Thread: cool cellar or root cellar anyond did before?

Hi all,

I am still gathering about do and don't do's before I build my house and design my land (6 rai).
I am wondering if anyone has succeded to build a cellar that stays dry and cool in Thailand or anyone can give me some do and don't do's on the way.
As you see in my profile is cooking and gardening my hobby and especially when it comes to smoked ham and sausages we are getting close to the requirements I have for my cellar.
The ground water level is in my Land just 1.5 - 2 meter because the surrounding mountains keeping the valley wet.
On the other hand I fear that a mound of earth as cellar just ends up as a pizza oven in this tropical heat.
Would it make sense to build a cellar under my house that I plan to build next year? or is there another way to get a cool cellar without blowing the money through a huge aircondition?
Any experience would help and if we come to a succes building a cellar that can store and ripen the best and most expensive ham on the world which will outnumber the Jamon Iberico Bellota or any Manchado de Jabugo, we will have to wash it down with a couple of Leo's on my bill.

At least the last ham I made from my 'pet pig' was delicious. It had a personal value as it was following my dogs and me wherever we went to and might not have reached the above mentioned hams but came close to it.
It was a free range pig and always eating overripen fruits and so turned into an agressive alocoholic steered up my dogs whenever it had a chance and finally starting bullying family members and myself especially when it was on Longan fruits and got pissed as a fart.
"Jamon Ban Phe de la cocino alcoholico de fruta mixta" I would say would be a more than suitable name for the ham that came out. A fruity meat taste with a Lao Khao in sea salt undernote.


Cheers all
Will

You can be cured

Originally Posted by See Will

I am wondering if anyone has succeded to build a cellar that stays dry and cool in Thailand

I have a cellar/basement room.

You ate your pet pig? Philistine.

People build pools with water tables The same as yours. 2m underground. And .50m above ground. Inside the house. Make it a table. With the stairs incorporated in the table.
Keep it real. 😜

Didn't have to be a table. Could be a part of the kitchen. A raised master bedroom. Your veranda. If the house is raised high enough there would be no issue.

Built a cool room in Ghana but you need plenty of water. Picture a block walled shed. Form a cavity with chicken wire, fill with charcoal and pump/drip feed water into the charcoal circulated with a small wind powered pump.
Some good info on : The Postharvest Education Foundation

Prag, get her tits out FFS!

Cheers Bower
A sump cooler,
I thought about but had my doubts that it will work with the humidity in the rain season.
And Pragmatic,
you have a cellar, any details like what's the average temperature in there. Reaching 15 degress would be a dream but I reckon it will stay a dream.

I will have a few pigs again and sure they will be in a cattle off from alcoholic fruits. If they go berserk on my wife, my dogs or me I will eat them again..
This time I will brush them nicely, shower them with nice refreshing water, feed them cookies and posh stuff and blow with a forensic grin in my face a .38 through their brain. VocalNeal if you would have passed by and this bastrd attacked you sure you would be screaming: hang it and then shoot it!!
It was a complete pisshead at the end..

Originally Posted by See Will

And Pragmatic, you have a cellar, any details like what's the average temperature in there. Reaching 15 degress would be a dream but I reckon it will stay a dream.

To be honest we've never checked as to what temperature it is in there. All I can tell you is that it's constant throughout the whole year. You can stay/work in there all day without a fan or aircon. It isn't completely underground and we have two venting windows at ceiling height for fresh air get to in. Whether it's the hot or cold season it seems to be a constant temperature.

When I had the house built I kept telling the builder that, due to ground water, I wanted a membrane put in to make it water tight. He wouldn't have it and said 'no water' regarding the water table. First rule of thumb learned late, don't believe a Thai.

Anyway my basement didn't hold the ground water out. So in the void under the house, outside of the cellar, I dug out a sump and lined it with concrete rings. I then fitted a submersible pump, with float switch, and that worked. Luckily the Amphur came along just after and put new road drains in and I got rid of the pump. I then connected the sump to the road drain. No ground water penetration now.

Had the idea too but gave up on it due to humidity concerns. But the story from pragmatic proves otherwise... curing ham in high humidity.... ok or not?