Residents of large cities do not have the opportunity to dig a cellar near their house and store supplies there for the winter. That is why people began to use alternative options, for example, the Cellar heating cabinet, which can be easily placed in a city apartment.
Such a heating cabinet is usually installed on a balcony or loggia. It is a small container in which the temperature is maintained within zero degrees. This is a convenient container for storing food throughout the fall-winter season.
What is a household heating cabinet
The invention of a household thermal cabinet is a wall-mounted or floor-mounted thermal container for organizing the storage of agricultural products. This type of garden furniture was officially introduced into production and patented in 2001 by Nikolai Ivanovich Berezhny and Andrey Semenovich Novikov. The very idea of such an invention, thanks to which it would be possible to store various vegetables, fruits and preserves at home and without loss of food, appeared in 1998.
At that time, Russia was still going through quite difficult post-perestroika years. The population really needed such an additional closet in the form of a cellar, since people had to survive only thanks to agricultural products, and personal production. This was especially true in remote areas of the country. An additional convenience of this invention is that it saves space as much as possible, since its elongated hinged design involves unloading the floor.
Nowadays, the economic situation has stabilized somewhat, but with the growing interest in gardening, the heating cabinet has not lost its relevance and is an excellent solution for many owners of private farmland.
How to choose a thermal cellar
A hanging container (thermal cabinet, thermal cellar or thermal box, which is equipped with a thermostat), created by our compatriots, can be used in unheated rooms for the purpose of seasonal storage of vegetables and fruits. Suitable for storage:
- root vegetables,
- greenery,
- canned vegetables,
- pickled vegetables,
- individual large fruit vegetables, etc.
An electric heater is used to maintain the required temperature. It is located around the entire structure of the box. The body is equipped with thermal insulation, which provides a gap to provide oxygen inside the hanging container.
Balcony household heating cabinets can be completely different in appearance in terms of functionality, color and shape. Also, many modern manufacturers offer thermal containers with various technical characteristics. Based on them in your choice, you can choose such a hanging mini-cellar to your taste and color, according to the size of the room and, if necessary, in tone and shape to other items to maintain the harmony of the room.
To regulate and monitor the temperature inside this thermal container there is a special sensor with a thermostat. Balcony wall-mounted heating cabinets for saving agricultural products are mainly produced in Russia. Such ovens make it possible to maintain the required storage climate inside even at extremely low air temperatures.
The most famous models
There are many models and their modifications. We will touch on the most common ones.
Winter heating cabinet, model TBPZ-140 . It has dimensions of 60×50×80 cm. It has the following characteristics:
- saves food with outdoor temperatures ranging from -35 to +5 C.
- temperature control inside the wall-mounted oven ranges from 2 C to 10 C.
- It is used seasonally, during the frosty season, since it works exclusively for heating.
- winter heating cabinet models come in different capacities: 105, 145, 185, 245, 300 and 365 liters.
Year-round heating cabinet model TBPK-240 . This model is characterized by:
- adjustable temperature inside the cabinet, which can vary from 2C to 10,
- independence from the season, since it has a heating mode and a freezing mode (refrigerator);
- work at -30 C and up to +35 C;
- dimensions 1000×500×850 mm.
The capacity of year-round heating cabinets can be 145 - 185 -305 and 245 liters.
The year-round vertical heating cabinet from (Novosibirsk) has dimensions of 12085×50 cm. This heating cabinet is characterized by the following properties:
- internally galvanized steel body;
- equipped with a thermostat;
- internal climate stabilizer up to +2C at outside air temperatures ranging from -40 to +40 degrees;
- has modifications equipped with a partition and an additional cooling mode;
- The capacity is 145 and 365 liters.
Thermal cabinet with forced ventilation, dismountable, from (Moscow). Differs in the following features:
- dimensions 79×75×41 cm;
- due to forced ventilation, it ensures uniform distribution of temperature and air inside the heating cabinet;
- automation stabilizes temperature readings at +2 - +9 degrees at atmospheric temperatures down to -39 C.
Thermal cabinets from this manufacturer produce models with a movable removable partition. Thermal cabinets are designed for a volume of 147, 150, 174 liters.
Balcony wall vegetable cabinet model Cellar-200 from (Moscow). The model has features:
- forced airflow;
- dimensions 82.5x78x40 cm;
- automation stabilizes internal indicators at a temperature level of +2 to +9 (with atmospheric data -39C).
The “Cellar-200” model from the specified manufacturer has modifications with a movable removable partition, which can be used to divide the space of the heating cabinet into sections.
The price range of flat-bed heating cabinets directly depends on the seasonality of their use and dimensions. So, there are year-round and winter models. Accordingly, such household thermal cellars will differ in design features.
The vegetable insulated cabinet “Cellar” is designed for storing food, including fruits and vegetables, as well as canning. As a rule, such ovens are placed on the balcony, where they do not take up much space and allow direct and quick access to products at any time. Above we described how to make a heating cabinet yourself. However, it is worth saying that often large-capacity structures (160 or 200 l) made of wood are not of very high quality.
The finished heating cabinet is equipped with a thermostat and a thermometer, which can be taken outside the container and installed not on the balcony, but in the room. In addition, there is a special electronic temperature controller connected to the heating elements in the cellar itself. There is also a temperature sensor inside the box that maintains the temperature set by the owner during the entire time the thermal storage unit is in use.
Thermal cabinet with partition “Cellar”.
A remote temperature controller allows you to monitor the temperature inside the oven. The digital screen will display the temperature currently maintained inside. The storage body is made of plastic or metal sheet, lined with insulation on the inside, and has a decorative finish on the outside. The internal space of the heating cabinet is divided into several compartments.
The household balcony thermal container “Cellar” operates on a 220 V network. The approximate value of power consumption varies from 80 to 100 V. The user can adjust the temperature inside the heating cabinet within the range from 1 to 20 degrees. The heating cabinet has a high level of electrical safety.
The dimensions of a two-hundred-liter oven are 86x79x40 cm. The vegetable storage unit has a small mass - about 23 kg (of course, without food). A more compact option - the "Cellar" 2 heating cabinet has a volume of 1.6 m³, dimensions 71x79x40 and a weight of about 20 kg.
This is what the balcony storage looks like from the inside.
If the oven is filled with food, it is not recommended to lift and move it.
Making a thermobox with your own hands
When making a heating cabinet with your own hands, you need to take into account some points. You will need good tools and quality materials. What to prepare:
- box body. It can be made of plywood, boards or chipboard.
- insulation - this is represented by foil polyethylene foam or polystyrene foam, which are laid in several layers;
- additional insulation, which provides an air gap between the inner box and the insulation;
- drawer with ventilation holes for vegetables;
- insulated safety heater between the bottom of the case and the inner drawer.
This self-made cellar on the balcony is intended mainly for potatoes or other root vegetables. The best temperature for storing them is from +3 to +7 degrees, which is impossible to achieve on an unheated balcony in Russian winters without auxiliary heating of the storage. That is why a heater with moderate power is installed.
There is nothing complicated about installing such a cellar, and if you have the materials for its manufacture and tools at home, then it can be installed literally in one day. The technology is simple and easy to find on the Internet.
How to use
The temperature inside the container is maintained by a microprocessor thermostat. Range from 0 to +7 °C, controlled by two buttons “+” and “-” in increments of 1 °C. The set temperature is maintained automatically, regardless of the outside temperature. The current value is shown on the display. Procedure:
- Make room for the container. The surface must be smooth, clean and dry.
- To make loading and unloading food more convenient, secure the cellar to the wall using special hinges.
- Open the valve and load the container. Do not overload the cellar; food should lie relatively freely.
- Close the valve and plug in the container. Set the desired temperature and make sure the display shows the correct value.
- After you take something from the cellar, close the valve tightly - heat will escape through the gap and the food may freeze.
The soft thermal container can be folded and unfolded an unlimited number of times. Usually it is installed for the winter, and removed in the summer, freeing up space on the balcony.
Assembling a vegetable thermal container
Having prepared all the necessary components, you can begin assembly. It is performed in several stages. The algorithm is like this:
- If the product is supposed to be “mobile”, then the frame of the box is assembled from bars. They can be attached to each other using metal corners.
- The bottom needs to be raised above the floor of the balcony, so two bars are attached to it, closer to the middle, which will not only provide an air cushion, but also impart rigidity to the structure.
- Insulation is being installed. It is cut to sizes that correspond to the perimeter of the planes between the beams. The insulation should be as thick as the size of the block. To ensure that there are no gaps for cold between the bars and the insulation, the resulting gaps are filled with polyurethane foam.
- Thin plywood is fixed at the bottom to cover the insulation.
- One of the pre-prepared heating devices is placed on top of it. Due to its small thickness and safety in operation, infrared film is optimal for the box.
- They also form a “warm pillow” with the help of light bulbs, but in this case the volume of the box is reduced, since an additional lattice bottom must be installed on top of them.
- After this, it would be good to line all internal planes with polyethylene foam, preferably foil-coated.
- If a light bulb is used for heating, the lattice bottom is not covered with polyethylene.
- The gap between the box frame and the lid, on the side where the hinges are supposed to be installed, should also be covered with elastic foil polyethylene foam. After installing the cover, the strip of insulation material is secured with staples to both the cover and the box.
Reviews of the balcony cellar
We have such a thermal container, like a thermal bag. Flexible model of Cellar TGB-200. Capacity - 180 l. There is only one fan. I think this is bad, we need two. One cannot cope with such a volume. Or it should be more powerful. When you look into a thermal cellar, over time the smell of vegetables going out of order begins to emanate from there.
Victor
We're going out of town for a few months. In the fall, the population there sells high-quality products from their own production: potatoes, good carrots, zucchini, cabbage... But you can’t take away much, but you want to! We decided that we needed a box for vegetables on the balcony. Our neighbors advised us to buy a heating cabinet, which is what we did.
I really liked our cellar! Happy as a cat! Ours is seasonal. For the summer, it effortlessly folds into a bag-cover and waits in the wings. When packaged it does not take up much space. Stores vegetables a lot and for a long time. You can live with it just fine, it saves space in the kitchen. But in fairness, it should be noted that there is only one minus, and this is its cost. Sometimes they even ask for 33,000 rubles. This is sad, for that kind of money you can buy fresh vegetables for several winters in a row and every day.
Sofia
To store vegetables, my husband and I bought a thermal storage unit “Pogrebok-3”. In it, food does not freeze due to the fact that a certain temperature is constantly maintained. It turns out to be a kind of “reverse refrigerator” on the balcony.
They put it on the loggia, very conveniently, we had an outlet installed there a long time ago.
The cabinet measures 83×79×41 in total, which means it doesn’t take up much space. But the short cord turned out to be very short, so I had to tinker with extension. Up to 23 kg of vegetables can be placed inside the “cellar”. There is no partition, so you have to pick neighbors. We don't add onions. Overall, it’s a useful and necessary thing, we like it. There is electricity, but no more than any other household appliance. Olga
Stationary box or flexible cellar?
When choosing a thermal container, you must proceed from the purpose for which you need the product. If you want to store potatoes and other vegetables during the winter, a stationary cabinet (160 or 200 liters) that can be installed on the balcony and has temperature adjustment is quite suitable for you. This is a very important advantage that allows you to monitor the condition of your products on a daily basis.
But the same advantages also have a flexible thermal container, which is easy to operate, store and transport. However, the internal space of the flexible thermal container is not divided by a partition (as is implemented in the stationary model, where there are several compartments at once), so it is best to store one type of vegetables in it. For example, the same potatoes. The flexible container can be removed from the balcony in summer.
If you have the opportunity to purchase a ready-made solution in the form of a factory-made heating cabinet, then you should do so. Because when you build a balcony vegetable storage facility with your own hands, no one will give you a guarantee that you will not experience a short circuit due to the use of light bulbs, a temperature controller, a cooler and other electrical devices.
