I want to revive this topic and ask some additional questions about storing fruit/veggies in converted freezer.
What is the best controller? I see several types on amazon ranging from $25 to $65 and they all have about 4% of one star review with scaring stories about killed eggs, plants and fish. So it is kind of difficult to decide which one is better.
Where in the freezer you put the probe? Bottom, middle, top?
Do you store your produce in tight freezer bags or somehow else?
Is it OK for the produce(In the bags or not) to touch converted freezer bottom or walls, or you need to have some air between the cooling part of the freezer and produce?
We just bought 3.5 cu foot freezer for $30 on Craig’s list, now I need to convert it to storage.
Galinas, I only used the set up for apples when I had two freezers (one for apples at 32-38, one for meat at -19). The apples (mostly Arkansas Black, some Goldrush) did touch the inside walls and there was no damage well into May. I can not promise it, but what FN suggests above works well. These are near passive instruments, really difficult to break. Mine was bought at a brewing store. My guess is that a freezer with this mod. would work equally well for winter storage of roots and cabbage (but do not mix them with apples).
On another matter since you are from there: with my daughter we are thinking of going to the World Cup. Where to go? We want to see country life and monasteries, but we will also be based in Moscow. I can read russian and spit out some broken sentences.
ps. it does not matter where you put the probe. the apples were in paper bags for easier extraction, but to fill gaps I put also apples in direct contact with the wall.
If you ask me, I would definitely go to St. Petersburg - I love this city much more than Moscow, though I lived in Moscow. There is a train that can bring you from Moscow to St. Petersburg in just few hours, but you will need a place to stay there - there are more things you want to see there than you can see in one day. If you want to stay in and around Moscow you can take bus tour on “Golden circle of Russia” - it is a set of smaller towns around Moscow with monasteries and museums. Some tours include one-two nights stay in the hotel on the road. In Moscow itself, if you like art - visit Pushkin’s museum, and Tretiyakov’s Gallery. There are also a lot of working churches in Moscow. If you want to see “insider’s” Moscow or suburb, I can ask my daughter(she leaves there now, assuming she still will be there) to take you for a day excursion. Send me PM when you ready, and I can help you more…
I use the thermostat Fruitnut linked. I have it set to 34F. The temperature fluctuates between 32 and 41 since it’s an on/off type control. I put cardboard against the freezer walls since the walls get colder. So far I’ve got apples, pears, pecan, persimmon, honey locust, jujube, hican, pawpaw and mulberry growing fine with scion wood stored this way. The freezer was free from a coworker so it worked out great for me. It’s about 30 years old and I bet there are another 30 years to go.
You will be very happy with the freezer solution. I bought a 5.5 cu ft last year and this year I’ll probably add a 7.5 cu ft. and keep the 5.5 as a true freezer for all the nectarines I hope to save from all the “rots”. (You hear @alan ? I was able to eat one frozen nectarine this winter and my mouth is still watering )
I suspend the probe in the lower third of the freezer hanging in the middle equidistant from the walls. Some people drill a hole in the side of the freezer and push it through. I don’t think that is necessary. I just hung it over the top and the lid closed tight enough. The probe’s wire is pretty thin… I would not drill.
I bought some small “milk crate” storage cases. I would not put the fruit in sealed bags of any type. Keep in mind that a freezer chest is NOT “frost free” so it does not dehydrate the contents. I took a cereal bowl and put a wet Bounty paper towel in it to keep the humidity level up and as an easy test to see if the freezer was drying out. After three months the paper towel was still good and damp Some of the moisture will escape or freeze up onto the sidrs so the wet towel releases moisture as needed .I kept mine at 34-36 degrees and some of the moisture did freeze out onto the walls at the bottom. The wet paper towel kept the humidity level up enough so the fruit was not affected. NOT necessarily the “scientific method” to insure proper humidity but more like the “it makes sense to me” method . Easy humidity control & test.
I would NOT let the produce touch the walls as the walls do get colder than the air as they absorb the heat to expel it.
NOTE : I will ( didn’t do it this year) add a small circulating fan to keep the air moving so as to equalize the temperature. I did get some freezing of the fruit on the bottom most layers of the boxes. Without the circulating fan, the bottom get much colder than the upper reaches.
I’d be cautious about drilling a hole in the sides. Most chest freezers have their cooling coils running around the sides. It’s where the frost collects when you turn it on in freezer mode. You don’t want to hit those coils/tubes or the freezer is toast.
A safer bet is to run the temp sensor wire in thru the top edge when the lid is up, and duct tape it in place. The lid seal is usually flexible enough to handle the slight bump that will make.
How do you deal with temperature fluctuation in converted chest freezer? I set my thermostat turn on and start freezing at 50F and turn off at 48 (this is not final temperature, just a step in a process of cooling down my potatoes.) I also have external thermometer that has its probe next to thermostat prob. And I see the freezer turns on at 50 and turns off at 48. However, in between temperature is falling to 40, making 2 degrees delta to be 10 degrees. It is because cold freezer walls continue to produce cold. The probes are located between potato bags, that are inside insulated cardboard box. I also found, if I put probes 2-3 inches apart it can make difference in temperature up to 4-5 degrees. Will putting thermostat probe right against the wall help? The target temperature range is 40/42, so i am afraid that fluctuation will make it bellow freezing. How do you deal with uneven temperature?
This year I will be suspending a small electric fan to keep the air circulating to even out the temps.
You still need to develop some “shelving” system to keep the produce from actually touching the walls and floor. I used milk crate type storage containers to hold the fruit.
galinas, there will be fluctuations. All thermostats are built so as to turn the cooling on at T, and turn it off at T+a. You have to accept the “a” gap. But here is the thing. If your freezer is really full, the air will change temperature by “a” between on and off, but your bulk material has much more thermal mass and will change its temperature by a small fraction of a.
@MES111 , two computer fans I used to create a flow for my tomato starters do miracle! Installed them in the morning, reset min and max on thermometer. Came home from work to 2 degree gap! Thanks a lot - I was actually skeptical if they can help in tight place, but they really do. @glib , I understand the gap and accept it. Actually thermostat doing it’s job turning on and off with 2 degree gap. The temperature fells AFTER thermostat turned off freezer because cold walls continue to produce cold. But fan solves the issue, thanks to @MES111 brilliant idea.
When your freezer is empty/mostly empty I’d really appreciate photos. I’m curious where the fans are inside and which direction they push air. Are you putting a slightly damp paper towel in there to monitor humidity?
@Barkslip , I will try to make photos, but not sure about it- freezer is small, view from top wouldn’t show much. But I will try or draw a diagram. I don’t need paper towel there. The humidity is very high in summer here and because of the cables the cover is not exactly hermetic, so walls are always wet. I may need it in winter though.
So this is my attempt to draw it. Red cylinders are quart jars of tomato juice, brown box - cardboard box with potatoes. There is also insulation inside the box. I am planning to add more jars as tomatoes getting ripe to fill side space and put my beets on top of the box in some flat container. The fans are that black things on the top view. I am planning to skip jars where the fans are now.
