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Cellar Cooler Design

I created a wine cellar below grade with great insulation, but it never got down to the mid-fifties. Bright idea came - stick an air conditioner thru the wall and put it on its coldest. Now it stays at 67.8 F. Come to find out A/C doesn't get cold enough.

Now I need to rig some sort of refrigeration unit to do the job (theory - start cold and come up in temperature). All of this to avoid paying $1,000 USD for a unit designed for the job. I hope one of you engineer types can explain how to take the gut from a refrigerator and make it into what I need. I can always get an old one for $50-100 USD.

IDEAS??

Feel free to send them to me directly.

L Duvall

Reply to
Lnz
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it never got

conditioner thru

Come to find

job (theory -

paying $1,000

engineer types can

into what I

Does the A/C run all the time to get it to 67.8F, or is it just reaching the lower limit of its thermostat. If the 2nd is the case, you might be able to "recalibrate" the thermostat to get it lower.

Bob

Reply to
Bob

It is reaching the lower limit of its thermostat. So how do you 'recalibrate' a thermostat in a window A/C?

Reply to
Lnz

First of all I am not an expert but I did figure how to lower the temp on my AC when I was using a spare bedroom for storage. I kept it around 56-58 F for a year. I took of the front housing, found the wire with the copper sensor and left it dangle outside the housing. When it is inside I think it is in a location that is cold and can't go lower. However in the room it is not so cold so will stay on longer. Makes sense to me and it worked. Good luck. Kevin

Reply to
Kevin

Why not use the whole fridge? I use one for 5gal batches. Can always modify the size of the cold zone, building out with 1-2" thick rigid insulation and duct tape. won't look great, but works.

I don't recommend disassembling an old fridge... you are likely to cause refrigerant leak by flexing the soldered joints in the lines.

Gene

Reply to
gene

Something to look at also, most AC units have some internal temp regulating, so they don't get to cold. You may be able to by-pass that and make it go colder, what you have to pay attention to is that you don't end up freezing up important parts. You may also want to make sure that the humidity level is low, you might end up freezing up the evaporater (I think that is the right part)

~Brian

Reply to
<not

you

I would open up the unit to expose the "guts" of the thermostat. Look for an adjustment screw which will change when the switch opens as the temp changes. If you find such, adjust it appropriately. Or, you might need to bend something to tweak it. Alternatively, get an appropriate high current thermostat with the right temp range, and wire it in parallel to the built-in one. You could do a test by jumpering across the switch to see if the unit can cool sufficiently.

This all implies some basic electrical and/or mechanical aptitude. Use care, or have a knowledgable friend help you.

Bob

Reply to
Bob

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