Convenient friend!
Look up Johnson Controls A419. See below
It is just one of many companies that are out there. Not expensive either.
Mike
Thanks! I first need to figure out where to place that extra freezer 
!
Thatās one sturdy root cellar!! A great project. Weāve had a root cellar in the back of our house (an underground house) for over 30 yrs. It works well for us, but it isnāt like the regulated frigās that most folks here use. Itās quite different from yours, too, in that it is a dry cellar and made of wood.
The biggest challenge is getting it cooled down in the fall, when harvest time arrives but the cellar is still warm. In summer ours is low 60ās, right now itās in the 50ās, heading down. Winter we have a nice walk-in refrigerator! Then iitās slow to warm up in the spring which is nice. Even though the air temps are going down now outside the soil is still warm so the root cellar is slow to cool. With that massive heat sink you have your experience will likely be quite different. And a different climate, of course. We have high and low vents to the outside with a small fan to turn on which helps regulate the temperature. Plus we can open the door to the adjacent pantry if it gets too cold.
Potatoes and carrots keep till early summer but the latest Iāve had apples is April. Someday Iāll have enough storage apples to see how they keep longer than that. I like ours and I hope you enjoy yours as much. Itās a satisfying way to keep the harvest.
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I live in DFW, so Iām not growing any apples, but we have gotten a few bushels in MO, where the husbandās family lives.
Iāve had issues with storage. Its too warm to leave them out. We do have a small basement, but its for pool equipment, salt equipment at that, so not a good place to put apples. Not to mention, I think it would get too hot anyway.
We have a spare frig, but even in the frig, some of the apples didnāt last well. Whats the best way to store apples in a frig? A couple folks mentioned bags, but I need more specifics. Open bags? Closed bags? Lots of apples in a bag or just a few?
We love apples and would love to get enough to last for a few months, but hate having any waste!
Generally apples should be stored at the lower to mid 30ās in a relatively moist environment. If stored in a refrigerator they need to be kept in a plastic bag that restricts evaporation because a frost free refrigerator maintains very dry conditions. See comments earlier in this thread.
A very important consideration is the variety of apple you are trying to store and how ripe it was when picked. Some varieties just donāt store well. Generally the later the the ripening the longer it can be stored.
Also damaged or bruised apples will not keep well.
Mike
Thanks, Mike!
Do you usually close the plastic bag with a knot or twist tie?
We have generally purchased pink lady or Fuji apples, but they have other options, if you think another options would keep better.
Thanks!
Natalie.
I use a chest freezer (no frost free cycle to dry things out) with a temp control to keep it above freezing.
But read earlier in this thread and see how others are, in fact, able to get good results with storage in a fridge.
Mike
Yes, the somewhat underripe apples will keep longer
Jason, Did you finish your root cellar? How did it work? Sue
I have the top on but still need to make a door and get it buried. Work and other projects get in the way of my apple hobby. The top was tricky as it weighs ~6800lbs and I needed a telehandler to put it on and as extended as it was, it was almost maxed out. Iām going to dump a few loads of wood chips on it and then some dirt.
Hopefully it will be finished for next years apples.
Iāve been busy making cider to use up lots of my apples.
Iāll try to get a picture of it with the lid on.
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I look at this and think āWow, two feet of soil and no rocks!ā
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Storage in paper bag: I got an email from Ron Joyner at Big Horse Creek Farm in NC, says he stores apples in big paper bags, not plastic. He has a lot of experience so thought Iād pass this along. Am guessing paper breathes a bit?
I assume he means in a home fridge. He didnāt give any more details. Tom Burford always preached to use a plastic bag and punch five or six thumb holes in the plastic to vent ethylene gas but keep humidity at a reasonable level.
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Way outside my expertise but I wonder if holes in the bag are necessary? This for instance talks about gas permeability of various food packaging āplasticsā:
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