Coolbot Hack for DIY Cold Room

Materials:

1. Air conditioner (window mounted ideally but mobile will work as well although it consumes more electricity and the temperature is limited by the external heat of the area where the cold room is located)
2. STC 1000 temperature microcontroller
3. 12V incandescent light bulb
4. 12V socket for light bulb
5. 6-12V DC adapter with 500mA minimum current output
6. Styrofoam insulation panels with joignable edge
7. Tuck tape
8. Aluminium tape
9. Bidirectional coaster wheel
10. Electric wire (16 gauge minimum)

Tools:

1. Soldering gun
2. Hot glue gun
3. Exacto knife
4. Micro-Philips and micro-Flathead screw drivers

Step 1: Cut and Build Your Cold Room Box Using Exacto and Tuck Tape

Make sure to seal the box tight. Most styrofoam panels will fit snuggly in most rooms (8ft high ceilings with 8ft long panels).

Don't forget to keep the compressor cooling fin portion of the air conditioner open to the exterior air of the cold room. This is crucial otherwise the vacuum generated will lead to an implosion of the cold room.

Use the glue gun to mount the coaster wheel to the door after cutting in an inset so the bottom of the door is flush with the floor. Use tuck tape to make an airtight hinge.

Step 2: Tape Your Light to the Temperature Sensor of the Air Conditioner Using Aluminium Tape

Most of the time the sensor will be clipped near the condenser intake fin area where you will usually find an air filter.

Step 3: Cut Out a Portion of the Wall Nearest to the Air Conditioner to Slip in the STC 1000 After Making the Connections As Described on the Instruction Manual

Step 4: Set You Temperature on the Lowest Setting on the Air Conditioner and Adjust the STC to the Desired Settings and Your Done

You've just made a replica coolbot for a very small price. Grant you, the coolbot comes with some other nice features but this system works very well and does the job just right fo our produce storing needs.

Make sure to label your bins with the labels facing hte doors to identify contents along with date harvested.

If you've found this useful, let me know @ www.lasverduras.com.