For the inhabitants of our country, it is a common thing to stock up on fresh vegetables and fruits for the winter. In the cold season, the price of seasonal products is much higher. Such stocks allow you not only to provide yourself with the necessary amount of vitamins, but also significantly save on food.
The owners of a private house store vegetables and fruits in the cellar or basement. But what about city dwellers?
The solution to this problem is simpler than it might seem. Equip a cellar on the balcony.
Product storage conditions
Special conditions are needed for long-term storage of fruits and vegetables. You can save natural products at a temperature of 1-5 degrees above zero, in rooms with a relative humidity of 90%. In apartments, most often dry and too warm air, and in refrigerators there is not enough space for storage, and the humidity in it does not correspond to the norm. To accommodate a couple of bags of potatoes, a heating cabinet for storing vegetables or, as it is also called, a cellar, is suitable.
The principle of the balcony cellar
Thisa hermetically sealed box, which consists of heat-insulated walls, a bottom and a lid. A good cellar, designed for a very cold winter, should be equipped with heating elements. They will not allow the contents of the cellar to freeze and deteriorate.
For convenience, the vault is equipped with a temperature sensor that monitors the internal temperature. When it reaches the upper limit, the sensor turns off.
Types of cellars
The role of the cellar on the balcony is performed by the following structures:
- Heated cabinet for storing vegetables. It is sold ready for use. It looks like a box. It has a metal case, and inside - a galvanized box. Thanks to the built-in thermostat and electric awning, it can be used at an air temperature of -40°C. The device is connected to the mains, and the microclimate inside the heating cabinet remains unchanged, and your stocks are not subject to freezing. The average volume of this design is 300 liters.
- Soft electrical container. It has a great external resemblance to a thermal bag, only it differs significantly in size. Such a cellar is made of two layers of water-repellent material, between which a synthetic winterizer layer is laid. The thermal container keeps vegetables safe and sound at temperatures from -40°C to +5°C due to built-in wire heaters that work automatically. The soft thermal container has a small weight, which refers to its advantages. To place such a cellar on a balcony or loggia is notwill be difficult.
- Homemade vegetable store. The most budgetary way to store food is a do-it-yourself homemade cellar on the balcony. A home-made heating cabinet is insulated, and boxes are placed inside in which cabbage, onions, potatoes, etc. will be stored. The casing keeps vegetables in a favorable microclimate, preventing them from freezing or drying out.
Features of the finished cellar for the balcony
Now it is not difficult to purchase and install a cellar on the balcony. A variety of models allows you to choose the option that meets your requirements and financial capabilities.
The design features of ready-to-use cellars include the presence of heating elements that are distributed around the entire perimeter. Many modern models are equipped with temperature control and a screen on the thermostat. This allows you to set the ideal microclimate for compliance with storage conditions.
Such products have a wide range. On the market there are models with a volume of 100 to 300 liters. The product is unpretentious, it can be installed in any corner of the balcony, protected from moisture. The equipment connected to the power grid consumes up to 1.5 kW per day. This is a fairly modest figure compared to other household electrical appliances.
With the onset of heat, it is enough to wash, dry and fold the cellar. The thermal container is a rather unpretentious unit that allows you to keep food fresh throughout the winter.
Make our own cellarhands
A homemade cellar most often resembles a wooden box. Inside it is well insulated and able to maintain a positive temperature. When the thermometer falls below zero, the electric heating is turned on, if the master has taken care of it in advance. The dimensions of a homemade cellar depend on your wishes, possibilities and dimensions of the balcony.
What do we make a cellar from?
To make a home cellar on the balcony, you can use ordinary boards, plywood, chipboard and more. The frame is recommended to be made of bars 2040 mm. For fire protection and cellar durability, treat all materials with fungus and mold preservative and fire retardant mix.
After you have sheathed the frame with the selected material and you have a kind of box, we move on to thermal insulation. Styrofoam, mineral wool or ursa are suitable for this, in general, any materials that can retain heat inside the box. Severe winters in your area will require the additional use of foil insulation, known as isolon.
Thermostat in the cellar
Installing a thermostat is the final step in arranging a homemade thermal box. To some, a thermostat may seem like pampering or luxury, and an erroneous opinion is created that they do not need to equip a cellar on the balcony. Reviews of masters and numerous users say otherwise. The thermostat allows you not to worry about the safety of the crop, you no longer need to regularly look intoheating cabinet for climate control.
The device can be bought ready-made or made by hand. And if you have a thermostat from an old refrigerator lying around, you can also use it. The thermostat is installed in the circuit of heating devices, then with the help of a special sensor, automatic control occurs: turning the heating on and off. In order to make a thermostat yourself, just find the transistor circuit.
The most affordable way to automatically turn on and off the heating and control the temperature in the oven is a zero sensor. This is the name of a device that works on the basis of the physical properties of water. When the air temperature drops below zero, the liquid freezes and expands, due to this, an opening-closing of the power supply circuit occurs. Such a water sensor is installed in the coldest place, it is recommended to use no more than 200 ml of liquid, otherwise the heating and cooling of the box will take much longer. And this may adversely affect the safety of vegetables, and the cellar on the balcony will lose its meaning.
User reviews
To solve the problem of storing fresh vegetables in an apartment, a cellar on the balcony is great. User reviews are confirmation of this. Such a cellar is used not only for apartments, but even for country houses, where there is no basement at all or it is often heated. After more than five years with proper operation, the equipment has no complaints.
As you can see, the cellar on the balcony is a great way to keep food fresh and intact.
