Thermo cabinet for storing vegetables: what to choose or make by yourself

Thermo cabinet for storing vegetables is a real find for residents of apartment buildings. After all, they often do not have a separate cellar, so the problem arises of storing supplies for the winter - potatoes and other vegetables, as well as conservation. As a matter of fact thermo-cabinets are thermoses of the big volume, keeping the set temperature.

Kinds of thermo cabinets

By design, there are two types of cellars( thermo cabinets, thermal containers) - rigid and flexible. As the name implies, the rigid ones are made of stiff materials. They occupy the same place, regardless of whether something is stored in them. Flexible thermo cabinets at the end of the storage season can be added. At the same time, considerable space is released on the balcony.

In addition, the thermal cabinets differ in the following parameters:

• depending on the power supply - active, connected to the network, and passive, not consuming electricity;
• on the material of which are made, - plastic, wooden, with a steel frame, of waterproof fabric and sintepon;
• by volume - from 95 to 100 liters.

Rigid thermo containers without power supply are convenient to use if they are installed in common areas - in the entrance or common vestibule. On a non-glazed balcony or loggia, it is better to install a model with power supply so that in winter frost the vegetables are not frozen, and the cans with preservation are not ragged from the cold.

Flexible storage cabinet for storing vegetables on the balcony

Flexible containers with heating for storage of vegetables in appearance resemble a capacious backpack or bag. This is not surprising: they are lined with colorful waterproof material. This allows you to choose a thermo-cabinet not only based on practical considerations, but also on aesthetic parameters. But the purely utilitarian characteristics of such a device will please those who store vegetables on the balcony.

Such a thermo cabinet is equipped with a thermostat. Depending on the type of products inside, you can set the temperature from 0º C to 7º C. The consumption of electricity varies from model to model and depends on their volume. For example, a cellar of 95 liters consumes 120 watts / hour, and if 300 liters are placed in it, then it will consume more - 200 watts / hour. As can be seen from the examples, the energy consumption of such heat boxes is comparable to the consumption of several light bulbs.

Cells will keep food in winter if the outside temperature is not lower than -40ºC and not higher than +5ºC. Such properties are provided by a three-layer fabric structure and an additional layer of insulation. Flexible thermo cabinets are additionally equipped with fasteners - dowels and brackets, as well as a cover for storage in the summer. The lid is opened easily - it's enough to unfasten the zipper.

Buying a cellar or making it yourself?

It's easy to make a thermo cabinet with your own hands. The simplest design is a cellar with a rigid frame of passive type, without power supply. For its construction does not take much time and materials, so if there is free time, this design can be done by yourself, and it will not by its characteristics yield to the acquired cellar.

Of course, if there is no time, the desire to make something or skills in such work, it is easier and quicker to purchase a ready-made oven. For those who know how to handle the minimum set of tools, and are ready to try their hand, it will be helpful to step-by-step instructions on how to make a thermo cabinet on the balcony with your own hands.

Preparatory stage

Before starting to work, you need to decide what materials will be made from the cellar. Then stock yourself with materials and a suitable tool. The frame is suitable for boards, chipboard, plastic panels, aluminum or steel profile. As a heater any heat-insulating material can be used - minvat, polystyrene, batting, sintepon.

To properly make a cellar with your own hands, you need to represent a general design. It is a container of any shape with double walls, between which there is a layer of heat-insulating material. Its height, width and depth should be made, based on the free space on the balcony and the volume of products that will be stored there. But the total thickness of the walls should be not less than 50 mm. The lid can be made removable or foldable. If it is folding, then you need to prepare the hinges.

Board

If the walls of the frame are made of plastic panels or thin plywood, then for the role of insulation, it is better to choose a plate warmer - foam or basalt mineral wool. It will give additional rigidity.

Thermo cabinet for storing vegetables with your own hands

We will consider the option of manufacturing a thermo cabinet with our own hands made of 50 × 50 mm wooden beams, 50 mm thick sheets of particle board and polystyrene. Step-by-step instruction

• Make measurements of free space on the balcony and make a drawing of the cellar. At the same time, keep in mind that if you bend too high and get food, it will be uncomfortable. The optimum height is 50-60 mm.
• Uneven bars and chipboard treated with an antifungal compound.
• After complete drying, make the markings on the uneven bars according to the drawing.
• Using a wood saw, cut the uneven bars along the markings. It should be 4 vertical racks with a height in the height of the cellar and 12 horizontal bars. Four of them will be used for the cover.
• From the beams, knock down two frames - the frame of the box and the frame of the cover.
• Mark the sheets of chipboard and cut out 12 parts - two pieces on the bottom, cover, front and back wall. The rest will go to the end. Note that the inner trim must be 100 mm smaller.
• Wrap the frame from the beams with sheets of chipboard( except the cover).
• Cut a piece of wood with small prongs of foam from the foam, which will enter between the double walls. They should be six - on the bottom, the lid, 2 sidewalls, front and rear walls. Please note that they must fit tightly into the frame.
• Insert the resulting parts between the walls of the box.
• Now make the lid - lay a foam between the beams and tape it with chipboard sheets.
• Fasten the cover to the box with the hinges.
• Coat the structure with a protective layer - paint, varnish or film.

This concludes the preparation of the cabinet itself. But in order to keep the necessary microclimate in it, and vegetables could breathe, it is necessary to provide it with ventilation. How to do this, consider below.

Council

Collect the construction you need on the balcony, in the finished form it may not enter the door.

How to make the microclimate in the cellar?

The most ideal option for ventilating the cellar on the balcony is ventilation through the holes at the top. In order to conveniently adjust the degree of ventilation, the lath is fastened over the lid in such a way that it can be easily moved. This fastening is easy to do, if you nail down the brushes with grooves to the cover, and in them get the bar. Further it is necessary to drill apertures in diameter of 25-30 mm both in a cover, and on a lath. Now, moving the bar, you can adjust the degree of coincidence of the holes, and accordingly, the intensity of ventilation.

If you insert a perforated pipe with incandescent lamps fixed in such a thermo box, the passive cellar will become a full-fledged thermo box with heating. To do this, in addition to the pipe with two or three incandescent lamps, you need to install a thermostat and make a hole in the box for the wire. You can use a thermostat from household appliances or buy a thermostat. The heating cage, made by hand, will be a reliable storage for conservation and vegetables for the winter.