DARKROOM BUILD

SOLVING THE HEAT PROBLEM / Container Darkroom part 7

Container-Darkroom-cooling-system

Container is looking more and more like a darkroom. I have done quite a lot of work  inside lately especially wiring which was exhausting. I really respect all the people in the construction industry after the work I have done. Container without AC is like a greenhouse reaching up to 35 °C (90°F) and pulling cables through the wall and mounting them is like working in hell. So my main focus now was how to cool everything down. As the winters can be quite cold here in Slovenia the best solution for me was to get an AC. At the start I thought I would be able to instal it by myself into the light part of the container but it turned out to be a bit more difficult task than I imagined. I started by making another hole thru the container where all the wiring would go thru connecting the indoor & outdoor unit. Then I have been thinking where would be the best to instal the supporters for the outdoor unit and somehow I ended up installing it in front of the container just right of the door. When everything was screwed to the wall I started looking for other installation material.

This is where I ran into problems as it was really hard to find everything especially the copper wires. I knew I would need some special tools to connect everything but I thought I would borrow it or just find another way. After a few days of further research I came to the conclusion that I wont save much If I do it on my own and I started looking for a professional installer. I sent inquiries to many companies and rice just to get the pipes installed was still between 200-250eur which seemed a lot to me. Luckily Slovenia is a very small country so there must be somebody I know that knows someone who can help me. I contacted a friend of mine that specializes in installing heating systems and he gave me a contact of his friend who can help me. I contacted him and he said he can come and connect the air conditioning in a few days for around 100eur. We also discussed if there would be a better place to instal the outdoor unit and he said that I can put everything down for now and we will discuss it when he arrives.

If you have ever been mounting the AC you probably know that outdoor units can be quite loud and create a lot of vibrations so when the installer came he proposed to just put it behind the container on the ground. Underneath we just put two 50x50cm concrete slabs so it is stable. With this solution it is not causing any vibrations and can easily be unplugged if I will be moving the container in the future. We worked on it for around 3h before everything was finished. He was connecting the pipes while I added a new fuse in the box just for the AC and did all the wiring.

After the fuse was switched back on it ran without any issues. In the next 10min it already cooled the container down substantially. It is so much easier to spend time inside now. AC has many different features such as the Wifi module which I will be exploring in the following days. Below the sink I have also installed a shelf where trays, containers for used chemicals… and other things will have their place.

My to do list for the next weeks:

  • I got LED strips which will be installed under the shelf above the sink for safelight. They have adhesive on the back so it shouldn’t be a problem.
  • I have to mount the water heater and get the plumber to connect everything
  • Start using everything

I have to address that the heat inside the container is still a big issue for normal work so I had to go forward with buying an AC that will keep me cool during the summer and warm in winter. In the next post I will also be installing the led safelights and other stuff. If you like reading the posts I write and want to see more, head over to Patreon and join my community. You’ll get exclusive access to additional videos, recipes, blog posts… Hope to see you there ? If you join the community it allows me to take bigger risks and make more ambitious videos, blog posts and creative projects a reality. It would really mean the world to me if you decide to support me. Thanks❤️

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