Home Built Walk-in Meat Cooler

[NewfieSmoker]

As requested, here is a brief description of the walk-in cooler we built in our garage to hang our venison we harvest each fall.

Basically, we wanted a way to hang our moose meat, and process it ourselves, instead of having to rush off to the butcher imediately after the hunt, and get the typical, tough, gamey flavored moose that most are used to.

It needed to be big enough to hang 16 quarters of moose at the same time, and maintain a comfortable temp just above freezing.  We sectioned off a 10' x 5' section in the back of our garage, 2x6 walls with pink insulation R20 all around and ceiling.  Then inside, we put 2" of high quality foam insulation on walls and ceiling, and 4" on the floor, since cold air drops.  We installed an exterior door and that was it.  

To provide the cooling, we didnt want to spend a fortune on a comercial cooling unit that would be expensive to operate, and require 220 power.  I found  a website claiming you could maintain cooler temps using a home AC unit, controlled by a special PID type temp controller.  It was the cheapest way to go, had good reviews, so we gave it a shot.

It worked out way better then we expected. Absolutely  perfect for our needs.  Will drop the temp to 1 degree celcius (roughly 33 Degrees Far.) in 10 minutes.  With 8 quarters of warm meat, it will get down to that temp in about 2 hour.  It gets down to 2 or 3 degrees  quickly, then takes a couple hours to get to 1 degree.  Any where in the 2 - 4 degree range is perfect for coolers.  We didnt notice any significant increase in our electricity  bill.  Maybe 30 -50 dollars per month

[NewfieSmoker]

How do I post pics?

[classicrockgriller]

Try this link to get your pictures going.

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=768&postcount=11

We built one at our Deer Camp along the same idea.

Will hold 20 hanging Deer at one time. Is a constant 34*

Use a donated small commercial AC unit.

I work with Epoxy flooring, So I sloped the floor from back to front.

Installed a nonslip coating on the floor.

I fiberglassed and epoxy coated the walls to above the height of the hanging deer for easy clean up.

[NewfieSmoker]

Dont mind the messy garage.....Who's isnt?  I couldn't take a full pic of the cooler, because we have it packed for storage now during the off season, but it is just a square room, 8 foot ceiling, with exterior door.  You can see the Coot Bot and how it operates the AC unit.  There is a frost sensor stuck in the fins to prevent the unit from frosting over.  Without it, it frosts in 24 hours or so.  The other pic with the two wire wrapped in foil is how the controller overrides the AC thermostat.  Simple and hasn't failed yet.

Newfie

[classicrockgriller]

That is something to be proud of. Very nicely done.

I can tell it was well worth the effort.

[Quarlow]

Nice work Newfie. That will save you some dough.

[OU812]

That is a nice set up and I can definitely see it would save you a bundle of cash.

Theres been some winters durin deer huntin season that we needed some thing like this. I also like to let my deer hang for a week or 2 but when its 40 F its hard to keep my shop cold.

Thanks for the info, I will definitely be checkin into this Cool Bot thing.

[Tenpoint5]

Way Cool I need one of these it's not like I get to park in the garage anyhow.

[NePaSmoKer]

This is major cool  ;D

[KevinG]

It's so cool, I can see the temperature drop.  :D