Walk in Deer cooler - anybody have one?

[Ugahunter2013]

I am thinking about building a walk in deer cooler. I have been reading up on them for a little while. There does not seem to be a whole lot of information on here (there is some) regarding fellow members building one so I thought I would ask. It seems the "cool bot" device is popular in most builds. If anyone has built one please share your experience. Thanks

 

[HuntinJake_23]

Following!!

 

[dixiecutter]

It's simply a refigeration job. Insulate. Factor evap temps@ cubic footage to size your btu's and start building it. But those cool bots are not a gimmick. They just arent. They work great.

 

[buckpasser]

It's simply a refigeration job. Insulate. Factor evap temps@ cubic footage to size your btu's and start building it. But those cool bots are not a gimmick. They just arent. They work great.

Agreed. I would make it of modest dimension, insulate well and let the AC rip.

 

[kmckinnie]

Commercial Walk In Coolers For Sale | Bush Refrigeration

Bush is your one-stop, low priced source for commercial walk in cooler needs. We offer a variety of sizes for restaurants, convenience stores and more.

bushrefrigeration.com

 

[Deernut3]

Coolbot

 

[jcd465]

I built one 2 years ago. A Mexican restaurant down the road had a old modular walk in freezer that they needed gone by the end of the day listed on marketplace. They were replacing with a new one. My dad and I showed up and picked it up. Some of the panels were in bad shape mostly on the floor. The original size was 5 wide 15 foot long. We played legos with the panels and got it to 5 x8. We scraped the freezer unit that came with it and put in a coolbot. Some of the panel locks were broken so I used a banding machine to pull everything together to seal it off. All joints were sprayed with canned foam and we hung 1/2 foam board on inside walls and floored with plywood to make sure all gaps were sealed. The cooler gets down to 34 degrees in less than 15 minutes. Been the best addition to our place in a long time.

 

[jmac7469]

You can buy a stand alone fridge, mount two hooks and hang deer no problem.

 

[jmac7469]

https://www.amazon.com/FORT%C3%89-F14ARESWW-Freestanding-Refrigerator-Reversible/dp/B09NYN1SGP/ref=mp_s_a_1_15_sspa?adgrpid=102582092122&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmaibBhCAARIsAKUlaKSBGmbmVuvwG5nBEgRwufxi4YzzzItn0DHVsBIvje9F34FG40n3kfoaAlS1EALw_wcB&hvadid=434256004064&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9011548&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=14593788365848245900&hvtargid=kwd-302056080891&hydadcr=14184_10958402&keywords=30+cubic+feet+refrigerator&qid=1667952752&sr=8-15-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.2b70bf2b-6730-4ccf-ab97-eb60747b8daf&psc=1&smid=A38F1REGZFNN6L

 

[Stumpsitter]

We used an old coke machine. Gutted it out. Would hold 2 or 3 deer. It worked great

 

[Whit90]

I’d like to have one as well one day. Following along.

 

[C.Killmaster]

If you only need to do a few deer at a time you could just get a big chest freezer and put a temperature controller on it to keep it above freezing.

 

[treemanjohn]

I see used ones at auctions regularly. You can also juke a window shaker AC as a chiller

 

[furtaker]

Not sure I really see the need unless you're killing a bunch of deer at one time.

 

[Timberman]

I built one back in the day. Concrete block construction(12x12 I think) on slab with central drain, holes filled with vermiculite, 2” insulated board, ceiling solid fiberglass batting, interior lined with waterproof board. 2 parallel rods to hand from. I bought a commercial refer unit. The rep asked for dimensions, estimated carcass weight, how many carcasses max, hanging temp, even location. Sized the unit I had it installed , vacuum pulled etc. worked great for years. Sold it with the property it’s probably still working. YMMV

 

[sportsman94]

I’m following as well. Would love to have one here at the house.

 

[Deerhead]

The first hunting club I was in had the back end of an old milk truck. Originally they placed block ice to cool it. Later they added a refrigeration unit. It worked great.

 

[Bob Wallace]

We built one at the cabin in SC. It is 6x8 built out of discarded porch roofs from storms we had down here in FL. The roofs are 2 panels of thin aluminum with insulation inside. Framed the room out of 2x4s, attached the panels to it, used a discarded cooler door we got from Publix and hung two cross beams to hang the deer from. We use the old school compressor on top and blower unit inside. It works very well and doesn't cost us a a lot during season to run.

 

[menhadenman]

We built one at the cabin in SC. It is 6x8 built out of discarded porch roofs from storms we had down here in FL. The roofs are 2 panels of thin aluminum with insulation inside. Framed the room out of 2x4s, attached the panels to it, used a discarded cooler door we got from Publix and hung two cross beams to hang the deer from. We use the old school compressor on top and blower unit inside. It works very well and doesn't cost us a a lot during season to run.

I'd like something like this... sounds like a great option, especially if you whack something during the work week and need to buy some time before processing. Or if it's too hot to process outdoors and your wife is mean as rattlesnake when you walk into the kitchen with a couple shoulders