Build Your Own Walk-In Cooler with this DIY CoolBot Alternative
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- You do not need a CoolBot to cool your walk-in cooler with an air conditioner. You just need to understand the functions of the CoolBot and replace those functions with a few much cheaper off-the-shelf parts. With this knowledge you can save hundreds of dollars and still build your own walk-in cooler to effectively store your own vegetables and any other products that require cold storage.
CHAPTERS
0:42 CoolBot Functions
2:52 Alternative Supplies
4:30 Installation
14:00 Next Steps
INKBIRD SETTINGS
• The Inkbird that powers the lightbulb should be set to the desired room temperature.
• The lightbulb should be plugged into the "Cooling" port of the Inkbird.
• The cooling differential (cd) setting on the Inkbird is what you adjust to control how much variability there is in the room's temperature. For example, if you set the differential to 1ºC and the control temperature to 4ºC, the lightbulb will power on at 4ºC and remain on until the room has cooled down to 3ºC (a differential of 1ºC). We use a cooling differential of 0.5ºC for both Inkbirds.
• The Inkbird with its sensor in the AC fins should be set as cold as possible without allowing ice buildup on the fins. This will be in the -2ºC to 0ºC range.
• Plug the lightbulb's Inkbird into the cooling outlet of this fin Inkbird.
• The heating differential (hd) settings on both Inkbirds are irrelevant because we are only using the cooling outlets.
DIY COOLBOT SUPPLIES
• List of AC units compatible with this method: www.storeitcold.com/build-it/...
• Inkbird Temperature Controller: amzn.to/3afu6dg
• Light Socket Plug: amzn.to/3uXg0XF
• 5.5W LED Spotlight: amzn.to/3agtnZv
• 4.5W LED Spotlight: amzn.to/3AooPe6
• Light Socket Adaptor for GU-10 Bulb: amzn.to/3ljTNQt
• Aluminum Foil Tape: amzn.to/3ILYUEb
COOLBOT DISCOUNT
• Save $25 on a CoolBot Purchase: storeitcold.referralrock.com/...
LEARN MORE
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Join me in person at the 2024 Homestead Festival near Nashville, TN on June 7 & 8 where I'll be teaching a session on Mastering Cold Storage. Get 20% off your festival passes with the coupon code REGIER20 for regular admission and REGIER20PLUS for regular admission plus. Here's a link to the festival: www.hardisonmill.com/thehomesteadfestival
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.
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.
basically a $400 coolbot down to $80 in parts. And honestly, the work to set them up is about the same. Great video
Excellent. I currently use a CoolBot but am needing another cooler and this is awesome. Thank you.
Lifesaver. This saved me hundreds of dollars. I already had everything I needed for it. Thank you
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.
Coolbot alternative for Dummies. Such thorough explanation. TY!
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. 👍
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!
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.
Great information! I just built a walk-in cooler and this is going to fix my coil freezing problem!
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
Thanks Mr. Tout est bien expliqué, très pédagogique et une vidéo bien faite de bout en bout. Merci
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.
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.
Thank you so much for sharing your videos you're very helpful.
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
Amazing, so well explained !
excellent presentation
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.
merci énormément pour pour cette formation bien clair , bien expliqué et traduite aussi , merci pour ton temps et ta générosité
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 .
This video was great, the best one I found
The best system i ever see good video thanks a lot
You're welcome. I am glad this helped you.
Great explanation.
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
@@wittyfpv show us how please
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.
Love this hack, thank you so much. I wanted to build a cooler for my meat curing.
nicely done!!! thanks for the info
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.
Great video very helpful
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this!!
This is great!
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)
Very cool. Going to try it . thanks will let you know .
Awesome 👍 Thanks so much!!!
You're welcome. I'm glad you found this helpful.
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.
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.
Awesome show
I built one 6yrs ago on my channel. Just did a 6yr review. Money well spent.
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?
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.
thank you, sir.
Very cool and instructive. I have some concerns about the bulb eventually die and fail though.
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
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.
Thank you!!
thank you so much this is a really great guide easy like and sub
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.
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?
Great video! Can you provide information on where to source the cold room build out materials?
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?
This should work great on mini split will give a go
Great Video, excellent explanation and tutorial.
Thanks Ned.
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 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?
Great information. How about humudity control? I hope to incorporate it too.
Thanks
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.
amazing! does this also work on a split AC?
Smart !
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?
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.
The best coolbot hack video on UA-cam! I’m building my cooler now and will be using the inkbird. Any recommendations on a WiFi temperature monitor? Thanks!
I use Govee WiFi temp and humidity monitor. Three green houses and basement
How would it would with a digital screen? Would you disconnect the “screen” and do the above with the two ink birds or would you simple just turn it to the slowest cooling setting?
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?
Has anyone checked to see if the thermo sensing part is resistance based and which direction it will go in when warming/cooling? In some aspects you could likely put a resistor in if you had the resistance table for the thermister, and alter that to create the difference in temp readout needed without an extra heat source?
Great video but what size a/c do you need for a cooler?
I love your video. We did hook up our AC just like yours but it seems to not be functioning well. Can you show picture of your inkbirds settings?
thanks
Thanks for this instruction, very helpful. I'm wondering if I could modify a portable air conditioner and have it be effective? The cold room I have is only 72 sf and supposedly only needs a 1500 BTU airconditioner, but I can't find an AC that small on the market though the portable ones come the closest. Thoughts?
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 👍
Great video. I saw several on UA-cam but I settled on your version. I got the same equipment and it seems to be working good so far. Can you tell me if your electric bill increased much and do you think the life of the AC is reduced any because it is working harder and longer. Thanks
I wish I could tell you exactly how much power our air conditioner uses each year, but I don't have the monitors to track that sort of thing in detail. I didn't notice a significant rise in our electric bills. Our system has been working for 8 years now and the AC has shown no signs of letting up. I wouldn't say that it is necessarily working harder in this scenario because normally, when installed in window, it would be responsible for cooling a much larger space. The amount that it needs to run will depend on the size of your cold room and how well it has been insulated. Check the CoolBot sizing recommendations if you have any doubts about the power of your AC. We followed those recommendations and it's worked out really well. I believe that they expect you to have R20 walls for this sizing calculator to be accurate. www.storeitcold.com/build-it/ac-calculator/
@@VegetableAcademy thank you so much for your quick reply. I really appreciate all of your help.
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.
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.
this should work great on mini split
I just built that setup that you have described, and in doing so I had a question.
It appears in this setup, the room temperature sensor that activates the AC compressor is actually in the fins of the AC unit itself, correct? This would be referring to the Inkbird on the right.
Both temperature sensors contribute to the activation of the AC compressor. The controller on the right has its sensor in the fins. If the temperature of the fins is above freezing, it gives power to the second controller on the left. The sensor of the second controller is detecting the room air temperature and whenever this temperature is below the desired setting, the controller gives power to the light bulb. Then the light bulb heats up the AC's temperature probe in a few seconds so that it's internal controller turns on the unit.
Looks like using your set up is a no brainer. I'm building a shed with 5" thick metal SIPs, basically commercial walk in cooler panels. Planing in building a 4x8' walk in cooler inside with the panels on all 6 sides. Think this should work well?
That sounds great. The 5" SIPs will give you a tight, well insulated room to start with. I would be hesitant to use a width as narrow as 4 feet just from an ease of use perspective, but I don't know anything about your limitations or how you intend to use your 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.
Could you share your temperature settings for each inkbird
What temperature is ideal for storing onions? I've also heard that potatoes and onions need precise humidity to keep for long periods of time, do you control that as well? Do you run a fan for airflow?
Onions are best stored at 0ºC, but keeping our cold room that cold takes a lot more energy and a good storage onion will still last the winter just fine at 4ºC. Onions store best at less than 70% humidity and potatoes store best at 80-90% humidity. We maintain a higher humidity around our potatoes with woven sacks to limit air flow. The air conditioner fan provides all the air flow we need inside our cooler. Many more details about long term storage conditions and methods are covered in Module 7 of the Seed to Table course.
www.vegetableacademy.com/course
I have a 6x9 by 6' high room and a 6,200 btu AC. I tried tricking it with a ranco etc but not having much luck. Do you think my AC unit is big enough? And is there a way to do it with a ranco etc or should I send it back. And thanks for your video
CoolBot has a couple of resources to hep you with these questions. One is their AC sizing calculator, and the other is a list of compatible AC units. You can find them both here: staging1.storeitcold.com/build-it/ac-selection/
Awesome information, thank you! How long does the AC have to stay powered off for the fins to defrost?
We are not controlling power to the AC. It is always plugged into its own outlet. When frost is detected on the fins, the power to the light bulb is turned off, which allows the AC temperature sensor to cool down. When this happens the AC thinks the room is cold enough so the compressor turns off and the fan keeps going to defrost the fins. If all power was cut to the AC for the purpose of defrosting the fins, that process would take a lot more time because there would be little air flow.
@@VegetableAcademy Ok so the AC just thinks it is going through a normal on/off cycle and the fins that were nearing a freeze up have time to rewarm before cycling back on.
Would I need to put insulation? I would use it in a room in my basement which is already cold.. 🙏
Thank you‼️THANK YOU ❣️❣️❣️
⁉️What about a walk in freezer...any thoughts❓❓
Do you have suggestions for a mini split controller?
I'm building a home and was planning on a CoolBot, but I love your idea.
I'd rather not cut a large hole in the side of the building...but it would be dirt cheap and simple to use a window unit.
Sorry, I don't have any experience with setting up a mini split system in this way, but I totally understand not wanting to cut a hole in your wall. This is what CoolBot has to say about mini splits: storeitcold.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Mini-Split-Installation-2019-7A.pdf
Since we are located in a cold climate and are predominantly heating our home, our air conditioner was installed on an interior wall of our walk-in cooler so the heat is pumped back into the basement of our home. This worked really well for years, but now that we've insulated our basement really well, it can get uncomfortably warm in the summer time. Therefore, I have recently upgraded our walk-in cooler system. The room is now cooled with a Sanden C02 air to water heat pump. It pulls heat out of the cooler space and adds it to our hot water heater. Now instead of pumping excess heat from the cooler into our basement, the heat is used to make our domestic hot water. It works amazingly well! I will make a video about this new system eventually. I'm telling you this because if you are working on a new build, you have the perfect opportunity to integrate systems like this. The Sanden is a lot more expensive than a window air conditioner, but it has also replaced our water heater, made our home more comfortable, and saved us a significant amount of energy each month.
@@VegetableAcademy I will dive into the Sanden C02 air to water heat pump today. Thank you for sharing that. Our house will be off grid/solar so all options for optimizing the performance are on the table.
@@VegetableAcademy The Sanden's appear to be spendy, but the ROI includes the trade for a water heater+mini split cooler and Coolbot.
Do you think we might be able to get similar results by placing a normal heat pump water heater inside the walk-in cooler?
@@mentalarson I looked into this too and kept coming back to the Sanden. They are pricey and they are better. The C02 refrigerant gives you a much better efficiency at lower temperatures compared to a typical heat pump water heater. Check out this detailed comparison of the Sanden and Rheem heat pump water heaters: energy350.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CO2-Integrated-Heat-Pump-Water-Heater-Performance-Report-FINAL.pdf. The graph on page 2 shows how the Sanden would be twice as efficient as the Rheem when they are pulling heat from 4ºC air, such as in a walk-in cooler. If we used a heat pump water heater in our cooler, we would also have a loss of efficiency due to the fact that our hot water tank would have to be positioned in the cold room, where it would passively be losing heat back into the room all the time.
Hello, thanks for the great video. We are based in France and it's difficult to find window ACs here. Is the same set-up also possible with split unit?
Yes
Coolbot has a list on its website. I am using a LG split unit and it is now working great after I discovered that it has two temperature sensors that need to be connected to the light bulb.
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.
What temperature setting is the first one set at(how cold before the fins start to frost)?
The exact answer to this will depend on your cooler humidity and how much your air conditioner has to run to keep your room cool. Our first controller is usually set at 1ºC. I adjusted the setting down to -1ºC for the last couple of days because of your question, but even though that temperature is below freezing, no ice build up was caused. The reason is that the air conditioner needs to run much less right now in fall when our outdoor temperatures are colder. I don't think I could get away with a temperature setting like that in the heat of summer when the air conditioner is working more constantly to keep the room cold. That's when we need to fine tune the settings to prevent ice build up. This is easy though. If ice starts to form, the temperature setting of this probe (the one in the fins) can just be adjusted a bit higher. Alternatively, if the air conditioner is cycling on and off too much, the temperature setting can be lowered a bit, as long as there is no sign of ice build up.
What is your setup for the wintertime? I also live in canada and i cant see myself using this in the winter. You must have a parralel system for winter.
In the winter, cold air can be drawn into the room to cool the air down to the desired temperature. I have two 4 inch vents on the exterior wall, one for exhaust and one for intake. Both vents have a small fan and backdraft damper. The same Inkbird controller turns the fans on when the temperature is above 4ºC and off when the temperature is below 4ºC. Despite having that option though, I actually left the air conditioner system on this winter, because in our case the air conditioner is installed on an interior wall so it is pumping the heat it draws from the cooler back into our basement space. Since we always want more heat in our house in the winter, this could be an overall more efficient way to cool the cold room compared to pulling in more cold air from the outside. That's because if we pull cold outside air into the cooler, we are also increasing the heating load of our basement. I wish I had some exact numbers to compare the two options but the answer to that depends on a few other factors too. Anyway, I am about to ditch both systems with an upgrade I am working on right now, which will use an air to water heat pump in the cooler to extract heat as needed and use that heat to warm up our domestic hot water tank. This will allow us to make better use of all the heat extracted from the cooler in all seasons of the year.
Make the AC temp sensor long enough and throw it outside the room attached to the back of the unit (hot air) and it does the job.
How does this work with your homes heating and cooling system? I want to do this but don’t have a basement but have a utility closet I want to use. How can I ensure the rest of the home is cooked/heated properly?
It operates independently from our home's heating and cooling system right now. Since we are generally needing to heat our home throughout the year, the air conditioner is installed on an interior wall of our basement so that it dumps its heat into the basement air. That's about to change though. We are setting up a new system right now that will dump the heat into our hot water tank instead, keeping our home cooler and making more efficient use of the energy we use to cool this room. You can see what we are planning here: www.vegetableacademy.com/post/heating-water-with-our-walk-in-cooler
so when the temp controller (2) that goes between the fins turns off to cut the power to the temp conroller thats hooked up to the lights (1), are the settings on the temp control 1 just remembered when it turns back on?
Hello, great information. It has helped a lot. However I still can't quite get my Gree to work right. I believe I have it wired the same way as you but when I plug it all in and let it go it will initially go down to target temp but then the AC turns off and the temp then slowly rises to the lowest default temp of the AC itself (17 degrees centigrade). It will eventually turn back on and plunge the temps but the cycle continues. I can't help but think its something Im doing wrong . Is there maybe something to do with the programming, like the compressor delay, or differential? I appreciate any suggestions.
Check the list of compatible air conditioners on this page to make sure your model is there. www.storeitcold.com/build-it/ac-selection/
You may have a secondary sensor in your air conditioner that you'll need to address.
@@VegetableAcademy @Vegetable Academy thank you for the quick response I really appreciate that very much. Our model is a Gree and is on the list of accepted AC's. However it says Australia and New Zealand only. Im not entirely sure what that means. There is an asterisk regarding that model too in that it has a limited on cycle built in from the factory. Could either of these be the issue?
@@ForensicHistorian Yes, I would look into that further or switch to a different air conditioner model on the list that doesn't require any unique modifications.
@@ForensicHistorian did you try a higher wattage bulb? could be not getting hot enough to trigger the system