colescott1 Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Putting this in the bow hunting forum as it applies to after an early season bowhunt.... I am going to build a small 4x6 walk in cooler in the corner of an old spring house so that I won't feel so rushed to take care of the processing when its mid september anymore. Didn't want to spent several thousand on a custom built one, so just plan on 2x4s with 2 layers of the hard blue sheet insulation, plywood on the outside and some sort of non-molding bathroom type wall covering on the inside. To cool....have heard about just using an Air Conditioner.... but wanted to ask about experiences, how to, etc. My plan would only to use this for a day or two at a time before processing the deer. Any experience, hints, advice on cooling it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Hunter Derek Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler An air conditioner will work to a point, but I doubt it will get it cool enough to let a deer hang for several days. I could be wrong. I have a friend that has made a couple small coolers out of; 1) an old refrigerator, 2) an old vertical freezer. He basically removed the door and then inserted the entire refrigerator (or freezer) into one end of the walk in cooler (constructed similar to what you described). It worked well. I've hung deer in the one he made out of the old freezer. Keeps them cool enough to hang for several days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler Derek I think your right! I would think that the air conditioner would have a tendancy to freeze-up after a while of running without adaquate ventilation. You would probably have the air conditioner set on recirculate to get cool enough and then the problem would occur after awhile of running. I like Dereks friends idea with the door off of the freezer better! Interesting idea though...good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler I've heard of several people around here using air conditioners also, but I don't know how well they work. A good friend of mine has an awesome walk-in cooler, but his wasn't cheap. His is 8' x 8' x 8', is insulated with 6" of fiberglass roll insulation, has a concrete floor, drain, running water, and is cooled with a cooling unit that came from a refrigerated truck....digitally controlled. Sweeeet. Even sweeter is that I can use it for a small fee. I'll be building my own walk-in cooler in a few years when I build my pole barn. I'll be looking to take the cheap route so I'll be investigating the air conditioner option some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayzorp Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler I agree with GW,, friend had a small detached garage on his property, we boarded up the rear, made a door,, insulated,, but AC froze up,, we then punched small holes to outside, screened (keep out bugs) and it worked fine, but we never mad eit cool enough to hand deer for no more then two days,, Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierbuck Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler What about the refridgeration unit off a used ice machine like outside a convenience store? I see those from time to time in the commercial want ads. Or talk to a repair tech for a refridgeration company and ask if he could get you a line on a similar unit and fix it up for you... HB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6sixpoint_nobrows Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler those seem like pretty good ideas, i might try them out, thanx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buckseeker Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler i bet it would work,just as long as you pack the deer with a much ice as you could,to help speed up the cooling process Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colescott1 Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler Well...after reading some of the posts above, I decided to go with the large freezer, small room idea. Family member wants to get rid of a large freezer that the door seal is bad on over the weekend, so I snatched that one up. Will let you all know how it goes....should start construction next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colescott1 Posted July 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Re: Building a small reach in cooler New question.... Talked to a friend who said that I should consider using 4x8x 16 in block (solid, except for two small openings), and then spray those holes full of that expanding insulation, and that would give me good enough insulating to keep the cold air from the freezer in the 3X9 ft area for the few days I'd need it. What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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