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Skotrat
Member
Username: Skotrat
Post Number: 196
Registered: 07-2007
Posted From: 24.60.78.162
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 01:15 pm: | 
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I know that this seems a little expensive but the idea is very slick
As seen in the Lynn Byczinski's new book, Market Farming Success!
The CoolBot turns any brand of off-the-shelf, window-type air conditioning unit (purchased separately) into a turbo-charged cooling machine. With it, you can transform a highly-insulated room into a walk-in cooler, keeping your vegetables fresh and thermostatically controlled cool down to 32° F!
CoolBot will not only save you on installation and repair costs, it will also help you save electricity, reducing your operating costs when combined with new Energy Star air conditioning units engineered to much stricter environmental standards than standard walk-in cooler compressors. CoolBot uses new (patent-pending) technology that just became available in 2006.
Order now and get a free guide to keeping your vegetables fresh, containing reference data on the best temperatures to keep vegetables at for maximum quality.
Performance varies based on the size of your room and the size of the A/C unit you have. As a guide: Here in Southern New York, a $300 Home Depot 18,000 BTU window A/C unit kept produce in a 7' x 12' insulated room at 38° F during the summer.
http://www.storeitcold.com/ |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 4856
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 216.23.59.245
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 01:26 pm: |
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What does it do beyond act as a thermostat? |
Mike A.
Intermediate Member
Username: Mike_a
Post Number: 358
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 128.173.15.155
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 01:54 pm: |
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That does look like a cool idea, it tricks the A/C unit into reaching lower temps then it was designed to. |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 7664
Registered: 01-2002
Posted From: 24.57.225.170
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 02:15 pm: |
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There are certain advantages to the CoolBot unit, although I'm not sure they're worth $300 (or about $225 more than a digital temperature controller).
The big one is that it's not necessary to make any modifications to the air conditioner. Otherwise you will have to wire around the built-in thermostat on the a/c in order to be able to cool below the usual low setting (about 50 F).
Secondly, the CoolBot unit will sense when the a/c coils are icing and cycle the fan (but not the compressor) to melt the ice. Something similar can be accomplished by wiring around the a/c fan switch and letting it run constantly, which is somewhat less energy efficient than cycling it only when needed.
With some knowledge and ingenuity it's possible to make the modifications to the a/c for cooling a cold room and yet return it to its original state if you ever wanted to use it as a window unit. But the CoolBot means you never have to do anything but plug it in.
As the late BWTW used to say, you pays your money and you takes your choice. Is this a great country or what!? |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 4860
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 216.23.59.245
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 03:11 pm: |
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The instructions don't seem to mention how the power to the AC unit is controlled. I suppose it is through a plug just like other external thermostats. |
Patrick C.
Advanced Member
Username: Patrickc
Post Number: 720
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 12.179.227.2
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 09:17 pm: |
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You have to hook up one of the wires to the temperature probe on the front of the AC unit. They mention wrapping the lead to the probe to "ensure a good thermal connection". My guess is this has a small heater (maybe just a tiny resistor), which stays on until the room reaches the desired temperature. The temperature probe is hot, so this tricks the AC unit into keeping the compressor on.
In my experience (exactly one window AC unit) you don't have to do anything to the wiring to get a lower temperature range. Adjusting the set screw on the controller will change the temperature range, it just takes some trial and error to get it right. Scott describes it pretty well on his old walk-in page. My AC has a different controller than Scott's, but the idea is the same. The fan runs as long as the unit is turned on. BTW, the AC unit is a 5000 BTU one from Sears that I got two years ago. One guy on the Green Board said he couldn't adjust his low enough, but mine cooled the air to the 20's (F) and still had more room for adjustment. |
Tom Gardner
Senior Member
Username: Tom
Post Number: 1027
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 162.119.232.100
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 09:20 pm: |
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Patrick, Does the AC unit still need to be the "analog" control variety? |
Patrick C.
Advanced Member
Username: Patrickc
Post Number: 721
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 12.179.227.2
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 09:23 pm: |
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Dan, it does not do anything to the electricity supply to the window unit. As you might guess, a plug-in controller like many people use on a chest freezer would be useless with an un-modified air conditioner. |
Brews and Views Archive 2007 
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