Cheap and easy coldroom?

[Jeremyjtthompso]

Hi, I am new to this forum and indeed new to the world of refrigeration in general, so please forgive my ignorance.

I have an old coal house; 4ft x 4ft square x 6ft high, brick built, flat concrete roof concrete floor, no windows, single wooden door, that I want to convert into a temporary cold store for storing pig and turkey carcasses whilst butchering before they go in the freezer or are sold. I believe I need to get the temperature down to about 4 degrees C.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how I might create a Heath Robinson system that won't cost the earth and can be made from easily available materials from the DIY store and so on?

Your help and suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks,
Jeremy

[Peter_1]

Welcome from Belgium.
You will need to isolate the room. You can find on the market second hand PU panels.
Those panels have to be cleaned several times, so take those with the white steel outside.
Floor must be tiled for easy cleaning or a 2 component PU floor.
All this you can do it yourself after advised from an experienced tech , showing the pittfalls (like cold bridges) .
Then, search for a 2nd hand cooling unit and try to find someone to install it.
Or ask a tech if he hasn't a second hand unit.
You can probably hang up the evaporator in the room, install the compressor, tie some cables according to the instructions of the technician.
Try to find a fridge working alone and ask him to work on an hourly rate and help him.
That's anyway how we often do it here. I'm glad the owner can all do this already for me bacause this isn't real refrigeration work, it's more general construction.

[taz24]

Hi ya mate.
It does all come down to cost. you will find cold room panels on ebay and could possibly pick them up cheap.
4ftx4ftx6ft is a small area and by the time you insulate the walls you will loose another few inch.
You realy do need the help of a fridge man because when you have insulated the room you need to install the unit and evap and that requires tools and equipment.
For a meat chill you need the box to be capable of going down to about 0 deg c because you have a brick built box you do not need very thick insulation. When you put the insulation make sure you have a vapour barrier between the wall and the insulation to stop moisture ingress.
Ask around on this group or phone a few companies localy. You could install most of it your self with help but you will need speceilist help to install the unit.
One more point is to check with the authorities regarding hanging fresh slaughted meat. I'm not sure but you may need a health certificate or somthing.

Cheers taz.

[Jeremyjtthompso]

Thank you gents.

That gives me something to start on.

As I said I am ignorant of the refrigeration world: what are PU panels?

[Peter_1]

The isolation is polyurethan.
We can buy these panels here 2nh hand at +/- 20 €/m².
They're new but with small faults on it (mostly a scratch)

[Peter_1]

The isolation is polyurethan.
We can buy these panels here 2nh hand at +/- 20 €/m².
They're new but with small faults on it (mostly a scratch)

[swcoldrooms]

the only prob u wil get with using pu is its hard to dispose of if u have panel left over. landfill sites and tips will not take it. get pir panels just as cheep a bit more dust but easier to work with.

[madhu mistry]

Hi, I am new to this forum and indeed new to the world of refrigeration in general, so please forgive my ignorance.

I have an old coal house; 4ft x 4ft square x 6ft high, brick built, flat concrete roof concrete floor, no windows, single wooden door, that I want to convert into a temporary cold store for storing pig and turkey carcasses whilst butchering before they go in the freezer or are sold. I believe I need to get the temperature down to about 4 degrees C.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how I might create a Heath Robinson system that won't cost the earth and can be made from easily available materials from the DIY store and so on?

Your help and suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks,
Jeremy
ihave 12 foot by 12foot coldroom in a property of mine which i am selling all is working ,u would have to dismantle it ,was used for flower ,come and have a look ,make me a offer,around £600