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
@@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.
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.
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.
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!
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. 👍
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!
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 .
The basic coolbot is now $534cdn and the bits and pieces for your system are approx $125. So over $400 savings. No brainer, thanks for the very clear instructions.
I am very pleased watching you video, it's been long since I had the conviction that a home A/C can be turned into a cooling unit for veggies. Thanks for this video.
I just used an industrial thermostat and tired into the compressor relay. I just ran the fan on high and used the thermostat. Never had any ice issues and had the thermostat set between 28 to 38 degrees. and averaged about 35 degrees. When I used it as a drying chamber I set the fan speed to low and set the thermostat to 50. I used a 12k btu LG window unit.
Great video. I use this system to cool our cooler at Burning Man. Our theme camp gifts about 5000 lbs of organic fruits and vegetables during the burn, We have a retired semi refer trailer. we use to store our camp infrastructure. We walled off a 10' x 12' area in the front of the trailer, With a stand up room ac we can keep the temps below 40f easily. We went with a single hose stand up ac because it does not draw in air from the outside as it is very dusty on playa.
We already bought a coolbot for my ice hash cooler (legal in CA). Come to find out we need another A/C unit to reach the temps we would like. I bought all the parts and will be using this instead of buying another coolbot! Thanks for saving me 320$! Ill update this post with the results and my findings once its set up next monday.
@@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!
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.
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 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.
This whole project took me about 20 minutes to complete. I can confirm that it works as intended. You don't need to be an HVAC tech or all that handy really as long as you have the right items. The 4W bulbs highest temperature was around 99 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. One thing to keep in mind is the length of the temperature sensor on the air conditioner. The one on my AC barely has any wiggle room. I am going to have to set the bulb piece very close to the AC. With that in mind it was still reading 99 to 100. Thank you so much.
I love this video. Question: If I have a very small closed off room in my basement (I live in Maryland, US), and only need to reduce the temperature a few degrees (from 65F to 55-60F), what would you recommend to achieve this?
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
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.
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!
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...
Wow explains very clearly, and a genius idea, really thanks Can it be connected to any air conditioner? Also with a portable air conditioner? Does it matter what refrigerant is in the compressor? And once again thank you very much
On the round LED bulbs, the round part is just a plastic diffuser, you can cut it off or drill a hole it in a stick the probe in. However, there are also tiny 4 and 6 watt reptile aquarium heaters that will plug straight into the thermostat.
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?
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.
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?
@@VegetableAcademy probably the easiest way would be to use a small DC power supply. You probably want it to be 10W or more for reliablility. I bet you could get by with a 2 watt resistor that you operate at 1 watt. power = v^2/R or R= V^2/P 5V*5V/1W = 25 ohms. 1 watt might not be enough, so might need to have a 10 or 15 ohm available too. also this would be nice because it would be low voltage.
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.
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.
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?
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
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.
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?
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!
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.
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.
At 7:04 he mentions the cooling controller is set to 4° C. At 8:21, the pre-icing sensor is set to 1.5° C, just above the temperature where ice will potentially form.
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?
The best coolbot hack video on TH-cam! I’m building my cooler now and will be using the inkbird. Any recommendations on a WiFi temperature monitor? Thanks!
I've got a bunch of questions 1. How big is that room? 2. what Kind of AC do you use? or am I overthinking and is any kind of AC enough? 3. How much per month does that cost in electricity?
1. It's 5 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 6.5 feet high 2. We have an 8000 BTU window air conditioner. Don't just use any AC. Use CollBot's AC guide to help you find a unit that is compatible with this method of control. 3. I don't know exactly. I have done some heat loss calculations that showed the cooling cost for a room this size would be a little under $100 per year if the cooler temperature was always 4ºC and the temperature outside the walls was always 20ºC and the walls, ceiling, and floor were all insulated to R20. So there is a rough ballpark answer for you. I would like to put a meter on the AC circuit and track the power usage each month, but that's a project that hasn't been my top priority. This summer we switched to using an air source heat pump as the main cooling device. This is fantastic because all the energy removed from the cooler now goes into our hot water tank so any money spent on cooling just heats our water.
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
Not all AC units work with coolbot or ink bird controllers I tried a manual AC unit did not work I bought a digital one it works great this video is awesome just thought I would add that
Great video. I saw several on TH-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/
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.
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.
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.
+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.
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.
I'm assuming, after a power outage you would have to go and manually turn the AC back on given that it's a digital control panel and would probably default to off after a power outage
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.
Do you happen to know whether a 2000 watt generator will run/start up a 10,000 btu air conditioner? I plan to build my cool room where there is no electricity. thanks so much!
The air conditioner will have a continuous draw of nearly 2000 watts with a surge/start up draw of much higher. The continuous draw will suck a bunch of fuel and be hard on both machines and the start up surge will be likely to trip the overload on the generator constantly, causing the cooler to malfunction when you’re not around. The 2000 watt will probably run it in an emergency but for continuous use I would get a larger generator. I hope this helps🙂
@@LivingGoodAlaska Thanks so much! Very good answer, well explained! I may have to rethink this project. (Though I’ve purchased all the stuff….the incremental cost is getting quite a bit higher for something I may use for only a couple days, or not need it at all. Thanks again!
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?
Thanks for the video . I used it to build my meat cooler. I have all of the unit completed but I need a little more info. Can you tell us what were the exact settings on the controllers? Since I intend to use the cooler for meat my settings will be lower then for veggies. Also which sockets are you plugging into on the controllers? I can't tell by the video and you don't explain that. Thank you.
Good questions. The controller (A) with its probe in the open air is set for 4ºC / 39ºF with a differential of 1ºC. The light bulb is plugged into its "cooling" outlet so that power is cut off when the room is too cool. The controller (B) with its probe in the air conditioner fins is set for 1ºC / 34ºF with a differential of 0.5ºC. Lastly, controller A is plugged into the "cooling" outlet of controller B. This cuts the power to controller A and its lightbulb whenever the fins drop too low in temperature, preventing ice build up.
@@VegetableAcademy Thanks for the reply! Update: I applied your instructions and so far I can only get the cooler down to 44F. I need to be close to 35F for meat storage though. I am not sure if adding more insulation to the walls will help or not. Thanks again for your help!
@@samnora2 You're welcome. These instructions will allow you to replace the functions of the CoolBot, but you still need to make sure your air conditioner is properly sized and your room is well insulated. Aim for at least R25 insulation value in your walls, floor, and ceiling. Our cooler works fine, but I still wish we had added more insulation. CoolBot has a quick calculator that can help you select the right size of air conditioner for your space. You can find that here: www.storeitcold.com/build-it/ac-calculator/. This page doesn't mention the R value used for the calculations, but it is safe to assume it was R25 since CoolBot lists that as the industry standard.
@@VegetableAcademy My walk in is 4 ft by 4 ft by 8ft tall. I put a 5k btu ac in it and the walls and ceiling are insulated to approx R21. The coolbot web site says I should use a 6k btu ac for the area with a target temp of 38f. It seems I am short on the insulation and the btu's. Right now I can only get the temp down to 41f. I built it on a concrete pad and I didn't insulate the floor yet. I am hoping when I insulate the concrete floor I can get the temp down the last 3 degrees. Thanks again for the help!
@@samnora2 If your floor isn't insulated yet, that certainly explains a significant part of your trouble. Concrete is a great conductor so it will be wicking in a lot of heat through the floor. When you cover that with R20 as well, I think you'll see a big difference.
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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.
basically a $400 coolbot down to $80 in parts. And honestly, the work to set them up is about the same. Great video
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?
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
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.
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!
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. 👍
Fantastic video and so well explained step by step. Best instructional video I’ve watched in a long time!
Coolbot alternative for Dummies. Such thorough explanation. TY!
Lifesaver. This saved me hundreds of dollars. I already had everything I needed for it. Thank you
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?
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 .
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.
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.
I just used an industrial thermostat and tired into the compressor relay. I just ran the fan on high and used the thermostat. Never had any ice issues and had the thermostat set between 28 to 38 degrees. and averaged about 35 degrees. When I used it as a drying chamber I set the fan speed to low and set the thermostat to 50. I used a 12k btu LG window unit.
Great information! I just built a walk-in cooler and this is going to fix my coil freezing problem!
Already had everything on hand to do this and so simple to put together and make it work! Thank you very much for making this video
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.
Excellent. I currently use a CoolBot but am needing another cooler and this is awesome. Thank you.
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?
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.
Genius, thank you. My savings? Gonna put that towards a backup winder-unit.
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.
I built one 6yrs ago on my channel. Just did a 6yr review. Money well spent.
❤ Great idea for cooling off my venison 🦌 during the hunting season. 😊
Excellent Jared!! thank you so much...well explained, clear and simple....very practical! thanks again!!
This whole project took me about 20 minutes to complete. I can confirm that it works as intended.
You don't need to be an HVAC tech or all that handy really as long as you have the right items.
The 4W bulbs highest temperature was around 99 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
One thing to keep in mind is the length of the temperature sensor on the air conditioner. The one on my AC barely has any wiggle room. I am going to have to set the bulb piece very close to the AC. With that in mind it was still reading 99 to 100.
Thank you so much.
How do you find the controllers in Amazon?
I love this video. Question: If I have a very small closed off room in my basement (I live in Maryland, US), and only need to reduce the temperature a few degrees (from 65F to 55-60F), what would you recommend to achieve this?
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
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.
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 excellent! Apparently 46 Coolbot employees didn't like this video though :)
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! 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.
Wow explains very clearly, and a genius idea, really thanks
Can it be connected to any air conditioner?
Also with a portable air conditioner?
Does it matter what refrigerant is in the compressor?
And once again thank you very much
Love this hack, thank you so much. I wanted to build a cooler for my meat curing.
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?
On the round LED bulbs, the round part is just a plastic diffuser, you can cut it off or drill a hole it in a stick the probe in. However, there are also tiny 4 and 6 watt reptile aquarium heaters that will plug straight into the thermostat.
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?
Do you think that you could just get a small deep freeze and put it in your freezer, with the lid removed?
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.
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.
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?
@@VegetableAcademy probably the easiest way would be to use a small DC power supply. You probably want it to be 10W or more for reliablility. I bet you could get by with a 2 watt resistor that you operate at 1 watt. power = v^2/R or R= V^2/P 5V*5V/1W = 25 ohms. 1 watt might not be enough, so might need to have a 10 or 15 ohm available too. also this would be nice because it would be low voltage.
excellent presentation
Great video! Thanks
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)
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.
How do you do that?
Great information. How about humudity control? I hope to incorporate it too.
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?
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.
Thank you so much for sharing your videos you're very helpful.
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.
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
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.
Thank you‼️THANK YOU ❣️❣️❣️
⁉️What about a walk in freezer...any thoughts❓❓
Do you have any instructions on how to hook everything up. Ex: were do you plug first light bulb in and where do you plug second linbird into?
merci énormément pour pour cette formation bien clair , bien expliqué et traduite aussi , merci pour ton temps et ta générosité
Very cool and instructive. I have some concerns about the bulb eventually die and fail though.
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?
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?
Any updates? How to? Thanks...
Great video! Can you provide information on where to source the cold room build out materials?
Thanks Mr. Tout est bien expliqué, très pédagogique et une vidéo bien faite de bout en bout. Merci
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 👍
Amazing, so well explained !
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.
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.
Would you share how to do it with your method? Would be very interested to see it as well.
Could you share your temperature settings for each inkbird
At 7:04 he mentions the cooling controller is set to 4° C. At 8:21, the pre-icing sensor is set to 1.5° C, just above the temperature where ice will potentially form.
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?
The best coolbot hack video on TH-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
I've got a bunch of questions
1. How big is that room?
2. what Kind of AC do you use? or am I overthinking and is any kind of AC enough?
3. How much per month does that cost in electricity?
1. It's 5 feet wide, 9 feet long, and 6.5 feet high
2. We have an 8000 BTU window air conditioner. Don't just use any AC. Use CollBot's AC guide to help you find a unit that is compatible with this method of control.
3. I don't know exactly. I have done some heat loss calculations that showed the cooling cost for a room this size would be a little under $100 per year if the cooler temperature was always 4ºC and the temperature outside the walls was always 20ºC and the walls, ceiling, and floor were all insulated to R20. So there is a rough ballpark answer for you. I would like to put a meter on the AC circuit and track the power usage each month, but that's a project that hasn't been my top priority. This summer we switched to using an air source heat pump as the main cooling device. This is fantastic because all the energy removed from the cooler now goes into our hot water tank so any money spent on cooling just heats our water.
@@VegetableAcademy thanks for the answer
The best system i ever see good video thanks a lot
You're welcome. I am glad this helped you.
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
amazing! does this also work on a split AC?
Not all AC units work with coolbot or ink bird controllers I tried a manual AC unit did not work I bought a digital one it works great this video is awesome just thought I would add that
I just bought a digital so fingers crossed
I am using an LG split AC and it has two probes that I needed to connect to the light bulb.
nicely done!!! thanks for the info
First timer here when the probe reaches the cooling setting the compressor turns off but does the unit stay running?
Great video. I saw several on TH-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.
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.
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.
Great video but what size a/c do you need for a cooler?
Man, you did this the hard way. I would have just rewired the damn thing with a refrigerator thermostat & been done with it.
Could you share how to do it that way?
This video was great, the best one I found
Could this be done with a portable AC unit and not a window unit?
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.
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.
Very cool. Going to try it . thanks will let you know .
Awesome show
I'm assuming, after a power outage you would have to go and manually turn the AC back on given that it's a digital control panel and would probably default to off after a power outage
Many modern window AC units have an auto-restart feature to prevent this problem.
How are those two temperatures controllers hooked up together?
Product link on Amazon please. Watching from Papua new guine here thank you
How long does an AC unit loke this last cooling a room like that down to 2 degrees?
Great explanation.
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.
Does the light bulb get plugged into the heating or cooling socket?
Do you happen to know whether a 2000 watt generator will run/start up a 10,000 btu air conditioner? I plan to build my cool room where there is no electricity. thanks so much!
The air conditioner will have a continuous draw of nearly 2000 watts with a surge/start up draw of much higher. The continuous draw will suck a bunch of fuel and be hard on both machines and the start up surge will be likely to trip the overload on the generator constantly, causing the cooler to malfunction when you’re not around. The 2000 watt will probably run it in an emergency but for continuous use I would get a larger generator. I hope this helps🙂
@@LivingGoodAlaska Thanks so much! Very good answer, well explained! I may have to rethink this project. (Though I’ve purchased all the stuff….the incremental cost is getting quite a bit higher for something I may use for only a couple days, or not need it at all. Thanks again!
@@jim9214 You’re welcome, good luck on your project.
Would I need to put insulation? I would use it in a room in my basement which is already cold.. 🙏
Thanks for sharing.
Great video very helpful
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?
Thanks for the video . I used it to build my meat cooler. I have all of the unit completed but I need a little more info. Can you tell us what were the exact settings on the controllers? Since I intend to use the cooler for meat my settings will be lower then for veggies. Also which sockets are you plugging into on the controllers? I can't tell by the video and you don't explain that. Thank you.
Good questions. The controller (A) with its probe in the open air is set for 4ºC / 39ºF with a differential of 1ºC. The light bulb is plugged into its "cooling" outlet so that power is cut off when the room is too cool. The controller (B) with its probe in the air conditioner fins is set for 1ºC / 34ºF with a differential of 0.5ºC. Lastly, controller A is plugged into the "cooling" outlet of controller B. This cuts the power to controller A and its lightbulb whenever the fins drop too low in temperature, preventing ice build up.
@@VegetableAcademy Thanks for the reply! Update: I applied your instructions and so far I can only get the cooler down to 44F. I need to be close to 35F for meat storage though. I am not sure if adding more insulation to the walls will help or not. Thanks again for your help!
@@samnora2 You're welcome. These instructions will allow you to replace the functions of the CoolBot, but you still need to make sure your air conditioner is properly sized and your room is well insulated. Aim for at least R25 insulation value in your walls, floor, and ceiling. Our cooler works fine, but I still wish we had added more insulation. CoolBot has a quick calculator that can help you select the right size of air conditioner for your space. You can find that here: www.storeitcold.com/build-it/ac-calculator/. This page doesn't mention the R value used for the calculations, but it is safe to assume it was R25 since CoolBot lists that as the industry standard.
@@VegetableAcademy My walk in is 4 ft by 4 ft by 8ft tall. I put a 5k btu ac in it and the walls and ceiling are insulated to approx R21. The coolbot web site says I should use a 6k btu ac for the area with a target temp of 38f. It seems I am short on the insulation and the btu's. Right now I can only get the temp down to 41f. I built it on a concrete pad and I didn't insulate the floor yet. I am hoping when I insulate the concrete floor I can get the temp down the last 3 degrees. Thanks again for the help!
@@samnora2 If your floor isn't insulated yet, that certainly explains a significant part of your trouble. Concrete is a great conductor so it will be wicking in a lot of heat through the floor. When you cover that with R20 as well, I think you'll see a big difference.