Unlock The Cool: How To Build A Walk-in Cooler On A Budget 

Hi, I've used the chest freezer 5cf at 40f with a temperature controller (from newegg. $20) for over 3 years. Average cost is $1.50/mth(or $18/yr). I found the controller thermocouple needed to be run through the door opening. instead of replacing the older interior walled thermocouple. Replaced my Regular Fridge. Also, I like the outdoor weather thermeter with the remote sensor. Thus I get Hi/Low and current inside temperature. Good for setting up and getting the temperature right. The most energy is in the turn on part of the cycle not the actually running. Watch your lights dim when the compressor turns on. They don't stay dim. Several things, that I saw, on the Walk In Cooler, is that I would have the large Plastic strips to keep as much cool air in the unit. Or build outdoor walls & door to keep as much of the cool air in the cooler. Basically think "Air Lock". The other thought was to shape the air flow so that the cold air is separated from the air intake Shape it in a curve on the cool air so that it flows downward. You might even make it a Y so that a steam of air hits each wall instead of your head as you are standing inside. I might think about putting in a small side door a little bigger than the totes. However, that requires two people or some kind of sliding tray to pull/push in the totes .Thus labor costs vs cooling cost savings. Also, check your walk in cooler flooring to check for mold buildup. Also, I might suggest on those making the walk in cooler via connex, that you have three separate rooms. With an interior door. Again, use an airlock since you have the space. Thus the back room is your overflow. Load your airlock, then fill the inner chambers. Airlock big enough for a rolling cart or Handtruck I like a U shaped platform *2 2x4 with plywood on top where the handtruck slides under the plywood, thus easy loading/unloading a stack of totes.

Hi Curtis, nice solution on modifying this cooler. You call this your most important piece of equipment on the farm. Maybe you can do a video on a walkthrough of your most important tasks on the farm and how to do them (with what equipment)?? Thanks for all your video's!

Thanks for the great idea +Urban Farmer Curtis Stone. I saw the coolbot price and was amazed to see how much I already will save since I programmed my own micro-controller to do these things. My farm will be very high tech and low budget because I have been developing some prototypes for electronics automation, irrigation, soil monitoring and even security systems for my farm. I got alot of ideas from your videos and I definitely love the '5 reasons small farms fail' video because I would have been guilty of at least two of those reasons lol.

Man, you are good. I like your personal approach, got me to watch three videos in a row.

I built an 8' x 8' x8' high walkin cooler inside of a 45 foot insulated refridgerator trailer that is used to haul apples to California. I added 2 inches of insulation to the floor, walls and ceiling and have a 12000 btu unit AC, with Coolbot, and it keeps cool all year round. The larger area of the trailer we store squash in and keep it at 55 degrees with a 1500 watt heater! We have 10 acres so not in a neighborhood like you are. Just south of you at Lake Chelan!

I was pricing used units today. They started at 2500 dollars. I'm convinced I can make my own with wood, Dow board insulation. Metal tape, Great stuff foam. An AC window unit. Cool bot and a Light fixture with a lamp for about 650.00 US. I need to shave dollars where I can because the 4600.00 dollars I have now isn't quite enough to get started. I'll be renting a garden tiller as I need 1 for my first year. This first year is going to be a hard 1. Thank God I paid off the house

Hey Curtis, thanks for these FarmerLifeHacks - keep them coming! newbies like me really appreciate it.

Ive got an old walk in coolar at my farm.The cooling unit goes in the side.So I bet I could just mount the air conditioner in the side like in a house.I got the walk in for nothing so its worth a try

If they are selling those coolbots for $300 I'll bet they have a fantastic markup on them. That has to be super simple to set up, just running a little heater off a thermostat ... very cool.

Thanks Curtis, good info. I'm looking at doing this in the spring. Jeff

This is a very resourceful solution, But for the sake of perishables, I would still use a refrigeration unit. they are designed to recover quickly and maintain the temps the compressor should last 10 - 20 years if not put under irregular stress. Your local HVAC tech can also service them. depending on the person you call, some will service a window unit as well but they require some slight modifications to add freon. Also, While the cool bot has its market, your paying for a "plug and play" device that can be avoided with $100 in parts and some DIY or any electrical/Hvac tech. If you lived in Oklahoma that window unit would probably work for about 5 years because it would be running 24/7. Good luck Keep us informed as i am curious as to exactly this will turn out. in the long run.

Another heads up! You can reduce the cooling costs associated with opening the door by keeping the cooler at least half full with solids. If your cooler is low on stock, store bottles of water or other solids in it. These significantly reduce the amount of cold air that escapes every time you open the door. It's the same with a domestic fridge. A fridge full of cooled produce loses less cold each time you open the door. So if your fridge is not fully ultilized, store water bottles or similar thermal sinks in it, especially in the lower compartments. This is off grid living 101.

hey curtis im starting and urban farm in florida love your vids

Would love to know where you get those wonderful wooden boxes next to the walk-in cooler? Also, where did you keep your walk-in cooler before you bought your house?

Another great topic. We built a 8x8x4 walk in cooler out of plywood and pink R board, we installed a 1250btu a.c. and a cool bot. It works splendidly. Cool bot is the cats meow. Curtis, I really like your technique showing how you have isolated the temperature wire from the a.c.'s cold air flow. In addition, yes it is 100% possible to find a great deal on 2nd hand coolers. We stumbled across a guy selling 50, yes 50 brand new 8x5x4 coolers without compressors. These have 6" thick panels and again have never been used. He was selling them for $225.00 each. Good luck.

I managed to rig my window AC onto one of those brewing temperture controllers and i just have my window AC to permanent on mode. So when the temperature hits the 50 degree mark it shuts off the AC. Luckily the unit has a safety feature to prevent being switch on to quickly or else it would have blown the compressor by now.

You are AMAZING, thank you so so much for sharing 😊

nice stuff keep up the good work dude

Such a great invention, the Cool Bot. I wonder, does having an air conditioner running at such a heavy capacity, because you are demanding a much lower temperature in a cooler versus a living room, if you really cut the life span of your air conditioner?

I KNEW IT. . This is exactly what I was looking for.

Very helpful!!! Thankyou.

After closer consideration, What you have done is exchanged a High demand system for one that is smaller and cheaper but still fits your load. when you have to change things out later on Keep in mind that there are mini split heat pump systems that are very efficient. The sales point here is that some have built in Grid tie inverters so they will run directly from DC (Solar) and AC mains without user intervention. This could allow you to run them on solar with Back up capabilities in commercial power failures as well as, in addition to less load on your main inverter for other things. Also they have stages(Variable speed and displacement compressors)(Not Fan speeds) that allow them to run at less power at times of low cooling load or kick up into high power when low is not meeting the demand. They also have a service life of 10 - 20 years with proper maintenance At around $3500 they are an investment but are very efficient and a higher degree of reliability.

I do something similar in my house. To make an ac cool more than 1 room. I point a fan at the radiator and it tricks the ac temp sensor because the warmer air from the fan motor

Thx for the vid Curtis. I'm curious how or with what tool you used to cut the opening in the top of the cooler for the a/c unit?

I really liked your idea, accessible and cheap, congratulations. Can you control the percentage of relative humidity?

cool stuff, maybe I could use this for a curing chamber.

Thanks for the great idea! Is that air coinditioner still working, after 5 years? I wonder how long they last working like that. Cheers

Cool hack! I see a few small problems with this. Air conditioners are just not designed to run at low evaporator temperatures without serious modifications. My main concern with this set up would be the energy consumption of the unit. There are a few things that would make this energy inefficient. You should purchase a small watt meter and see what the real power consumption is. Looks like this unit is located outside, have you tested this in the winter? Sure enough you are going to have many freezing issues in the winter. You may need someway to cycle on and off the condenser fan based on the head pressure when the temperature starts to get below 10 C or so. Some kind of defrost method. Usually turning the compressor off and leaving the indoor fan running for 15-20 min or so. I proper and well maintained unit designed for the task should last you 10+ years of good service. It may be a bit more expensive but in the end the headaches and cost will be a lot less. But hey, if it works it works! Still think its a cool idea and will get some people out of a pinch

If you're up for some more challenging diy, automotive ac is a LOT more cooling capacity than residential. A junk yard pull can be reassembled, recharged, and made to run from electric or gas motors.

Thank You

Amazing tip. Much, Much OBLIGED.

Hey guys maybe use a stc1000. They are 20 something dollars. Does take some wiring but saves you 280 ish dollars

What do you do about condensation?

great video. Nearly cried when you said a new one would be 2k. Here in NZ a second hand one is 8k, 10-12k new, just the framing is 6k. Of course there are lots of pros: next to no competition, slightly higher price points. Getting setup is no joke though :)

Where does the condensation from the evaporator coils drips to?

What about a concrete block room, such as a basement? Would the ac + coolbot + well sealing door do the trick?

Do the cool boots work well enough to make a freezer?

Where does the condensation go from the air conditioner

I'm confused about boxing it in... do you box in the whole air conditioner or just the out put???

I wanna build one with a beer tap on the door. That should be doable.

I have seen vids about a cool bot being used in a old refegrator truck body about 24 feet long the YT poster said It worked fine so as small as these walk in coolers it should be OK

hi would this walk in cooler be cold enough to keep my slaughtered poultry cool? thank you for the great video.

Curtis, Do your coolers have floors or did you build them yourself?

What is the temperature range that you keep your cooler in?

What is the relative humidity inside these coolers? Low or high?

The coolbot link took me first to a supplier catalog site, and then twice to your online workshop (which looks damn good) but no coolbot. Do I just have thick thumbs or also qualify as a knucklehead?

Sorry but why walk-in coolers and not standard refrigerator? Just curious. I'm new to all this.

How many horse power is the compressor that was originally in the cooler?

Hello Curtis - how often do you have to clean up the fins on the air condition? To keep it from freezing up?

what about control of humidity levels? Is this an off-the-self window AC unit? I've read those can keep at most 55-60% of humidity levels in those rooms. Flowers need more like 90% humidity, veggies/meat 85-90%.

Hi Curtis I've watched loads of your videos and just ordered your book (so not sure if this question is covered there). How do you stop veggies from wilting at farmers markets? I pick same day but by mid morning they don't look great and start going soft and wilted. Does using the walk in straight after harvest prevent this? Should I pick the day before market and store In refrigeration overnight- would this help? Thanks heaps! 👩🏻‍🌾

hi curtis, how low does it get " the temperature ".

I live in the tropics, So am looking from sept - feb months on end of 100deg plus days. night time drops to 70deg. V High humidity. If I want to maintain 50F in the cooler of this size, has anyone tried this under similar conditions? thanks great video BTW.

The COOL Controller is another option.

do you use solar panels? also do u have a rainwater collection system? i love this vlog btw. you seem like a cool guy. i live in england,uk and am looking at starting a small farm in the future.

I'd be curious to know what the lifespan of a new compressor would be versus a new air conditioner being run for so long. The nice thing is that you only have to continue replacing the air conditioner when it bites the dust. Any idea about how long an a/c can possibly last being run this hard?

Cool Bot is an electronic boost controller for air conditioners.

Everything sounds great but running the ac that hard how long will it last i have window units in my home an i only get bout 3 yrs out of them they are 24000 btu an not cheap units so how long can a cheap lg brand last running it hard or does nobody know i doubt any ac unit can take that much modification for too long

I'm planning on transforming a 20' insulated shipping container to a walk in cooler using a cool bot and a 36000btu LG split unit. Any concerns I should have?

@Urban Farmer Curtis Stone Would a shipping container with insulation installed not also make for a great mobile walk in cooler?

How long are these window units lasting and what internal temp. are you running?

They don't freeze up?

you can do this without having to buy the coolbot. jus put the ac thermostat on the outside of the cooler (or disconnect it all together), then plug the ac into an electric socket timer that you buy for $10, and use a magnetic thermometer on the inside wall of cooler for temperature readings. done. hope this helps

Love your channel and all your ideas unfortunately just be careful due to the fact of you Home insurance if you have it if they see this they can Cancel your insurance due to it it’s not running the proper way as you know there’s lots of little hidden fine print in insurances businesses this is nothing against you just helping like I said love your channel

What hp are those AC's ? an 8000 Btu ac is 3,14 HP but those I see there look like 1.5 maybe 2 HP . hope you can reply and thanks for the video.

do you not have an issue with the ac freezing up?

R40 1 inch insulation ???? Or even 1 1/2" inch thick ???? exactly what product is that ?

where can I get a koolbot in NZ?

Im using my root cellar

$500 bucks to do what a $50 inkbird can do! Nice!

8

Bread for today, hunger for tomorrow...

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

This can be done without the coolbot which is way overpriced. A REC-C100 Temperature Controller and a simple rewiring can save you about $350.

aka the GG bot.

Coolbot: $350 Regular fridge thermostat: $10-15

R40? at 1.5" ???? had a good laugh at that.... $359 for the cool bot? why not a 1609-101 thermostat that has a high amp rating for line voltage loads, and easy to wire with less than half the cost. A better solution, is to load up with lots of foam insulation and air leak proof the box, include a floor and run it for peanuts. And get a door closer fot the box or invest in some cam hinges...better yet, learn to keep the door open for only quick spurts.

So... The CoolBot is a low impedance power resistor powered by a phone charger... There's your 350 bucks!

Sweet dreams Marilyn Manson

Don’t make no sense just get a ele t stat or a smart evap

Please change the title of the video, you aren't building a cooler, you already have one someone else built, you just added a window AC.