Walk-In Cooler or other options?

[jrebel]

Here is a link to my build. 

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,159482.0.html

[follow maggie]

That’s awesome. I’m thinking if building a temporary one- individual walls that I can put together when I need it & take down & store the other 50-52 weeks of the year. Last year I rifle hunted late November & the 20 degree garage took care of it for me.  It’ll be nice for early archery hunting, though.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Have an old commercial stainless cooler retro fitted with a upgraded AC unit and bot. It will hold a large beef quartered, but takes some ingenuity to get it in. For wild critters it is perfect, can easily hang 2 elk quartered or boned, and much more efficient than large walk ins. However walkins cant be beat for ease of use if really heavy beef, or multiple critters.

[Pathfinder101]

About 15 years ago CoryTDF got a bunch of us together and built one.  It's basically a small shed with the inside covered in thick foam insulation, an air conditioner and a Cool-Bot.  We all chipped in $100 for the build. 
Best hundred bucks I've ever spent.  I know I've hung over 30 animals in there for at least a week each.  Biggest problem we had was when he sold the house and we all had to show up, jack the thing up on a trailer and move it to his new place.  Having a "house" resting on high lift jacks when you have body-parts within squishing distance is a "significant emotional event"   

[jrebel]

About 15 years ago CoryTDF got a bunch of us together and built one.  It's basically a small shed with the inside covered in thick foam insulation, an air conditioner and a Cool-Bot.  We all chipped in $100 for the build. 
Best hundred bucks I've ever spent.  I know I've hung over 30 animals in there for at least a week each.  Biggest problem we had was when he sold the house and we all had to show up, jack the thing up on a trailer and move it to his new place.  Having a "house" resting on high lift jacks when you have body-parts within squishing distance is a "significant emotional event"   

     

Truer words have never been spoken about moving them.  I had to move mine to a different part in my yard and my wife was not happy with me after that.  It could have went very badly.....thankfully it didn't .  I fill find the picture and post it.   

[luvmystang67]

Oh also, I've considered buying like a 3-door commercial fridge instead (maybe an old display fridge).  Given the relative infrequency of use, I figure I could hang 4 elk quarters in something like that pretty easily, and have a regular garage fridge other times of the year.

[CarbonHunter]

I have used the beer fridge many times and for the most part it gets the job down just fine. That said I did build a cooler about 5-6 years ago with a cool bot and it works as well.

I would caution against those who speak of building these in the back corner of a shop or shed. These coolers get just as messy as a fridge and if you have the ease of hosing them out I would suggest that. Also knowing it only gets used a few weeks a year having an extra shed where you can store things when you are not using it as a cooler is a plus.

[Bowhunter199]

I bought a used refrigerator trailer at the auction for my property in John Day OR. We dug out around the axles and Jack legs so it’s ground level and we can back a side x side in it. It worked great during archery elk season last year when it was 85 degrees outside. It cools down in the matter of minutes. Then we use it as a storage garage for the quad and Ranger when we don’t have animals hanging in there.

[Buckjunkie]

I was going to build a walk-in cooler, but I found a commercial refrigerator on Craigslist for $400. It works great, since we quarter everything out any way.

It also doubles as an extra fridge the rest of the year.

[Rem14]

Here is the cooler I have made up. The cooler walls with the three doors were given to me. It had a roof mounted cooling unit that did not work. I added the AC with coolbot controls. Screwed two of the doors closed use the other for access. Added the track & meat hooks. It is 4'x10' so it doesn't take up much space. 10 years old and still going strong.

[KillerBeee]

I made a walk in cooler with cool bot at my shop. It's not cheap and quick to do it right. Here's a FB group that showcases peoples coolers. Worth a look. It's a private group I think so you may have to join to view.
Dave

https://www.facebook.com/groups/470986964662640

[luvmystang67]

I made a walk in cooler with cool bot at my shop. It's not cheap and quick to do it right. Here's a FB group that showcases peoples coolers. Worth a look. It's a private group I think so you may have to join to view.
Dave

https://www.facebook.com/groups/470986964662640

I concur with this, back when I did it the insulation was probably $400, a 12,000 BTU AC unit was $100, cool-bot was $300, and I already had the structure.  It worked well, but it wasn't "cheap".  Hence why my next one is going to be a commercial 2-3 door cooler with a rail.