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Cold Room in Basement.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ADLKS 30 August 2009 Cold Room Construction

Cold room construction in the utility room in the basement. Purpose is for storing garden produce. Potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, beets, etc.

This is the cold room built in my basement. Space was at a premium so I did the the best with what was available.

The floor space is 18 square feet, and 80 inches in height. A four inch outside air vent was installed. The hole was cut with a rental tool. The one plug in the room is split and the light is switched from outside. Paneling was construction grade spruce 5/8 plywood. Insulation of the inside wall is R14, and a vapor barrier was installed on top of this insulation, then covered with5/8 plywood. The roof was insulated in the same manner.

Tables are plastic from Cosco. Vegetables will be stored in the common plastic milk containers. The air inlet will be controlled by stuffing a rag in the inlet if it get too cold. The exhaust vent is four inches diameter, and is in the roof of the structure. Humidity will be controlled with a pan of water, if necessary.

Time to build about 48 man hours. Started 25 August and finished on 30 August 2009.Cost $565.42 I had some help for about 16 hours.

31 August 2009. Outdoor temperature 10C, House temperature 20C, Cold room 15C. This is the first temperature measurement.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ZBIDP 1 September 2009 Cold Room Organized
Some milk carrier container were obtained today, and vegetables stored in the cold room. These containers are ideal for the home gardener; in that, the containers are a manageable size and they are well ventilated.

we are making a cold storage room in our basement too. but its full of rubble just now from rearranging the walls. it needs to be all cleared out then we will be putting in electricity for a chest freezer, tiling everywhere and putting up shelves for storing cheese, jarred food, fruits and veg.
ours doesnt need insulated though because it is entirly underground with no windows. should be enough to keep the temperature cool all year round.

Bear in mind that your chest freezer will generate some heat - that is, it will transfer some heat from inside itself to outside itself. It won't be much, but you might not want to put veg storage shelves too close to the back of the freezer.

Zech wrote:Bear in mind that your chest freezer will generate some heat - that is, it will transfer some heat from inside itself to outside itself. It won't be much, but you might not want to put veg storage shelves too close to the back of the freezer.

A similar situation: An electric freezer box was put in my car for travelling, instead of an icebox. What a disaster! The heat generated by that little box was astonishing, and no place to vent. It used the Peltier effect and was driven by the lighter plug of the car. Remarkably effective for keeping the contents cool, but without some venting it was useless. Periodically I mused about making a hole in the car and piping the small fan driven heat out, but never acted on the thought. I still use the icebox.

Zech wrote:Bear in mind that your chest freezer will generate some heat - that is, it will transfer some heat from inside itself to outside itself. It won't be much, but you might not want to put veg storage shelves too close to the back of the freezer.

i will keep that in mind, thanks