Give me your advice on a 6'x8' CoolBot walk-in cooler build

[Shane]

We're wanting to build a free-standing walk-in cooler at our camp. It won't be inside a barn or under a roof. We'll try to put it under a tree in some shade, but we don't have big trees at our camp site. We can get at least partial shade though.

Our general plan is to build a 6'x8'x8' shed on a slab. Probably metal exterior. We'll put it next to our game pole. May be relocating the game pole in the process. We don't need a huge cooler, but if we have enough room for 3 or 4 deer at a time, that will be plenty. We don't plan on leaving it on all the time, of course. We'll turn it on to cool as soon as we get on the place, just in case we kill something. And then we'll turn it off when we leave. It sounds like most guys running CoolBot systems are getting their similarly sized units cooled down below 40 degrees in a couple hours after turning it on, so that would work for us easily.

For those of you that have built one, what did you do to yours that you like and what would you do differently if you had it to do over again? What did you end up spending all together on the build? Got any pics of yours? Are 8' walls tall enough to hang axis bucks? Would 9' or 10' walls make it easier?

[TEX_hunt_AS]

following

[Texastaxi]

PM Texantax. He had a cargo trailer spray foamed, and made a dragable cooler with a Coolbot.

Stolle uses one too, at the Stolle Deer Camp.

I think spray foam is the key to getting it running good. You can order small spray foam kits that you could spray something that small, yourself, in no time.

[Shane]

PM Texantax. He had a cargo trailer spray foamed, and made a dragable cooler with a Coolbot.

Stolle uses one too, at the Stolle Deer Camp.

I think spray foam is the key to getting it running good. You can order small spray foam kits that you could spray something that small, yourself, in no time.

I've thought about the cargo trailer route. But I'd rather be able to stand up and walk around and hang a deer. Cargo trailers big enough for that would get expensive. We don't really need to be able to haul it around anyway.

[Patton]

Give me your advice on a 6'x8' CoolBot walk-in cooler build

Shane, we built ours with wood by adding to an existing structure; it cools down plenty fast. No need to turn it on when we get to the ranch- I'll flip it on if I kill something before cleaning it and be fine (I prefer to not hear the AC hum if we don't need to). I forget if we set it up with a 10k or 12k BTU window unit that my uncle had lying around.

Starting from the interior working out- Plywood inside wall with insulation board attached on the inside of the wall, 2x4 framing, and another plywood sheet with insulation. To match the cabins and lodge we skinned it with Cedar, adds another layer of insulation as well.

I wish we would have built it a little larger and incorporated a winch. We can hang 5 animals up in there (2 on each side, 1 in the middlebut it does get crowded when they're all big axis or sika.






Temp gauge we can check without opening the door.

[ranchdog]

I always wanted to build one of these too. I had ideas about making the floor a drain floor so I could gut and clean one inside and wash the floor out. That was instead of dying in the heat of October outside skinning and cleaning I could do it inside away from flies and the heat.

Ranchdog

[webb09]

I've had a cooler with the coolbot in Webb County for 10 years with ZERO problems. We did build a lean to over it.

[Gladesgator]

Have had two cool bot walk ins, one in South Fl and one here in East Tx. Both, work very well.

The one here is wood 2x6 framing walls, floor and ceiling, all with spray foam. Outside is r panel, walls and roof. Built a door out of 2x6, foamed with plywoood skin, inside and out

Floor is aluminum that is bent to go about 6” up the walls, interior walls are osb covered with FRP. OSB only comes down over the turned up aluminum about an inch, the FRP panel over laps the aluminum to the floor. Can hose it out easily with no wet wood.

I use a 18,000 btu unit, think it’s LG, go with the next bigger unit from the coolbot recommendation for your size cooler, you will be happy you did. Can get it down to 35-37 range in the summer time when Axis hunting.

8’ is tall enough to hang Axis, have had them up to 350# in mine. Hang stags in it too, partly on floor but doesn’t hurt a thing.

No need to turn it on until you kill something, as others have already said.

Putting it under a shade roof would help a lot.
Good luck

[Texastaxi]

I've thought about the cargo trailer route. But I'd rather be able to stand up and walk around and hang a deer. Cargo trailers big enough for that would get expensive. We don't really need to be able to haul it around anyway.

I was just saying that he has experience with the Coolbot.
I think it'd be cheaper to build a skidded shed, than to buy a cargo trailer anyway.

[BolilloLoco]

Go 10' x 10' and put some shade on it.
Don't forget about lighting inside and out.
Add shelves for storing food, drinks and ice during extended stays.
Add stainless steel table and sink on outside for deboning meat while in camp.
Slope floor towards the door to help drain after cleaning.
Make a wide door that stays open after you open it.
We had concrete floors.
Good luck.

[bowhntrmatt]

I bought a 6x8 tough shed from Home Depot to use as a smoke house. Insulated walls with r-11 and lined inside with plywood. Used 10k window unit and cool bot. Maintains 40 no problem. Haven’t tried to go lower than that.

If I were doing it from scratch, I would build 2x6 walls and cram in r-30 unfaced stone wool insulation or use spray foam if you want to maintain in the 30s and it’s outside getting sunshine.

[Stolle]

Give me your advice on a 6'x8' CoolBot walk-in cooler build

Ours works perfect. I turn ours on when I get to camp and turn it off when we leave. I normally use if for food storage as well, so I run it all weekend. I think it cost an extra $10 in electricity a weekend to run it. We do have a drain in the center of ours to help with cleaning.

We used conventional 2x4 walls and 2x6 ceiling above our cooler room in the skinning shed. The exterior walls are hardy board, then conventional fiberglass insulation, 1/2" foam board that we taped with foil tape on every seam and corner. Then hardy board on the inside with all the seams and corners caulked. Only thing that I would do different and still might is use a walk in cooler door. Right now I just use a conventional exterior metal door. I think we can easily hang 4 deer and that is only using one side of the cooler. 8' ceilings are plenty tall for us. I normally cape the axis bucks out before I hang them or I just gut them and set them up on the floor if they are shot at night and want to get some day time pictures.

The reason I added a winch. We could get this guy up on the ceiling hook. Looked like a murder scene.

[Jzoch]

Jack, (KactusKiller) should have some info on this. He brought one to our lease this past season.

[tex4k]

I built mine out of a 8x8 portable building, heavily insulated, no coolbot just a jerry rigged commercial freezer thermostat on 18000 but a/c unit, will hold 40 deg or less during a west Texas summer, no freeze up either. The coolbot should make it more efficient and save you a couple of dollars on electricity too.

[Shane]

Shane, we built ours with wood by adding to an existing structure; it cools down plenty fast. No need to turn it on when we get to the ranch- I'll flip it on if I kill something before cleaning it and be fine (I prefer to not hear the AC hum if we don't need to). I forget if we set it up with a 10k or 12k BTU window unit that my uncle had lying around.

Starting from the interior working out- Plywood inside wall with insulation board attached on the inside of the wall, 2x4 framing, and another plywood sheet with insulation. To match the cabins and lodge we skinned it with Cedar, adds another layer of insulation as well.

I wish we would have built it a little larger and incorporated a winch. We can hang 5 animals up in there (2 on each side, 1 in the middlebut it does get crowded when they're all big axis or sika.






Temp gauge we can check without opening the door.

Patton, do you just have windows and a screen door on your cooler shed? And you can get it cold in there?