Trying to cool down a shipping container

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Trying to cool down a shipping container

Posted: 11/16/2016 3:45:45 PM EDT

So winter is here and it's time to get stuff done in anticipation of next summer here in Nevada. I have a shipping container on my property and it gets very hot inside in the summer. I've got alot of "Airstone" left over from a job and wondered if I put Airstone on the west facing side of the container if the heat would absorb into the stone and not transfer it to the metal making the container cooler in summer I've already Solarflexed the entire roof in white and am looking for ideas to continue helping it not get as hot.

Posted: 11/16/2016 4:05:14 PM EDT

[#1]

The stone would absorb the heat and light energy and transfer it to the box anyway unless you installed a thermal break/barrier between the two.

ETA: Speeling, my phone has auto-incorrect.

Posted: 11/16/2016 5:13:45 PM EDT

[#2]

Sun shade or berm it up with some dirt.

Posted: 11/16/2016 5:19:28 PM EDT

[#3]

paint it a light color on the outside and have a spray foam company put 3" of expanded polyisocyanurate on the interior walls and ceiling.

Posted: 11/16/2016 5:22:27 PM EDT

[#4]

Canopy. 20F delta.

Posted: 11/16/2016 8:00:16 PM EDT

[#5]

All good suggestions. Your idea won't help at all. If it was real stone it might even be worse since you would have more heat storage capacity for heat.

Posted: 11/16/2016 11:00:44 PM EDT

[#6]

Buy a refrigerated container.

Posted: 11/16/2016 11:33:08 PM EDT

[#7]

Maybe Lizard Skin?

Posted: 11/17/2016 8:58:02 PM EDT

[#8]

get the sun off it, insulate the box and cool, or vent on the north side.

Posted: 11/17/2016 10:25:31 PM EDT

[#9]

Roof with air space, ridged foam with stucco for the outside.

Posted: 11/17/2016 10:38:14 PM EDT

[#10]

Thanks for the replies guys, alot to think about.

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Posted: 11/17/2016 10:46:46 PM EDT

[#11]

Do you have the spinning roof vents? If not, get two or three of those. They really help.

Cool =

Reduce the solar heat load - white experior, insulation, barrier wall, plant some shade trees.

Reduce radiant heat load from ground other surface - insulation, site selection, plant some grass or bushes, get rid of concrete slab

Posted: 11/18/2016 12:18:50 PM EDT

[#12]

Even a thin layer of metal spaced away from the box outside and painted a light color will go a long way.

Like corrugated metal panels about 6 inches off the surface.

Posted: 11/18/2016 10:32:16 PM EDT

[#13]

You could berm the sides with dirt and put a cover over the top.

Posted: 12/6/2016 12:38:59 PM EDT

[#14]

Wolfpack, if this container is where I think it is, you'll need to make your own shade (duh). The stone won't really help, it will just hold the heat in.

One of those erector type garage/shed deal will work to keep the sun off, but I don't know your wind and/or snow loads nor how well those things deal with either.

As far as getting a contractor out there to cover it with foam, it might be cheaper to take to them rather than the service charge of +150 miles or whatever it is out there - tough choice there. One thing you could do is build a wall/porch on the west side, but that will only work during the late afternoon.

Good luck.

Posted: 12/7/2016 2:51:42 AM EDT

[#15]

Maybe stack hay bales all around and on top ?

Posted: 12/9/2016 6:50:59 PM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
Maybe stack hay bales all around and on top ?

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Location: Is there any hay in that part of the world? Don't know.

Posted: 12/9/2016 7:39:50 PM EDT

[#17]

Yea, we have alfalfa farm in town. Won't hay bring rats or gophers?

Posted: 12/9/2016 8:14:03 PM EDT

[#18]

Cover with tent or lean to roof to keep out of sun is the cheapest/ easiest, but with still stay around ambient air temp.

If you really, really, want to keep it cool, bury it deep enough stay below ambient temp (or above when cold).

Posted: 12/12/2016 8:52:25 AM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
Yea, we have alfalfa farm in town. Won't hay bring rats or gophers?

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Most likely it will bring vermin you don't want.

The most effective option is probably to build a lean-to style structure to keep the sun's direct rays off of the container. Leave enough gap that air circulates under the lean-to and doesn't heat up the container with trapped air. Solar loading is the largest factor in increasing temperatures inside the container. Block the direct rays and you'll have a cooler container, but still not any cooler than ambient.

Posted: 12/16/2016 11:04:00 PM EDT

[#20]

Quote History

Quoted:
Yea, we have alfalfa farm in town. Won't hay bring rats or gophers?

View Quote

Hay is intened as animal feed and has significant nutritional value, especially alfalfa. Something like wheat or rice straw on the other hand has a very low nutritional value.

Many people build structures using cement or cement / lime coated straw bales. Including load bearing single story homes. There are even alternative building codes for straw bale construction in some areas. The measured r values are quite high for such an inexpensive material. Plastered bale walls are even reasonably resistant to fire when compared with traditionally framed / insulated walls.

I am not certain that this is the lowest labor option for insulating a shipping container as you would need to pour a continuous footing to rest the first course of bales on and to protect the bottom edge from insects / rodents. And you would also need to extend the roof over the top of the bale walls.

If I get a second, I'll add some links to this post. There are a ton of how to videos on youtube.

Posted: 12/17/2016 12:56:52 AM EDT

[#21]

Paint it chrome, or something the reflects the sunlight?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Trying to cool down a shipping container

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