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Post by 12540dumont on Mar 9, 2013 20:12:28 GMT -5
It's that time of year as I consider small tools that might go along way to helping out here at the farm. gear.tinyfarmblog.com/category/harvest/Here's a "cool bot" One of the local guys here, got some bales of straw, and stacked them up inside his barn on blocks. He stacked them up and on one wall built in a window for a room air conditioner. And on another wall, he built in a door frame and door. And you have an instant walk in fridge. Every season, he builds a new one out of straw. (The roof is boards and tin, with more bales on top). The only issue he had is that to keep the veges at optimum temperature, the A/C had to cycle on and off and he had to continually fiddle with the cold/colder/coldest setting. Some of you don't live where it's hot, so this would be silly, but some days when I pick at 9am it's already 80 degrees. The fridge is never big enough for anything more than strawberries. It would be really nice to be able to pick cukes and other veges in the late afternoon and cool them enough for delivery the next day. What do you scientist folks out there think? |
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Post by davida on Mar 9, 2013 20:38:26 GMT -5
It's that time of year as I consider small tools that might go along way to helping out here at the farm. gear.tinyfarmblog.com/category/harvest/Here's a "cool bot" One of the local guys here, got some bales of straw, and stacked them up inside his barn on blocks. He stacked them up and on one wall built in a window for a room air conditioner. And on another wall, he built in a door frame and door. And you have an instant walk in fridge. Every season, he builds a new one out of straw. (The roof is boards and tin, with more bales on top). The only issue he had is that to keep the veges at optimum temperature, the A/C had to cycle on and off and he had to continually fiddle with the cold/colder/coldest setting. Some of you don't live where it's hot, so this would be silly, but some days when I pick at 9am it's already 80 degrees. The fridge is never big enough for anything more than strawberries. It would be really nice to be able to pick cukes and other veges in the late afternoon and cool them enough for delivery the next day. What do you scientist folks out there think? Looks interesting. Another option for a walk in cooler may actually be a walk in cooler. One of my friends contracts to replace walk in coolers in convenience stores. According to him, convenience stores in our climates change out the coolers every 5 to seven years as they become less efficient. He gave me several of them because I was planning to use the panels to make insulated raised beds. So you may be able to get a walk in cooler for free. |
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Post by templeton on Mar 9, 2013 22:18:55 GMT -5
sounds like it should work. And no reason you couldn't do half a shed if you wanted.
potential issues - vermin, condensation, mouldy fridge syndrome.
Efficiency gains i imagine if you could minimize drafts, and solar radiant heating. Racks to maximize thermal exchange. Some thermal mass inside to prevent temperature swings - drums of water?
Even more efficient if you could design it like a chest freezer, and enter through the roof!
Nice idea.
The article on constructing using foam and batts suggests an R value of 19. I'm thinking there is a trans Pacific unit missmatch here again, since I've never heard of anything with this high an R value in Aust.
A bit more searching...this link here <http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/1998/9/1/R-Value-of-Straw-Bales-Lower-Than-Previously-Reported/>
indicates that straw bales should meet the required thermal insulation requirement.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Mar 10, 2013 4:55:55 GMT -5
Pretty much everyone around here uses Coolbots, I can't think of anyone that is using straw bales for insulation though. Even some farmers who already had walk-in coolers with dedicated condenser units have converted them to being cooled with Coolbots. Lot of people just build big box and insulate with blueboard or sprayfoam for reasonalby cheap walk-in units. The main thing is to get the floor insulated enough, opposite problem of keeping a space warm, cold leaks out the bottom. Other thing folks have had issues with is inadequate drainage in the summer when everything sweats. Need a drain or two for in the humid season.
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Post by olddog on Mar 11, 2013 9:36:37 GMT -5
Mice and Rats!
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Post by steev on Mar 11, 2013 10:29:11 GMT -5
And voles, oh my!
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Post by raymondo on Mar 11, 2013 16:05:13 GMT -5
A local nursery maintains a seed bank of local plant species. It's inside a mud brick building. The mud brick was made with good quantities of straw so it's more like cob really. Anyway, although not actively heated or cooled, the seed room seems to maintain a pretty constant temperature and humidity. I suspect a straw bale room would be even better. A chap here built a straw bale house. He encased the bale walls in strong wire mesh which he felt would eliminate rodent invasion.
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Post by 12540dumont on Mar 11, 2013 17:41:56 GMT -5
Yeah Ray, there's several here. They wrap them and stucco them. It's pretty neat actually. My friend who rebuilds his each year, says that he's thinking about stuccoing one. However, every year he's had to move where it is on the farm, so that's why he's never bothered stuccoing them before. If it's no bigger than 12 x 12, you can make one here without a permit. And they want a permit to get a permit!
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Post by olddog on Mar 11, 2013 19:51:08 GMT -5
isnt that the way it is going now!
The wire is a great idea, to keep out the rodents, that should work really well!
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Post by littleminnie on Mar 11, 2013 20:48:53 GMT -5
They show straw bales homes in Mother Earth News.
I think the cool bot could be made around a door you already have so you don't have to buy a door. When I buy a farm I will do something like that.
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Post by steev on Mar 11, 2013 22:27:22 GMT -5
12x12? Inner or outer? I thought you could only build 10x12 w/o permits, outer dimensions; maybe it's county-by-county, or is there some varience for straw-bale?
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Post by bunkie on Mar 12, 2013 9:24:25 GMT -5
hey holly, i've read about using straw bales here in the winer to make mini root cellars, so to speak, in our barns to keep potaatoes and such in. problem the mice. like the wire idea.
looking at your link, that stool with the seatbelt is really something, eh?! ;D
and the 'harvest cart' could use a wheelbarrow for such! ;D
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Post by 12540dumont on Mar 12, 2013 11:20:47 GMT -5
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Post by 12540dumont on Apr 24, 2013 11:23:35 GMT -5
Jim Myer from OSU has published a new book: Organic Crop Breeding
John Navazio from OSA has published a new book: The Organic Seed Grower
Check them out.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Apr 24, 2013 18:35:21 GMT -5
The Navazio book is really good. I bought it already.
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