Cooler

[44inchStone]

Would like to make a walk in cooler for the shop. Lucky enough to buy a house that came with 3 Phase.
Need some good ideas on a walk in cooler, enough for 3 or four moose or elk. Did alot of research on panels. Looks good but very expensive.
Only want to build it once. Any help and your experiences would be great.

[44inchStone]

I meant to say SHOP with three Phase.

[Gateholio]

A walk in cooler is just insulation and refirgeration unit.

I havent' built one, but I've used plenty, every day, for over 20 years.

You don't need to buy expensive panels, what you could do is build a frame and insulate it very, very well. Since you probably won't be using it every day, you can just construct the inner walls out of seam sealed and painted plywood.

[Mr. Dean]

Coolers create a LOT of moisture. An excellent and absolutely non perforated vapour barrier is a must.

look for a unit from a restaurant auction house/liquidator

[ruttinbuck]

I ran one at my last house.
10X16 shop built under the sundeck.
R-12 2X4 framed walls and R-20 2X6 framed roof.Insulated door and a small window shaker A\C unit in the window.I could freeze the unit up if I ran it on recirc.
I also had small fans located at ceiling height and floor height,turning the air over constantly.I used the A\C up to about Oct 1st then used the fans recircing air for cooling later than that.RB

[moosinaround]

Concrete floor with a drain would probably be good too, for blood ect.

[tuchodi]

[quote=Mr. Dean;304330]Coolers create a LOT of moisture. An excellent and absolutely non perforated vapour barrier is a must.

Mr Dean is right about the Moisture. One thing we found on our unit and we have had it now for 12 years is to use very good sealant and Food Grade Paint on the floor so you dont get any mold or other bad things crowing in the cracks as there is always a lot of blood dripping.

[wolverine]

A friend of mine built one with a stand up deep freezer as the cooling unit. It was big enough to hang a couple of moose in. Made out of plywood insulated by sandwiching styrofoam between sheets. Would have to be turned down after initially running it for about a day otherwise it would freeze the meat in cooler weather. Sawdust on the floor worked great for collecting the blood.

[44inchStone]

Thanks for all the help guys. I had better get cracken and have it done before september.
Oh, for the door......just plywood insulated good enough??

[Mr. Dean]

Look into a product call kemlite for sheathing the interior. It's used in commercial refrigerated trailers. Whatever you make your door out off, be certain that there's a substantial double seal around it. Again, a good commercial grade cooler door would be choice but a set of tight fitting, well insulated, homemade barn doors would fly too.