Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
jrslick

Walk in Cooler up and usable

Well with highs in the 70's over the weekend and a polar vortex cold front coming on Monday afternoon/evening, I had to put my cooler building into high gear! I was able to move the dog pen, level out the area, bring in rock, slope and level that area, bring in the base and put together the cooler again. Only problem, my marks for what went where had rubbed/warn off. I had to do much of it from memory and pictures. There were other marks and I was able to figure them out. I still need to install a roof, cut the hole for the AC and coolbot, run electrical and wire it all up. However, for now it is keeping my root veggies from freezing. I put a small heater in there with a Thermocube. It is a thermostat that you plug in and it turns on at 35 and off at 45. While not perfect, it is better than just guessing.

Comments (14)

  • derock_gw
    9 years ago

    Very nice you got a floor with your cooler, wish I had one for mine.

    Winter sure is making an early appearance this year! :(

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    It is working! It didn't take anytime at all to set up.

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I was surprised how easy it was to cut the hole in the side wall and get the ac unit to slide in. I spray foamed around the ac unit and plugged it in. 10 minutes later, I had the Coolbot hooked up and running. Within 30 minutes of work I went from an insulated box to a walk in cooler at 38 degrees. Very neat product.

  • randy41_1
    9 years ago

    that looks great jay. congrats. if you have a problem with the bot the customer service is excellent.

  • tomatoesandthings
    9 years ago

    Very nice, you will get so much use out of that cooler!

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Randy, their customer service is great. I emailed them 5 or 6 times prior to buying the Coolbot. I wanted to make sure I had the right size ac unit, and questions about the best place to locate the unit.

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Finally got a roof over the top of the cooler yesterday. While I was at it, I build a small lean-to park the tractor in. I have another shed that I usually park it in, but it has turned into the cattle shed, from March til August. Best of all, it was my wife's idea to add the lean to.

    {{gwi:2128126}}

    {{gwi:2128127}}

  • oldcityacresalex
    9 years ago

    That looks great!! I'm going to be building my cooler hopefully in the next few weeks. Have you noticed an significant increase in your electric bill? Thanks for the photos!

    -Alex

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Alex-

    Hard to tell about an increase in electricity. It has only been about 6 weeks of use and then figure in Christmas lights usage, and the fact it has been cold outside. I haven't heard it run in 2 days. The heater inside has probably turned on, but it is maintaining temp very well.

    One thing I pointed out to my wife, who wasn't thrilled about this and was concerned about electricity usage too, the lack of it running in the winter. I asked her, if she has heard the fridge run, she said yes. Then the coolbot and AC unit is using less electricity, right now. She agreed with that.

    Jay

  • oldcityacresalex
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the follow up Jay. I am looking to build my own this spring and I am just trying to get a general understanding of the total investment. From what you have shown so far, it seems like a good investment.

    -Alex

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Alex- Yes I think it is a great investment. I bought the cooler for $350 (best deal on Craigslist I have found), The Coolbot for $300 and the AC unit was $198. Have about another $50 for new electrical and $75 for a roof the rain cover/roof. All in all, I have about $1000 into it.

    I still need to work on the door seal, as it has a few small gaps around it. They weren't there when I bought it, so I think I didn't get the door installed perfectly. I also am looking at adding an additional layer of foam insulation on the inside to make it more efficient. We will have to see how it performs this summer.

    Jay

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Learned some valuable cold weather operating tips, the hard way. Since the cooler is open to the air on the bottom, it gets cold on the floor. I found out that the tubs of root vegetables that were sitting directly on the floor froze in the recent 0- 2 degrees nights we have had . They all didn't freeze, just the layer of turnips and daikons that were on the very bottom. If the tubs were stacked, the upper tubs were fine. I also have some plastic shelving in there and the tub that was sitting on the bottom shelf, just a few inches off the floor was also fine.

    So, keep this in mind. It makes perfect sense, just the thought never occurred to me before.

    Jay

  • randy41_1
    9 years ago

    so there's no floor in your cooler?

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yes there is a floor, made of the same material as the sides and roof, the whole cooler is just elevated and sits on a huge wooden pallet that is sitting on treated timbers 4-5 inches off the ground. I suspect this was the cause for the roots to freeze. Same principle as bridges and over passes freeze up first with cold and icy weather.

    Sorry if this wasn't clear in my previous post.

Sponsored