Refrigerating a pantry

I have a pantry thats about 1.2x1.2m square built into the wall of the kitchen. How would you go about cooling it, anons? During summer it gets above 25 degrees C a lot of the time in there, which isn't ideal for food storage.
I was thinking of renovating it anyway, pulling all the shelves out etc, so I could possibly strip the walls back and insulate them, then shove the guts of an old fridge in the wall and set it up as a cool room, but that would be a lot of work.

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    > refrigerated pantry
    it's called a refrigerator. get another one.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I don't have room for another one, nor can I afford one thats the size of a pantry. I dont need it to be as cold as a regular fridge, my goal is to keep it below 15-20 degrees maximum.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >I dont need it to be as cold as a regular fridge, my goal is to keep it below 15-20 degrees maximum.
        Anon, you're saying you want it colder than a fridge. That you want a freezer instead.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          I don't have room for another one, nor can I afford one thats the size of a pantry. I dont need it to be as cold as a regular fridge, my goal is to keep it below 15-20 degrees maximum.

          nvm, I get you meant Celsius now. If you have a basement just put food there, or put spoilables on the lower shelves and keep the door open.

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    you can use a window unit air conditioner (or similar) with a "Coolbot" controller unit to trick the window unit into running at a more refrigerator-like temperature.

    you could put the window unit in your attic and rig up some ductwork to your pantry from the ceiling for cool air, and exhaust air out a roof vent. many types of temperature probe could be used inside pantry, if needed to control the unit, if not using coolbot.

    the key to affordability is getting a free window unit... but then there is the cost of electricity.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      That's probably the most realistic option for now, I suppose. Even a small window unit would be more than enough to cool the pantry.
      The good thing is that for me electricity is basically free, I've got a solar panel setup that runs at a high surplus so running shit all day when it's sunny and hot is no big deal.

      do you want it to be cooler than room temperature? if not you can just put a fan through the wall to circulate air with your kitchen.

      My room temperature is in the high 20s on some days, so that wouldn't help me either sadly.

      [...]
      nvm, I get you meant Celsius now. If you have a basement just put food there, or put spoilables on the lower shelves and keep the door open.

      >basement
      I wish, nobody seems to build houses with basements in Australia for some reason.
      If I left the door open my cats would get in and wreak havoc, plus the door opens into the kitchen walkway so that would be no good either.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >I wish, nobody seems to build houses with basements in Australia for some reason.
        Probably because the entire continent is solid rock lol. If you're in a non humid area of australia you may want to look into those portable evaporation coolers as a cheaper alternative. Only works in dry heat though. Only problem is that introducing humidity it might be a disaster and counterintuitive to preserving food. If you want a more permanent solution with no power then look into digging a root cellar of some sort. Anything under the ground will always be cooler than the surface.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >I wish, nobody seems to build houses with basements in Australia for some reason.
        in a country thats hot as balls youd think people would want a room thatx consistently cool

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          I might just dig my own root cellar at some point.

          normally pantry items are considered "dry storage" and require.. well room temperature to be fine. 25C = 77F thats fine for a pantry. not sure what the frick you want to store in there that requires a lower temp, at that point you might as well just put it in the fridge. also pantry stuff shouldnt be exposed to moisture which you would get from colder temps. pasta, cake mixes, anything of the like should be DRY and room temp average.

          you are a moron and should forget life you lame waste of fricking space.

          >25C = 77F thats fine for a pantry
          The problem is unless I have the main aircon running from dawn till dusk, the pantry can get up to 30-35 degrees C on some days, and running that aircon constantly kills any gains I get from my solar.
          I also want to store some of the produce I grow, like onions, potatoes, pumpkins, etc. and would run out of space in the fridge. I also want my stored goods to have a nice long shelf life, so keeping them cool would be ideal.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    do you want it to be cooler than room temperature? if not you can just put a fan through the wall to circulate air with your kitchen.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    there are things called zeer pots, but i don't know how useful it will be in this case. it's not very space efficient for an enclosed space like pantry.
    a large unglazed earthen pot, and a smaller container inside (i don't think this needs to be unglazed), with a lining of sand between the two, and filled with water. as the water evaporates through the outer pot it pulls the heat from the inside outwards.

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    The Soviets just didn't insulate the section of wall under the sink, but insulated the cabinet doors instead and used that as an ice box

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    An air conditioner?

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    normally pantry items are considered "dry storage" and require.. well room temperature to be fine. 25C = 77F thats fine for a pantry. not sure what the frick you want to store in there that requires a lower temp, at that point you might as well just put it in the fridge. also pantry stuff shouldnt be exposed to moisture which you would get from colder temps. pasta, cake mixes, anything of the like should be DRY and room temp average.

    you are a moron and should forget life you lame waste of fricking space.

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