homemade meat coolers

C.J.D · 11-25-2005, 05:59 PM

We are looking to build a small colapsable meat cooler .
We have heard of people using a air conditioner to cool with.
We want it to colapse for storage reasons.
If you have ever did this we would love to hear about it.

baltz526 · 11-25-2005, 07:23 PM

interesting topic,what size are you thinking, you got me thinking about 2"ridged foam, it comes in 4'x8' sheets, with five sheets and a roll of duct tape,and foil tape , you could easily, make a 4'x8' insulated box,if you use a airconditioner, i would build a wood frame to mount it on, to reduce the wear and tear on the ridged foam. one end, airconditioner, other end an access door. sounds like an easy project.

native · 11-26-2005, 05:54 AM

I built a walk in cooler three years ago. I was able to get 4'x8' cooler panels from a local grocery store that was being remodeled. They are rigid foam insulation with galvanized sheet metal covering all sides. Although mine is not collapsable it wouldn't be hard to have made it that way. I have a buddy who does HVAC and he hooked up a compressor from a large freezer(which I also got from the remodel) and it works great. Two years ago we had great success Elk hunting and I had 7 Elk hanging in it!

puddles · 11-26-2005, 06:00 AM

I have seen them advertised from time to time in the oregonian.sometimes the whole unit and sometimes just the panels.watch the classifieds from now till next hunting season.you find what you want
if you do build one i would at least glue the foam to some plywood,

fishlis 1 · 11-26-2005, 07:29 AM

Be careful if you use a window unit A/C, you will need to make sure that you put a difuser on the air vent so that the air is not blowing directly on the meat, if you don't you get very dry meat (speaking from experience)! We had to put a shield that diverted the air to the floor and that seemed to work much better! 5,000 btu unit 4x8 cooler= 40 degrees +/- 2 degrees during bow season.

Sam