How to make a mini cellar from a barrel in a garage in the country

Not every owner of a suburban area has free refrigerators for storing fruits and vegetables. At room temperature, they are quickly affected by putrefactive bacteria and become unusable. She also has a problem - drying. If you do not restrict air exchange, the fruits lose a lot of moisture, the appearance becomes unattractive, they are difficult to cook, vitamins are lost, etc. There is an easy way to make a small cellar in a few hours.

What is needed

The main structural element is a plastic barrel (euro drum), preferably a volume of 227 liters, but this requirement is not critical. It is very important that the container is intended for food storage, this parameter is indicated in the technical specifications. Perimeter insulation is done with polyurethane foam, to dig a hole you need a bayonet shovel. Measurements are carried out with simple measuring tools.

Work order

Size and dig a barrel hole. In our case, the height of the tank is 930 mm, the diameter is 565 mm. The depth of the pit should be approximately 5 cm less than the height, and the diameter, on the contrary, slightly larger than the capacity. Make the walls straight and vertical.
Compare the depth of the pit with the height of the barrel with any straight stick. Lower the barrel into place, if necessary, remove it and level the recess.
Foam the gaps between the barrel and the ground with foam. Try to make the foaming depth as high as possible.
If in the future the floor in the room will be poured with concrete, then the level of the neck must be located in the same plane with it. Make a formwork along the perimeter of the pit and set the dimensions.
Fill all the free space of the inner formwork with foam. Due to the fact that the thickness of the foam is large, it is necessary to work in several stages. Leave each coat for about 12 hours to set. Otherwise, the liquid material will not keep its shape, and this complicates the work.
Before foaming, be sure to cover the barrel with a lid, do not allow the ingress of earth and material. After complete solidification, the mini-cellar is ready for use. Fold vegetables and fruits in it, to prevent freezing from above, you can cover them with a dense warm cloth.
After this closing of the barrel, another lid of their metal is placed on top so that you can walk around the cellar.
Before laying vegetables and fruits, discard the problematic ones, in a confined space they will quickly spoil the entire batch.

Conclusion

Depending on the shelf life, such a cellar can be made both on the street and in a closed heated room.