Original thread
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,132854.0.html Since it was brought up again I thought I would update this a little bit. I am on my 3rd season with this cooler and it has been fantastic! I have 3 deer, The Ladies killed it on the opener thread, in it as I type this. I notice about a 5 to 10 dollar a month increase in my power bill while the cooler is running. That is on the high end as last year it ran nearly the whole month of September as it seemed like somebody in the group was getting a deer or elk about ever 4th or 5th day.
Cons: I found that because I am hanging "food" in the cooler the AC unit begin to develop mold in the fan and fins. I combat this with a warm water and bleach. I use a rag to clean all visible mold and I bought some mold killing and prevention spray from Home Depot. At the end of the season I spray it right into the fins and into the fan area. I then turn it on and spray again into the fins. I will let it run in fan mode at all times for about 24 hours and then it is ok to turn off for the season. Condensation can be seen on the metal poles that are used to hang the animals from. It's not a big deal but it is there.
The most important part of the build is making sure that you really make it as air tight as you can. I have had to go back through and fill areas that I found to be air leaks as it adversely effects the coolers ability to stay cool. If the cooler has a hard time maintain temp you can try lining the floor with foam and putting OSB over the top of that to hold the cold air in. The CoolBot is the real deal and has really been a blessing. It has preformed flawlessly now going into it's 3rd season. The AC unit is the only thing that I have any concern about as you never really know how long those will last. It's going strong at the moment but who knows what it's lifespan will be.
If you are thinking about making your own meat cooler I would highly suggest doing so. It has been so nice not ever having to worry about how I will care for my meat. I also love that I have no worry about what time I come dragging myself back to town. I can cut half the deer and do the rest the next day. I really have no limits to what I can do and I like that.
