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Cool bot
- Thread starter rambotogo
- Start date
I've had mine for almost 10 years. Love it. Love getting home at 11 on an early season work night, throwing the deer in the cooler, showering and going to bed and dealing with it at a more convenient time.
I built my cooler about 10 years ago and went with the cool bot. It works great. And as @redsquirrel said when you get out of the woods and it's late it's nice to just hang them up and deal with it when you get the time. It's way better than packing the critters with ice and trying to keep them cool for any length of time.
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Do you leave it running when it's empty or does it cool off quick enough to just turn it on when you need to?
You can just turn it on when you need it. Mine is not that big so it cools down pretty quick.
Here's the thread where I show mine:
My coolbot deer cooler
Joe.. As promised here are some pics of my cooler. I only had to put 1 in it this year but it worked great :D . In hindsight I only wish I could have made it bigger! The interior dimensions are 2' wide, 4' deep, and 5'7" high. I was limited by the height of the spot available in my garage...
saddlehunter.com
If I know one of my friends is coming over to hang something I will go turn it on, otherwise it is off until I get home. The inside dimensions of mine is around 7.5 feet square. It cools down quickly and I put the animal right in front of the blower so it has cold air blowing inside the chest cavity.
I built mine similar to the way @redsquirrel did his in his thread. I used ridged foam insulation and then filled all the cracks with spray foam. I have an electric winch at the other end of my barn where I skin so I built a track from there right into the cooler. I lift them with the winch and transfer the gamble to the track and push them in. It's easy to do alone and a lot easier than trying to pull them up on a snatch block in a tight space. One thing you definitely want to do is insulate the floor. Especially if you are on concrete. The concrete will hold and give off heat for a long time before you can get it cooled down. You can get your air temperature lower quicker having the floor insulated. You're air conditioner will run less as well.
do you guys leave it up year round or deconstruct and store after the season? I have a big detached garage, but I don't wanna lose floor space all year.
Mine is up all the time. I covered it inside and out with plywood. I put shelves on the outside to store everyday items like you would in any garage. I put hooks on the walls inside and store all my hunting gear( stands, totes of clothes, and pop up ground blinds) in the off season. I lost a little floor space but gained wall space so it was still a win for me.
Mine is a permanent build.
Iron_llama
Well-Known Member
I was looking on doing one on a pallet or something. I don't want to loose floor space, and I don't want to create an "insurable structure" that will raise my insurance bill. Also looking at doing a smoker the same way.
Of course, if I do that, I'll have to get a Bobcat or something with pallet forks, so I can move my deer cooler and smoker and whatnot around. Saddle hunting gets expensive quickly...
Of course, if I do that, I'll have to get a Bobcat or something with pallet forks, so I can move my deer cooler and smoker and whatnot around. Saddle hunting gets expensive quickly...
I think you have to ask yourself is it worth it? Theoretically you could create some panels with the rigid foam that you throw together during deer season but I doubt it would be as sturdy. Mine isn't attached to anything and I built it so if I ever move I can slide out of the garage and onto a trailer. I start hunting between September 10-15 ever year and when I'm participating in management programs I usually shoot 4 or 5 deer before the rut even comes around with most of those being after work. It was worth it for me so I can just drag the deer home and put it in the cooler and deal with it after work the next day. If you are only shooting 1 deer a year during that time it may be better to put your time into becoming proficient at quartering and then putting the meat on ice. I've also seen guys just get a full length fridge so they can hang full quarters in it.
A cheaper option though not as fun as a skidloader:
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I'm thinking more of building two walls and a ceiling and securing it in a corner of the garage, insulating, adding supports in one of the walls for the A/C unit. Then I only have two walls and the ceiling to store when I take it down end of the season.
If I ever get a garage I'd love to build one of these. I wonder for the temporary use guys if you could build a 3 sided one against a wall with a window. Plug the AC into the coolbot to cool the cooler during season, then take the 3 walls down and plug the AC into the wall to use it as a normal unit for the summer. Definitely not as efficient but may be worth it for the convenience
A man can dream.
A man can dream.
I would think that is very doable. It only takes a minute to hook up the coolbot and the A/C.