Home built meat cooler ??

[gbear]

gbear what did the motor cost you and can a guy get one

I got the motor from Atchisons (sp?) refridgeration here in Dawson. Talk to Mike, he runs the place. He buys up these pop cooler motors and fixes them up and sells them mostly to guys wanting to build a meat cooler. He told me the price varies, depending on what he gets the motor for and how much work he has to put into it to rebuild it. When I talked to him, the range was $600-$900. A new motor is $3,000. Mine was $600. When a buddy talked to him about the same thing, the range was $100 bucks less on both ends. So, there may be some room there. The motors are really well built and designed for this type of thing. He can talk to you about the mechanics of the thing and why it does work for coolers better then going with a A/C unit. For the August season, he had 6 units ready to go and they sold quick. After that, he was taking names. I got on the list in mid September, and finally got the unit in late October. The motors are 1/2 horsepower and just have a regular plug, so nothing special needed. He said that 4x6x6 is about the maximum size you would want to go with it.

[rudysteelhead]

I have had good luck keeping my meat in those super large igloo coolers with a 5 gal block of ice. For deer this works great. You just have to make sure that the drain is open and the water can flow out, and that you open the lid a few time a day for fresh air to circulate. For elk in the field we bring a small chest freezer and we pre-freeze blocks of ice. If we get an animal, we run the freezer every other night and the blocks keep them cool during the day. When we get back we age the meat in the freezer with the blocks only. Seems to work really well.

[Essential]

the big problem with not using a proper refrigeration unit instead of an a/c adapted to cooler is the 2 fold the first is an a/c is considered a high temp refrigeration designed to operate around 70 Deg not 35-38 so the compressor is outside its normal operating range and does not have the capacity to do a quick pull down of the temp which means the meat is cooling very slowly which has a higher probability of spoiling due to longer time spent in "the bacteria zone"

The other major problem you can have is moisture removal, a properly operating cooler is also dehumidifying the air which is called a "latent" load on the system as your can not measure it with a normal thermometer "sensible temp" the lack of proper moisture removal will also casue the system to appear to stop cooling below a certain temp because all the capacity in the system is being used to attempt to remove the moisture but the moisture just keeps recirculating causing bacteria growth


Another problem is some a/c units will freeze up when you try to reach these lower temps because again they are operating outside their design conditions and most times using an incorrect refrigerant/oil which can shorten unit life expectancy

[Farmer001]

This looks like the way to go, cheap as it could get.

http://storeitcold.com/install.php

[freonguy]

Man oh man!!

' Essential ' has it mostly right - a window mount A/C is designed to keep a room @ 70 F. It will dehumidify though, and that latent load is a big part of a cooling system load.

The Coolbot, while it looks like it will do the job, it addresses a couple issues - it has a frost ' sensor ' which, it looks like, will shut the unit off to defrost it, however, it looks like it can only shut off the entire unit - what a commercial system does is have a defrost that keeps the fan running but shuts off the cooling source ( compressor ) to successfully defrost the inside coil. A couple of problems I see - shoving the coil sensor between the coils and squeezing the fins back - - - wiring a heater to ' trick ' the sensor for the a/c to running all the time, - well, Red Green would be proud - hey, it has some merit - but:

1) Make sure the A/C you use restarts after the power goes off - many of the new electronic ones don't and it looks like the Coolbot shuts the unit off to defrost
2) Ensure the unit is sloped slightly to the outside so the moisture ( condensate ) runs to the outside ( and make sure there is nothing that will be bothered by dripping water underneath the unit,
3) Lots of insulation and tight fitting doors as well as the vapour barrier on the OUTSIDE of the insulation ( especially if using fibreglass ) - the vapour barrier always goes on the warm side of a structure.

Another reply said that they had the thermostat changed to a ' commercial ' style - that may help, but there is wiring considerations - -

I am a 30 year in the Refrigeration Trade guy - I have seen many of these ' abortions ' where people have brought them to me and ask why they don't work - NOT SAYING THERE ARE NOT SOME HOME MADE UNITS OUT THERE THAT GUYS GET TO WORK; it amazes me how much effort people will go to to make something that is intended to keep their prize in good condition, without talking to someone who knows, or heaven forbid, shell out a few bucks to buy the right equipment - ( not that it is cheap BTW ) - - - - Talk to someone who knows - - - - - - -

I am not soliciting for anything here - I just get a chuckle from all the effort that goes into a guessing game - there was a post a few months back about guys who were concerned about putting meat into plastic bags in cold streams - better to hang in the warm shade, because, heaven forbid, anything put in plastic rots - think condoms - keep the air out of the thing and you get good heat transfer - better to have meat in an air free garbage bag in a cold creek ( = good heat transfer ) than hanging it in the shade on a 70 degree day - ?? Basic physics 101.

Sorry for the rant - get to know a competent Reefer guy and go from there -

Freonguy

[Fishgutz]

Why build it when you can buy it! I just picked up a 60 cubic foot reach in cooler for 200. Works great my kids first deer is chillin at 1 degree.

[bigshooter]

I'm thinking about one of the small 5 foot or 6 foot sea cans 450kgs or 550 kgs

[lip_ripper00]

I'm thinking about one of the small 5 foot or 6 foot sea cans 450kgs or 550 kgs

In a word INSULATION, I am sure you could build a wood structure cheaper and insulate it for the cost of small shipping container?

[bridger]

make sure you put a vapor barrier on the outside and a small humidifer to keep deal with the moisture to prevent mold. would also advise to put an electrical outlet.. we build a 8x10 cooler that an hang 6 0r 7 elk works great.

[dougan]

iv herd that the very best is a cooler unit from a pepsi machine