11 replies to this topic

[bluegrassmom]

I know this can be done with old deep freezers but is there any reason I can't use an old fridge just as well? We are making plans to put in a root cellar and I have an old fridge just sitting out on the side porch. I'd like to put it to good use if I can. If anyone has done this - with either freezers or fridges - and has some tips to share, please feel free.

[Donit]

My best tip is to put the fridge into the side of a hill or on a slight incline with the door hinge on the uphill side. If you cover the door with a large heap of straw, it makes it pretty easy to get in and out without a lot of disruption. However, the practicality of this working depends on the temperature where you are. If your climate is too cold, this idea won't work because your frost line is deeper than the freezer/fridge.

The fridge will rust in proportion to the water retention of your soil. The wetter your soil stays, the quicker the fridge will rust out.

Also, fridges with a separate freezer work well because you can store apples on one side. Apples ripen everything else exposed to them in a root cellar setting, particularly in limited space. If you have two compartments you can use one for apples and the gas from the apples won't affect your other stored crops.

Also, if you want to HIDE your "root cellar" you can bury them in a dirt-floor basement or hide them under "compost piles" made from pallets with nothing but straw or leaves in them. Dig your "root cellar" at night and 99%+ of people won't know any better.

Attach a square piece of landscape cloth (which is black) to the BOTTOM of the pallets on the front and back edges. Attach the back and sides (3 pallets) in a U-shape by attaching to two T-posts planted at the back of the compost piles, with bottom of the poles extending down into the dirt on the far away side of the "root cellar". Leave the front pallet free by tying in place on both sides with a baling twine. Put the straw or leaves, anything light-weight, into the "compost pile".

When you want into your "root cellar" you simply remove the baling twine (or whatever), lift the front of the "compost pile" (which elevates the front pallet, the landscape cloth and everything inside the compost pile (so don't put too much in the compost pile)) and fold it back over the middle. This keeps the cloth taut so no (or little) "compost" falls down under the landscape cloth and forms a sort of lid. With the hinge of the fridge planted on the away from you side, towards the back of the "root cellar", it is easy to lift the outer "lid". Then you can lift the inner lid and get to your food. A short piece of 2x4 can be used as a prop for the outer "lid".

Donit
Working towards a world with a root cellar for every home and a harvest to put in it

[bluegrassmom]

Wow - thank you for this very informative how-to. We are in the Southern region so our climate here is not too cold. I've heard some people say to rig a pipe into your root cellar some how to allow air to vent and fresh air in? But I would think that would let rain in even if it was covered in mesh to keep debris out. Our winter here is alot more rain than snow. Any thoughts on that?

[Homemaker]

I can't remember... seems like I remember there being some kind of coolant chemical you need to remove first so it doesn't leak into the ground and contaminate the soil and underground water.
I know I'm not much help, so you should check into that. Anybody know?

[bluegrassmom]

Yes, I know there are elements that you have to dispose of before you are allowed to take old fridges to the dump so I figured I would still need to do this to use it as a root cellar. Dh and I don't know how to do it ourselves & most people we've talked to said to use a heating/cooling person to remove them. I'll have to look into finding someone.

[Donit]

Freon (spelling?) is the chemical and I don't know how to take that out. The one I saw had had all the Freon leak out before it was used for a cellar. I may be wrong about this but I thought that Freon was a gas, not a liquid.

Air vents are used in larger root cellars as a control mechanism for temperature and also humidity. A freezer/fridge "cellar" probably won't be helped much by one because it is too near the surface of the ground.

I left a couple of details out of my hiding the cellar idea. First of all, the design is basically two upside down Us or something very like a square m. The compost pile is two pallets wide across the back with a T-post driven in at the corners and in between the two. Two pallets are set at 90 degrees to form the sides and one "swings" from the T-post set between the two pallets in back to form the middle of the M.

Also, you have to line up the break between the fridge door and the freezer door on top with the middle pallet. Then you can move the middle pallet slightly to one side or the other in order to access both sides of the "cellar". I hope this makes sense now.

[Ambergris]

Wow - thank you for this very informative how-to. We are in the Southern region so our climate here is not too cold. I've heard some people say to rig a pipe into your root cellar some how to allow air to vent and fresh air in? But I would think that would let rain in even if it was covered in mesh to keep debris out. Our winter here is alot more rain than snow. Any thoughts on that?

Turn a fish hook upside down. This is the shape for your vent pipe. Rain seldom blows up into a pipe opening that faces the ground. You'll need it to stick out of the ground more than a few feet to keep cats from spraying it or dogs from watering it and getting any objectionable smelly stuff dripping down onto your food. Don't forget to cover the opening with aluminum, brass, or stainless screening to keep bugs and mice out That's if you want a vent, of course.

[CrabGrassAcres]

Remember that the harder it is to access the food, the less likely you are to rotate it fast enough. You MUST check on it frequently in case any starts to rot so you don't lose it all.

One of the main reasons for venting is that gases can build up in closed off cellars and people have died going down into one that was not vented.

[dogmom4]

bump

[Mt_Rider]

Don't sink a fridge into an area with a very high water table.....just sayin'.... BTDT


MtRider [...ah, Duluth...a place of memories! ]

[Teaberry]

Great idea and here's a video about it:



The creativity on their blog is amazing.
http://www.waldeneffect.org/

[Jeepers]

Thanks for the site link Teaberry. Looks like I have some good reading ahead of me!