Food Pantry - Storage - Questions on Climate control

[meledward23]

I have a room that is in the daylight basement / garage. The room is connected to the house at the base of the stairs. Shares two walls with the garage and 2 walls with the house.

I want to make this small room (8x12) into a food pantry for storing current use food and longer term food. I figure to double insulate the room buy throwing up a second wall against the existing walls that separate the room from the garage which gets hot in the summer.

I plan on installing a exterior grade insulated door in the doorway.

My concerns and questions arise with the final step. Installing a window AC unit to keep this room cooler. I keep the house around 78 to 80 in the summer. Far warmer than I want to keep my food stores. I was thinking to cut a hole in the wall (I am well aware my electrical line locations) and install the window unit into the garage. Now if I understand window AC units there is no actual air exchange between the outside and inside so having it hang into the garage should not be a big deal. Right? I can install a drip pan as there is a sink nearby in the garage for washing up after working on stuff.

The final concern then is if that room is truly air tight (well close anyway) and I have a window AC unit keeping it around 68, CONDENSATION? Do I have to worry about moisture in the air in this room getting out of control?

I have looked on the net for ideas on similar rooms. Usually root cellar ideas involve venting to outside. But my concern is my summers are just too hot so I decided AC in the room independent from the house would help. I do plan on actually trying to build a small root cellar outside to double as a storm shelter as well, but that is another days project. (and by day, I mean eon).

 

[bcjmmac]

Couple of points & questions. Normally temp isn't such a big deal in the summer as people don't normally put up fresh vegetables then, so not sure why you are so worried about the temp. As well, depending on what you want to store, come the fall, you will likely need some humidity (i.e. potatoes, apples). I have always let the temp get up a bit in the summer, but the cold storage cools off quickly in the fall as the floor isn't insulated (live in Canada).
Anyhow, an AC unit will remove the humidity from the air so that shouldn't be a problem in the summer. In the winter, you will need some form of ventilation to remove both humidity and a buildup of organic gases (ethylene from fruit for instance) that effect (i.e. speed up) the ripening process of vegetables.

Hope that helps.

 

[meledward23]

Well the room will stay about 4 degrees warmer than the house. It is basically a closet. Now, if I keep the hosue at 78 that puts the room at 82.

In general foods (canned store, and canning canned, boxed food, dehydrated foods, etc) degrade nutritionaly and spoilage about 2x as fast for every 10 degrees above 70. Ideally 50-65 is the best temperature for these foods.

Where I live the house will be at 78+ from April till October. There will be a few cool nights in April and October but days easily clime into high 80's sometimes 90's. Last year I was picking Fresh Ripe Tomatoes and Peppers in October for the Neighborhoods annual Halloween Party.

That is basically half the year the house stays too warm for proper food storage.

And yes your information did help. Basically I dont have to worry about moisture from my AC. But I will have to give some consideration to vent it in the winter to keep fresh air.

 

[dave1949]

I'd watch for mildew forming, try to avoid paper and cardboard containers, fabrics, etc. Leave some space between the containers and wall to allow air to circulate, allowing any condensation to evaporate. I wish I had a suggestion how to cool your room with less expense, but nothing comes to mind.

 

[Jstpssng]

I have a room that is in the daylight basement / garage. The room is connected to the house at the base of the stairs. Shares two walls with the garage and 2 walls with the house.

I want to make this small room (8x12) into a food pantry for storing current use food and longer term food. I figure to double insulate the room buy throwing up a second wall against the existing walls that separate the room from the garage which gets hot in the summer.

I plan on installing a exterior grade insulated door in the doorway.

My concerns and questions arise with the final step. Installing a window AC unit to keep this room cooler. I keep the house around 78 to 80 in the summer. Far warmer than I want to keep my food stores. I was thinking to cut a hole in the wall (I am well aware my electrical line locations) and install the window unit into the garage. Now if I understand window AC units there is no actual air exchange between the outside and inside so having it hang into the garage should not be a big deal. Right? I can install a drip pan as there is a sink nearby in the garage for washing up after working on stuff.

The final concern then is if that room is truly air tight (well close anyway) and I have a window AC unit keeping it around 68, CONDENSATION? Do I have to worry about moisture in the air in this room getting out of control?

I have looked on the net for ideas on similar rooms. Usually root cellar ideas involve venting to outside. But my concern is my summers are just too hot so I decided AC in the room independent from the house would help. I do plan on actually trying to build a small root cellar outside to double as a storm shelter as well, but that is another days project. (and by day, I mean eon).

Store It Cold - Home of the CoolBot! Do you mean like this? I did a quick search on "walkin coolers" (which is what you seem to be describing) and it brought me directly to this site.

I hope it helps.

 

[meledward23]

I had done a similar search but had not yet seen the cool bot. Some of those searches are what lead me to my condensation concern.

I have no intention of going that low. I just want to keep the room in the middle 60's. I hope to be able to excavate a true root cellar this winter. If it doesnt stay cool enough I may do something like that for it as well. a Fully buried room should be fairly easy to keep cool.

The walk in cooler idea is more for stuff we use regularly, but I buy in large bulk quantities and we in general have about a full years rotation of almost any food we use. The wife would be displeased if I moved it all outside. Putting the root crops in a cellar would not be as big a deal, or so I think.