# Cold-storage unit in my basement, my experiment



## greatgardener (Mar 29, 2013)

Hello,

Its the place to share my cold-storage unit, i think !

To preserve my vegetables from my kitchen garden and store my canning.

Building Pictures

My nice bins:


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Wow! Now that is nice.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

k0xxx said:


> Wow! Now that is nice!


X2.

gggggggggggggg


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

Sweet! I'd love to have something like that; however, the heat and humidity of Texas is counterproductive to having such a storeroom. I'm envious.....


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Love the link - thanks for providing a great resource! 

What temperature do you maintain in your cold storage?


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## Dixie (Sep 20, 2010)

Great job, so neat looking too. Welcome to the forum.


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## tenntex (Oct 27, 2011)

Very nice!

I like the use of the hardware cloth for the bins. Wouldn't have thought of that!


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## DKRinAK (Nov 21, 2011)

Nice set up, how far about grade is the vent set?

How do you keep bugs out of the storeroom?

How cold does it get in the room?

Looking forward to your future posts in this.


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## greatgardener (Mar 29, 2013)

Drinkak: Exterior grid. Using my cold-storage unit (winter+spring), its ok to preserve my vegetables.

At this time, i don't have a vent system (just my 2 pipes system)


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## LongRider (May 8, 2012)

Nice we have a room in my Shop/Studio/Garage aka Man Room that for some reason is naturally cold year round. You could hang meat in it, in mid summer. That we intend on using as our food storage area with shelving much like what you have. I like the bin idea will probably incorporate that into ours as well. Is there a reason for having used planks instead of plywood sheets for the shelving? Air circulation? Price?


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## greatgardener (Mar 29, 2013)

Tips, give space between the piece of wood shelves ( for air circulation ). I used a 1" x 3" pruches. 240 pieces 

Price evaluation: now... 800$ US...


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## LongRider (May 8, 2012)

greatgardener said:


> Tips, give space between the piece of wood shelves ( for air circulation ). I used a 1" x 3" pruches. 240 pieces
> 
> Price evaluation: now... 800$ US...


Thanks what I thought good idea. They finishing up on the refinishing the concrete floor of the shop/studio lay down a couple of coats of epoxy. Hooking up the propane heater this week so well start putting in shelves work benches et all, next week. Perfect timing for your thread. Your bins and slats changed how I will do mine. Thanks


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

In a true cellar you don't want your shelving to be touching the walls because the walls will be a surface upon which moisture is collecting. A cellar should have fairly high humidity.

Now for a basement cellar you aren't going to get that desired humidity level naturally but if you are really committed to the basement cellar being a long term feature you can increase the humidity by jackhammering out the concrete floor or a portion of the floor in the cellar. Obviously this is a drawback to a future repurposing of that cellar space but for cellar functionality it's an enhancement.


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## db2469 (Jun 11, 2012)

Our pantry is in the basement...is 62 degrees and 60% humidity good for long term storage? Or is that too humid?


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

db2469 said:


> Our pantry is in the basement...is 62 degrees and 60% humidity good for long term storage? Or is that too humid?


Long term storage of what?

Generally lower temperatures are better than higher temperatures, so 62 degrees is better than 70 but for storage of uncanned fruits and vegetables these are not ideal conditions.

Here's a chart to help you out.

Now for buckets and canned jars, it's good enough. The humidity becomes far less critical now while temperature still has some effect on the long term stability of the canned food, meaning don't store canned food right next to your furnace or sitting on top of your hot water tank. The difference between 60 and 70 will aid in extending storage life simply due to less environmental stress placed on the canning lid.


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## db2469 (Jun 11, 2012)

Bobbb said:


> Long term storage of what?
> 
> Generally lower temperatures are better than higher temperatures, so 62 degrees is better than 70 but for storage of uncanned fruits and vegetables these are not ideal conditions.
> 
> ...


I was referring to the storage of commercially canned products mostly...meats, soups, beans...thanks!


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## csluyuan (May 4, 2013)

I'm envious.....


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

db2469 said:


> I was referring to the storage of commercially canned products mostly...meats, soups, beans...thanks!


Most expiration times are figured at 70*F. You double the lifespan of most items for every ten degrees reduction in temperature. So you have effectively doubled the storage time on your beans etc. Your canned goods are less troublesome. I have eaten twenty year old canned salmon that I put up and stored at 70*F. You also get bonus points for having a relatively constant temperature as large fluctuations can be detrimental to food storage. You don't want to freeze stuff but another ten or fifteen degrees would be ideal. All in all what you have come up with is excellent.


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## thillprepper1 (Apr 4, 2013)

Was thinking about placing a metal box with lid in the ground about 3 feet down for cooler storage. A friend keeps his sweet potatoes in a similar box year around. What would be the benefits and problems of putting food preserved in jars in this type box. Thanks


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

thillprepper1 said:


> Was thinking about placing a metal box with lid in the ground about 3 feet down for cooler storage. A friend keeps his sweet potatoes in a similar box year around. What would be the benefits and problems of putting food preserved in jars in this type box. Thanks


If you are talking about stuff like canned meat, fish, and vegetables it would not hurt them but it would provide little benefit unless you stored them in extremely hight temperatures or where there were serious fluctuations. Over a few years you may develop a problem with the lids rusting through but if you used the Tattler lids that problem would go away.

If you store commercially canned goods in a moist environment you need to worry about the labels falling off or dissolving. To avoid "mystery stew" I always marked the lids with a magic marker when I was living on my boat.


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## greatgardener (Mar 29, 2013)

Shelves: 1" x 3" ... kepp space between the planks.
Price: approx. 500$ US.

Air circulation... very weel without cooler system November to April


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## greatgardener (Mar 29, 2013)

*My potatoes bins*



greatgardener said:


> Hello,
> 
> Its the place to share my cold-storage unit, i think !
> 
> ...


And Mypotatoes bins: *pictures*


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