Coolbot for cold storage... had anybody tried one of these?

[Jstpssng]

Store It Cold with CoolBot!

I'm making plans for next summer's projects and am thinking a small walk in would be nice. Not huge, but big enough to hang 20 chickems or maybe the occasional deer.
Looking at their website they state they can reach 36' and maintain it if the door isn't kpened often; yet they really don't mention dropping a 180 pound carcass from 100 '.


Last spring somebody posted a similar question about using an AC unit to run a cooler. This didn't come up, but it would have made somexinteresting dialog.

 

[DFB]

Looked at them once before. They advertise in some trade publications I get. IMO seems expensive for what it does...??
Still need a newer large air conditioner plus build yourself an insulated cooler. User results seem to vary too.

 

[Jstpssng]

That was my impression also... you need to build a box to their specs, buy their unit plus an AC, again to their specs...
seems like if I build a tight well insulated room then call my local refrigeration specialist it will cost me similar money... and I'll get what I want.

 

[/pine]

That was my impression also... you need to build a box to their specs, buy their unit plus an AC, again to their specs...
seems like if I build a tight well insulated room then call my local refrigeration specialist it will cost me similar money... and I'll get what I want.

did you even read the information they provide?...they lay out guides and recommendations on insulation etc...no hard "specs"...they recommend regular AC units that work with their product and again no "specs" just a digital display requirement on the AC unit...

"similar money"...I don't think so...hard to find even a used refrigeration unit for less than $2k and many require 3 phase electric service...this product and a NEW AC unit would be well under half that...!

BTW...until this thread was posted I had never heard of them before but I am quite interested and will be seriously considering them in the near future for building a deer cooler...thanks to the OP for the post...

 

[aczlan]

That was my impression also... you need to build a box to their specs, buy their unit plus an AC, again to their specs...
seems like if I build a tight well insulated room then call my local refrigeration specialist it will cost me similar money... and I'll get what I want.

As someone who dealt with 60+ AC units at a hotel for several years, their solution could work very well, all it does is trick the AC unit into thinking that the room is warmer than it is and also monitor the air output temp to watch for ice.
Buying a small ductless split or PTAC unit with connections for a remote thermostat and hooking up something like RANCO Refrigerator Cold Control, 34 to 55 Range - Refrigeration Controls - 6KXG5|K50QP-1127-001 - Grainger Industrial Supply for a thermostat would probbaly get you close to the price of a window unit and their controller with better reliability...
Using a split unit would help as all the air would be recycled in the room and you might be able to get colder than they claim...

Aaron Z

 

[Reyer Farms]

As someone who dealt with 60+ AC units at a hotel for several years, their solution could work very well, all it does is trick the AC unit into thinking that the room is warmer than it is and also monitor the air output temp to watch for ice.
Buying a small ductless split or PTAC unit with connections for a remote thermostat and hooking up something like RANCO Refrigerator Cold Control, 34 to 55 Range - Refrigeration Controls - 6KXG5|K50QP-1127-001 - Grainger Industrial Supply for a thermostat would probbaly get you close to the price of a window unit and their controller with better reliability...
Using a split unit would help as all the air would be recycled in the room and you might be able to get colder than they claim...

Aaron Z

I have no idea how to start to go about that but I like your thinking!!!! I need cool storage for produce and have looked at the cool bot but just don't know.

 

[moeh1]

The nice thing about the coolbot is no need to mod the air conditioner. However, if you are willing to disconnect the thermostat and buy an $80 johnson controller (or the Ranco above) to wire in itss place, you can do the same thing much cheaper. there is a good discussion going on over in the archeytalk forum on the same topic.

 

[randy41]

many small scale produce growers use cool bots. the reviews are good but you must follow their directions to get the best results by building the walk in box to their specs. i don't know about using it for meat cooling but when you use it for veggies there are excess moisture and humidity issues that will cause mold to grow. if i needed to cool down 20 chickens i'd put them in a tub with cold water before freezing them.
not sure about the energy use but running an ac all the time seems like it would be pretty expensive.
i bought one of those johnson controls thermostats for an upright freezer that i can now use as a refrigerator. its supposed to work better with chest freezers. there is also a way to adjust the thermostat on a freezer to make its temperature range that of a refrigerator. these methods do require some trial and error to get the temp setting correct.

 

[ALHomePlace]

We have been using a Coolbot for nearly three years and are very pleased with it.

We built an 8'x8'x8' walk-in cooler with insulated floor and ceiling and walls (closed-cell spray foam) in our basement when we built our house. We keep the cooler about 40 degrees for milk, eggs, produce, fruit, and the occasional hanging deer carcass. The $350 window air unit from Home Depot along with the Coolbot have been running 24x7 since January 2010 with no problems. We estimate that the electricity cost for the cooler is about $50-60 per month. We have friends with similar-sized normal walk-in coolers and they have paid more for one repair call on their unit than our total investment in our air conditioner and Coolbot.

We recommend the Coolbot as long as you build a well-insulated shell. Insulating the floor is very important because the ground temperature will almost always be warmer than you're trying to keep the cooler.