Hunting Washington Forum

Community => Butchering, Cooking, Recipes => Topic started by: Parasite on May 30, 2023, 11:26:17 PM

Title: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: Parasite on May 30, 2023, 11:26:17 PM: What do you guys use to store your big game such as elk while processing? Commercial walk-in cooler at home or at a local butcher? Used commercial beverage refrigerator? Shed with an AC unit and Coolbot?

Leaning towards 8K BTU AC unit and a 4x4 section of my shed with a coolbot.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: Scruffy on May 31, 2023, 03:13:24 AM: A well insulated room with an A/C and a Cool Bot would be nice. I was seeing a lot of road killed deer on my way home with no place to cool them. I bought a commercial double door stainless refrigerator. I can remove all the shelves and probably stuff a whole elk quartered in there. it is on wheels so mobile around the garage and if we buy stuff in bulk we use it for groceries as well. It is nice when making sausage and such to be able to have close to my cutting table to keep stuff cold while processing.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: huntnnw on May 31, 2023, 04:16:55 AM: Probably brought home over 100 animals to process in my life and never needed a walk in or butcher... would a walk in be nice? yup , but definitely not needed.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: Parasite on May 31, 2023, 05:05:19 AM: Quote from: huntnnw on May 31, 2023, 04:16:55 AM
Probably brought home over 100 animals to process in my life and never needed a walk in or butcher... would a walk in be nice? yup , but definitely not needed.

I never needed one back int he midwest for whitetail ... but most of the time I would wait to shoot one until mid-November when the temps dropped and I could cool it in the garage. Wasn't sure about shooting an elk or bear in August or September to keep the meat from spoiling.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: andersonjk4 on May 31, 2023, 05:41:38 AM: Like huntnnw said, lots of animals killed, even in warmer early season temps, that get processed without big coolers. It all depends on how long you like to age. When the temps are too warm for hanging in the garage, I’ve always sacrificed the beer fridge. Boned out meat can be stacked on the shelves in trays or directly on the shelves. (Very messy). Or for deer remove all of the lower shelves and you can stand quarters upright in the bottom and lay the rest of the boneless meat on the upper shelves.

That being said, I am building a new house and have designed in a dedicated spot in the garage that will be an insulated room and will use an ac unit(s) and coolbot. The AC unit/coolbot option seems way simpler and cheaper compared to a commercial walk-in option.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: huntnnw on May 31, 2023, 06:00:14 AM: coolers with ice, drain open and something to lift one side up a bit to let water drain. A old fridge holds quite a bit of boned out meat if your wanting to let steak cuts sit a bit. Shot probably 30 bears between the wife and myself in Aug and early September and never had anything go bad. Anything burger or sausage/ jerky that I cant process just goes into the freezer and thats dealt with when hunting season is over.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: jrebel on May 31, 2023, 06:07:17 AM: You may not “need” one but they sure are nice to have. I converted an old shed into a walk in cooler with a ac unit and cool not. Been using it for over ten years now and love it. There should be a post on here somewhere with all the pictures. I’ll see if I can find it.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: NOCK NOCK on May 31, 2023, 06:29:05 AM: I use an old fridge in the shop. It will handle an elk quartered an chunked up. More than one critter at a time and the butchering begins.
When I killed my moose, the shop and house fridge :yike: were both packed as well as a couple coolers.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: CP on May 31, 2023, 06:49:47 AM: I don’t bring home enough big game to warrant a dedicated cooler so, I use the old garage fridge method as well. It holds a deer easily or, most of an elk.

I remove the racks and put in some rods to hang as needed.

It chills my salmon and crab during their seasons, birds during their season. Beer during beer season.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: CP on May 31, 2023, 07:04:37 AM: Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a “CoolBot”?
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: Stein on May 31, 2023, 07:04:45 AM: I almost always just leave it in the cooler until I cut it up. I do have a frige set up for charcuterie that I could use but it seems like more trouble than it's worth.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: follow maggie on May 31, 2023, 07:11:20 AM: Quote from: CP on May 31, 2023, 07:04:37 AM
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a “CoolBot”?

https://www.storeitcold.com/product/coolbot-walk-in-cooler-controller/
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: CP on May 31, 2023, 07:14:49 AM: Quote from: follow maggie on May 31, 2023, 07:11:20 AM
Quote from: CP on May 31, 2023, 07:04:37 AM
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a “CoolBot”?

https://www.storeitcold.com/product/coolbot-walk-in-cooler-controller/

Thanks.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: elkinrutdrivemenuts on May 31, 2023, 10:12:25 AM: I have used a coolbot with much success. I like to let my meat hang for 7 days before processing. I would advise you go with the biggest space and AC unit you can manage.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: luvmystang67 on May 31, 2023, 11:27:02 AM: I built one with a cool bot, it was amazing. My only regret was not building it in a enclosed trailer. Sold the house, moved, and now I'm cooler-less. Next time I build one it'll be in an enclosed trailer.

It was great while it lasted, got real cold, no issues.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: jrebel on May 31, 2023, 11:34:12 AM: Here is a link to my build.

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,159482.0.html
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: follow maggie on May 31, 2023, 11:49:31 AM: 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.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: blackveltbowhunter on May 31, 2023, 01:10:29 PM: 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.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: Pathfinder101 on May 31, 2023, 01:22:24 PM: 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" :chuckle:
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: jrebel on May 31, 2023, 01:25:06 PM: Quote from: Pathfinder101 on May 31, 2023, 01:22:24 PM
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" :chuckle:

:chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle:

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. :chuckle: :chuckle:
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: luvmystang67 on May 31, 2023, 03:44:20 PM: 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.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: CarbonHunter on May 31, 2023, 06:28:28 PM: 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.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: Bowhunter199 on May 31, 2023, 07:38:56 PM: 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.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: Buckjunkie on May 31, 2023, 09:05:49 PM: 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.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: Rem14 on June 03, 2023, 05:41:03 PM: 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.
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: KillerBeee on June 08, 2023, 01:49:23 PM: 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
Title: Re: Walk-In Cooler or other options?
Post by: luvmystang67 on June 08, 2023, 02:01:55 PM: Quote from: KillerBeee on June 08, 2023, 01:49:23 PM
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.