cooler this weekend, so hopefully, I'll have everything up and running next week! Thanks, again!
You're welcome. Have fun finishing the build.
Already had everything on hand to do this and so simple to put together and make it work! Thank you very much for making this video
Thank you so much for this video and detailed information. I converted a closet into a walk in cooler for my dahlia tubers. I purchased the humidity controller as well so I can run a humidifier.
Genius, thank you. My savings? Gonna put that towards a backup winder-unit.
First off I want to thank you for the video. Here's what I came up with using your step by step instructions. My cooler 7Hx8Lx7W with 5" thick cooler panels. Built inside a 30' shipping container with a roof. I'm located in South Georgia. Go Georgia Southern Eagles! 1. I purchased a 10000 BTU Toshiba A/C and the exact materials listed in your video. Ok, I built this cooler to hold deer meat prior to processing. I want to keep the temperature between 36 & 38 dergrees. Here's my issue. I've only been able to keep the temperature between 40 & 45 degrees consistant for several days. My units keeps freezing up. I've set my controllers to 36, 37 & 38 degrees for room temp. and 29 - 34 degrees for fin temp. The lowest temp i've got in a 96 hour test run was 39 degrees and that was on Friday morning when the outside temp was 47 degrees. Now, I know that the outside temp. plays a roll. However, I have a co-worked that has the same setup I do and he has used a the same Coolbot for 11 years straight with no issues while maintaining a 36-38 degree temp. So, here's my assessmetnt. I think your method will work fine with the inkbirds for folks in the south who just want to keep veggies cool. From my experience, It's just to warm in the South for a meat cooler at the beginning of deer season. May work great when the temperatures in the south get cooler, say late November. So, I just wanted to let folks know about my experience in the deep south. Thanks
humidity
Sounds like you just need a slightly bigger ac unit
Excellent Jared!! thank you so much...well explained, clear and simple....very practical! thanks again!!
Thanks so much for this video. It made me advance so much in my school research work.
You're welcome. I'm glad it helped you.
This whole project took me about 20 minutes to complete. I can confirm that it works as intended.
You don't need to be an HVAC tech or all that handy really as long as you have the right items.
The 4W bulbs highest temperature was around 99 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
One thing to keep in mind is the length of the temperature sensor on the air conditioner. The one on my AC barely has any wiggle room. I am going to have to set the bulb piece very close to the AC. With that in mind it was still reading 99 to 100.
Thank you so much.
How do you find the controllers in Amazon?
❤ Great idea for cooling off my venison 🦌 during the hunting season. 😊
Thank! This looks like just the right approach for making a tomato room, just bringing down the AC to 55 F.
Definitely. That is a great application and the warmer temperature for tomatoes will make things a little easier on the air conditioner.
As an hvac tech, I applaud you. If you are willing to learn a bit about the AC then you can get rid of the light bulb. If you run constant power to the compressor circuit but break it with the first temp controller, it will pass power to the compressor when temp rises. Leave the fan on all the time. Use the second temp controller as is to reduce freezing if needed.
Thanks for sharing an alternative route for those interested in another option.
We are building our cooler now. Thanks for sharing this valuable info!!
Awesome! Have fun with your project and let me know if you run into any questions with this setup.
Consider a power resistor in place of the led bulb. More reliable than a led device that can fail. Thanks for the video.
I like that idea but lack the know-how. Could you please share an example of the type of resistor you would choose and describe how you would hook it up to be activated by one of these Inkbird controllers?
@@VegetableAcademy probably the easiest way would be to use a small DC power supply. You probably want it to be 10W or more for reliablility. I bet you could get by with a 2 watt resistor that you operate at 1 watt. power = v^2/R or R= V^2/P 5V*5V/1W = 25 ohms. 1 watt might not be enough, so might need to have a 10 or 15 ohm available too. also this would be nice because it would be low voltage.
Love this hack, thank you so much. I wanted to build a cooler for my meat curing.
what a tragedy - my family's farm already threw down on a $$$ coolbot before I could intervene. I just don't see how coolbot can justify their price for something you STILL have to DIY hook up to an A/C unit. Thanks for the helpful video explanation.
coolbot defrosts with a heating element, has bluetooth and is more reliable. Excellent customer service, the guy has fixed for free units years old.
This was a great video there eh! I will be building one of these for my homestead want to hang harvested meat to store before butchering, thanks for sharing you explained it very well...
I'm glad you found it helpful. Have fun with your build.
Could you share your temperature settings for each inkbird
At 7:04 he mentions the cooling controller is set to 4° C. At 8:21, the pre-icing sensor is set to 1.5° C, just above the temperature where ice will potentially form.
I just used an industrial thermostat and tired into the compressor relay. I just ran the fan on high and used the thermostat. Never had any ice issues and had the thermostat set between 28 to 38 degrees. and averaged about 35 degrees. When I used it as a drying chamber I set the fan speed to low and set the thermostat to 50. I used a 12k btu LG window unit.
How do you control humidity?
Dehumidifier is all I’m thinking! More energy! The A/C does a lot to condense and push water out through the back but if it’s too bad…….. dehumidify!
excellent presentation
This is excellent! Apparently 46 Coolbot employees didn't like this video though :)
Thanks Mr. Tout est bien expliqué, très pédagogique et une vidéo bien faite de bout en bout. Merci
awesome instructions... thanks
merci énormément pour pour cette formation bien clair , bien expliqué et traduite aussi , merci pour ton temps et ta générosité
That was an excellent video I've been thinking about doing this by installing a rheostat and maybe resistors but I think I like this light modification better
The best system i ever see good video thanks a lot
You're welcome. I am glad this helped you.
good build i think you might be confused on cleaning the coils. the indoor coil (evaporator) yes you could clean with a brush. the air is drawn from the outside in through the coil in the duct then back out the top. all the dirt is on the outside of the evaporator. the outdoor coil (condenser coil) you wont be able to clean so easily. the air is drawn from the sides of the case and pushed through the coil inside out. all the dirt is on the inside of the case on the condenser. youll have to A. Take it apart to clean or B hose from the outside in with water.
Yes. For the exterior coil, it's definitely most effective to take the whole cover off and give it a good rinse with a spray gun.
I remember having to blow those out with compressed air, when I worked in a warehouse. The units were on top of our walk in coolers.
I have just started to build my own as well. I am using a small ardiuno uno to build the system.
How'd the ardiuno uno go?
Any updates? How to? Thanks...
This video was great, the best one I found
Thank you so much for sharing your videos you're very helpful.
Do you have any instructions on how to hook everything up. Ex: were do you plug first light bulb in and where do you plug second linbird into?
Thats what i want to know. One side said heat and the other cool.
First timer here when the probe reaches the cooling setting the compressor turns off but does the unit stay running?
Amazing, so well explained !
Do you think that you could just get a small deep freeze and put it in your freezer, with the lid removed?
Your setup worked great for my 8x8 cool room, My 15k AC maintains 2-4 Dec C even in eco mode. The only issue I have it with the Inkbird WiFi. The final layer of foam board I used has a tin foil coating which is blocking the signal.
Did you resolve that? Curious if just running Ethernet cable to a little repeater (that can operate at low temps, probably an outdoor extender)
Thanks for the great video. I am about to set my cooler up with this method. I was hoping to keep my inkbirds on the outside as my cooler is inside a large shop. The problem is the cord from the inkbird is too short for the light bulb plug in the go through the 6inch wall. Do you know if you could use a short extension for this? Hope this makes sense!
Yeah. An extension cord for the light bulb shouldn't be a problem since the wattage is so low.
@@VegetableAcademy Thanks for the reply. Keep up the great work 👍
Do you happen to know whether a 2000 watt generator will run/start up a 10,000 btu air conditioner? I plan to build my cool room where there is no electricity. thanks so much!
The air conditioner will have a continuous draw of nearly 2000 watts with a surge/start up draw of much higher. The continuous draw will suck a bunch of fuel and be hard on both machines and the start up surge will be likely to trip the overload on the generator constantly, causing the cooler to malfunction when you’re not around. The 2000 watt will probably run it in an emergency but for continuous use I would get a larger generator. I hope this helps🙂
@@LivingGoodAlaska Thanks so much! Very good answer, well explained! I may have to rethink this project. (Though I’ve purchased all the stuff….the incremental cost is getting quite a bit higher for something I may use for only a couple days, or not need it at all. Thanks again!
@@jim9214 You’re welcome, good luck on your project.
Great video! One thing though, but in my country it's much cheaper to buy one arduino and two temperature sensors than an inkbird, could this be the case for the US also?
It may very well be cheaper to program an arduino to perform the same task with two temperature sensors. I don't have any arduino experience, but it still sounds like a fun project despite that. If you've got the skills to make that happen go for it, and please share how you made it work. The solution described here is a simple system anyone can assemble with off the shelf parts and no programming skills.
Would you share how to do it with your method? Would be very interested to see it as well.
I do have a coolbot and I’m really happy with its performance but I will invest in this to just have on hand for back up
...or set this up and sell your CoolBot for some extra cash. That's what I did.
Would this setup run the AC fan nonstop? Since it is plugged in directly?
That depends on the specific settings of your AC unit. On our current model, I can select a setting that will run the fan constantly to circulate the air even when no cooling is happening, or I can select an energy saving mode that shuts the fan off completely once the cooling cycle is done. I use the latter to conserve energy.
Thanks very much I'm building at walk-in cooler as we speak what are the settings for the temperature readers you said in the classes you have classes thanks
Great tutorial.
problem though. started it up this year and it seems the ac doesnt shut off now. im using same setings as last year. what could be the issue? i swear tge ac shut off last year now it just continually runs. when the light goes off shoukd the ac shut off??
One of the settings is likely different from last year then. Our AC has an econo mode that shuts down everything when no cooling is called for, (ie. when the light turns off) but there are a few other modes that keep the fan running at all times with different fan speeds even when the compressor is not running. This is great for air circulation in the cooler and CoolBot recommends that the fan be left on, but it can use a lot more energy. I'd take a closer look at the manual for your AC to make sure I understood the settings correctly and maybe read through the CoolBot troubleshooting pages in their installation manual as well.
@@VegetableAcademy thank you. you were right. i couldve sworn i only hsd the ac on cool and fan high last year. but i was wrong. when i put tge eco light on sure enough the ac shut off about 5 mins later. thank you.
i know you prob arent an ac guy but our ac is only a year old and this year it most def runs alot louder. you know of a reasoning for this?
@@TheMcl77 I'm glad you figured it out. I'm afraid I can't help you diagnose your AC noise though.
I installed a resistor parallel to the AC room temperature probe. Costs less than $1. It makes the AC think its warmer than it is. This also allows the AC to make use of its inverter technology, saving power and giving a very stable temperature - somehting the Coolbot doesn't do either.
I only need to go to 10°C, so freezing up the fins isn't an issue, I just need to keep the fam running at max.
How do you do that?
I built a cooler like this based on this video. I now slaughter my own angus beef and age it in the cooler. One thing I found was that the amount of moisture coming off 4 beef quarters for the first 6 hours or so quickly frosts up the coils and condenser. I had to use a hair dryer about every half hour to defrost the first one. The 2nd one I left the cooler door open about a foot and put a big fan on high just inside the door to blow the moisture out of the cooler for about 2 hours, then left the fan on after closing the door. I put a dehumidifier in for the first 24 hours also. It only frosted up twice this way.
Not all AC units work with coolbot or ink bird controllers I tried a manual AC unit did not work I bought a digital one it works great this video is awesome just thought I would add that
I just bought a digital so fingers crossed
I am using an LG split AC and it has two probes that I needed to connect to the light bulb.
Excellent. So I'm just attempting to get my window ac to stay on lower than 62f. Maybe 50f or so. If I understand correctly I can simply do the first part with the light bulb and the temperature controller?
Great information. How about humudity control? I hope to incorporate it too.
Great video. Easy to follow and concise. One question… what do you do if the AC unit has a secondary sensor? Thanks
Would there be a way to use just one? Mount the probe to the back and use the heat setting to trip the light bulb circuit?
I don't think I understand exactly what you're proposing, but if you can figure out how to accomplish all of the same control functions with one Inkbird, go for it. I just don't yet see how that would be possible.
How are those two temperatures controllers hooked up together?
nicely done!!! thanks for the info
Really great video though. only 3 issues i see with this set up as well as the coolbot. 1) im not sure what time of the year this box is being used, but there is no head pressure control for the colder months. you may or may not find you need this. 2) i see a potential for short cycling if for some reason youre bouncing around 1.5 c which could kill your compressor. 3) newer ac units use flammable refrigerants, such as R32. by doing all of these modifications youre changing the UE listing and assuming liability in the event there's a leak in refrigerant and it ignites.
but again i really do like how you considered defrost. smarter guy than most.
I've got a bunch of questions
1. How big is that room?
2. what Kind of AC do you use? or am I overthinking and is any kind of AC enough?
3. How much per month does that cost in electricity?
1. It's 5 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 6.5 feet high
2. We have an 8000 BTU window air conditioner. Don't just use any AC. Use CollBot's AC guide to help you find a unit that is compatible with this method of control.
3. I don't know exactly. I have done some heat loss calculations that showed the cooling cost for a room this size would be a little under $100 per year if the cooler temperature was always 4ºC and the temperature outside the walls was always 20ºC and the walls, ceiling, and floor were all insulated to R20. So there is a rough ballpark answer for you. I would like to put a meter on the AC circuit and track the power usage each month, but that's a project that hasn't been my top priority. This summer we switched to using an air source heat pump as the main cooling device. This is fantastic because all the energy removed from the cooler now goes into our hot water tank so any money spent on cooling just heats our water.
@@VegetableAcademy thanks for the answer
On the round LED bulbs, the round part is just a plastic diffuser, you can cut it off or drill a hole it in a stick the probe in. However, there are also tiny 4 and 6 watt reptile aquarium heaters that will plug straight into the thermostat.
Very cool and instructive. I have some concerns about the bulb eventually die and fail though.
Could this be done with a portable AC unit and not a window unit?
Would I need to put insulation? I would use it in a room in my basement which is already cold.. 🙏
Super cool
The more time and money that you spend on making the room, absolutely airtight, including electrical outlets, and if there’s any piping from electrical outlets that the opening inside, the pipe is sealed with some sort of putty to stop airflow and extremely airtight sealed gaskets around the door . Double the doors, and even insulate the doors..
Better insulation on the floors and the walls and the ceiling
The less money you will spend on electricity
And the smaller the air-conditioning unit can be .
Consuming less electricity
Great Video !!! Have you considered an ac fin comb to straightened the bent fins on the evaporator coil and condenser coil (if needed) for better air flow through the ac unit and better cooling efficiency?
Hello,
First of all I want to let you know, I appreciate all your videos. I have the exact set up as you but the incbird that is connected to the bulb doesn't come on when I plug everything in. Do you have a drawing or diagram showing the same setup that you have in the video by chance, thanks.
Great video, thank you. I ordered the bulb that you linked and it says 50w. I hooked the sender to it and it instantly melted. I'm going to find a less wattage bulb and try again but I hope the brand new ac unit isn't garbage because the sensor is melted. Your bulb says 50w and 4w, why is that?
I love this video. Question: If I have a very small closed off room in my basement (I live in Maryland, US), and only need to reduce the temperature a few degrees (from 65F to 55-60F), what would you recommend to achieve this?
Great video but what size a/c do you need for a cooler?
Even though the LED is very low wattage I'd be inclined to find an alternative, similar to what Coolbot uses, a resistor of some kind. Perhaps even a traditional filament bulb. Heat is an enemy to semi conductor which is what a LED is. Covering it in any way will tend to shorten it's life & in the case of a larger bulb become a fire hazard. Seems to work for you though, so what do I know haha. Another thing with LED bulbs, most are fitted with a heatsink base. That might be a better place to tack the sensor rather than blocking the light itself by taping it over.
Thanks for the ideas.
+1 to this, having worked in LED lighting mfg. LEDs dislike heat and LED lights are generally designed to run as coolly as possible. Still an excellent video, and I love the simplicity of this setup.
@@VegetableAcademy your ideas and videos are genius, Jared. I wonder would metal mesh gauze help substitute the tape? It would hold the sensor in place on the bulb stronger than aluminium foil would without blocking out the light?
@@homebuddha I use foil tape for this purpose. It looks like aluminum foil, but it's actually sticks in place quite well. The metal mesh gauze you are thinking of might serve the same purpose.
@OP Remember we're talking about a refrigerator here, not massively high temps. Just needs to be hot enough to trigger the compressor to run. The passive cooling from being in a fridge should be more than enough to compensate for any "overheating" of the diode, if any. Hell, my pocket LED flashlight is so bright that the light itself can burn your skin or clothes if you put it right in front for just a few seconds. If you leave it on long enough on turbo, (a few minutes) the body of the light (which acts as a heat sink) will get hot enough to burn you if you hold the tip too long. It has active temperature regulation though, which drops the output of the LED precisely to protect it from too much heat. Still, it sustains high output for long periods of time, takes the high temps and the LED doesn't fail. That's a class leading, ultra high output LED chip on a tactical flashlight though, not a regular, low power bulb like the one he's using so I'm sure it'll be just fine and nowhere near a fire hazard.
Man, you did this the hard way. I would have just rewired the damn thing with a refrigerator thermostat & been done with it.
Could you share how to do it that way?
Thanks! This is on the wish list.
Great! There's a much more in-depth lesson on building a cold storage space on the Seed to Table Supplements page here: www.vegetableacademy.com/supplements. You'll likely also find that useful if you haven't found it already.
Awesome show
Would this work with a dual inverter ac?
Great video! Thanks
You can buy the modules themselves without the case and cords coming in, dual stage or single stage. You gotta provide the wires as such. Can get them in 110 -220 as well as in 12v that controls a relay for 110-220v. And depending on where you go you can get them dirt cheap. Run them to outlets and flush mount them, even outside the room so you don't have to enter the room to adjust things.
You could also run an Arduino with a program and a couple relay boards, and set it precisely to do certain things.
Turn on light when over x temp. Turn off the light when a different probe hits x temp, and even do a third or fourth to measure different parts of the room or fins.
But I'd prefer to get in and pull out the electronics and wire it up to a PID or Arduino with pid, and a couple of proves to measure room temp, as well as make sure the fins aren't icing up. Arduino and the modules are dirt cheap to buy, even dirtier cheap to build.
Cut out the entire light system, and just turn on and off the compressor based on temps you see.
Many options here and the more techy you are, the cheaper it can be.
How long does an AC unit loke this last cooling a room like that down to 2 degrees?
You can accomplish this with an arduino style controller, $5-30, depending on which one you get. 2 thermisters, $2 each. And a 120v 30A? relay, $15. Then some programming. So we are looking $25-30? You can also set the arduino up to do other stuff, control humidity, lights, and send alerts when the temp is out of range.
Any chance for an updated list of suuplies?
Done. The foil tape link was no longer valid, so I updated that one. The rest of the product links are still active.
@@VegetableAcademy Nice, thanks!
I'm assuming, after a power outage you would have to go and manually turn the AC back on given that it's a digital control panel and would probably default to off after a power outage
Many modern window AC units have an auto-restart feature to prevent this problem.
Great video! Can you provide information on where to source the cold room build out materials?
High building a walk-in cooler this year have you made any upgrades to this system thanks
Yep. The air conditioner and method of control I describe here still works just fine, but I didn't like that the air conditioner was mounted indoors and was pumping excess heat into our basement during the hottest part of the summer. When I first built this cooler, our basement had bare concrete walls so this extra heat easily wicked through the walls, but after insulating the basement really well, that heat had more trouble escaping in the summer. We now use an air to water heat pump to pull the heat out of our cold room and use that energy to heat our home's hot water tank. You can see how that heat pump is set up in this newer video. ua-cam.com/video/gM2OGzx-ReU/v-deo.html
amazing! does this also work on a split AC?
thank you for this info., can you show how you plug everything in or if you can draw something out. Thank you for your time
The first Inkbird (the one with its sensor in the fins) is plugged into a wall outlet as a constant power source. The second Inkbird (the one with its sensor on the lightbulb) is plugged into the cooling outlet of the first Inkbird. The lightbulb is plugged into the cooling outlet of the second Inkbird. The air conditioner is plugged into the wall outlet as a constant power source.