Window AC to cool meat locker.

[Sureshot]

Has anyone done this. I have never messed with one but I would assume you could bypass the thermostat and run your own.

Or gut a fridge for parts and cool it that way.

I would like to build it 8x8 or so. We were drawn for 3 moose and 3 elk this year so I would like to rig up someway of keeping them here.

 

[nehog]

Personally I don't think it would work, even with recirculation you'd probably not get below 40-45 or so. The temps on the coils are limited to prevent freeze-up.

 

[Sureshot]

Our historical mean temp for Oct 15 (the start of the seasons) is 45F. So in a "normal" year I only need to drop the temp 10-15F but need to be prepared to drop more in case we have a warmer fall. By Oct 30 our mean temp is 35F.

 

[mds5951]

I think you would have a better chance cannibalizing a chest freezer and running it instead of the ac

 

[pseudorealityx]

A standard DX evaporator isn't going to discharge air below 50 degrees. It doesn't matter if the return air is 45 or 80.

You need 'refrigeration' equipment, which will allow you to do what you want... because that's what it's made for.

 

[Warrenator]

I did this to make a cool room for an artisanal chocolate factory. From ambient (70-90 degrees) it would cool the 10 X 8 room down to 60 degrees or so. Not an insulated room, brick walls. Perfect for chocolate though. Kept it running 24/7, had to empty a full size trash can of condensate water (no drains anywhere near) every 2 days but otherwise no problems. 60 degrees though is as cold as it ever got, running full blast all the time.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Look for a walk in freezer, you will never achieve safe food storage temps with an a/c unit. Walk in freezers have 6" thick walls and floor/ceiling and normally an two piece cooling system where you can put the condenser (noisy) part outside and then run lines to the evaporation part of the unit. That much meat is too much value to try and freeze with makeshift systems.

 

[Sureshot]

Look for a walk in freezer, you will never achieve safe food storage temps with an a/c unit. Walk in freezers have 6" thick walls and floor/ceiling and normally an two piece cooling system where you can put the condenser (noisy) part outside and then run lines to the evaporation part of the unit. That much meat is too much value to try and freeze with makeshift systems.

Not looking to freeze it just keep it cool waiting on room in a meat locker. I don't think I need the 6" walls with the low ambient temps as I am only looking to cool it 10F from outside temps.

I wonder if I bought a used freezer or two and built them in so the compressor section etc was "outside".

Also found this. Is a new controller for a window AC.

http://www.storeitcold.com/

 

[rustyjeeps]

This was built in the late 70's by my grandfather and I still use it regularly on the ranch. It will reach temperatures below freezing but I keep it at about 35-36 most of the time.

 

[trainer]

http://www.storeitcold.com/
this company's products look interesting, but I've never had experience with them.

another alternative would be to find a reefer truck that is being scrapped and use the box and unit from that.

 

[p_mori7]

We did this at our hunting camp in Northern Quebec...will try to find pics and post them here.

 

[p_mori7]

Found a couple of photos:

We wanted this for when we go moose hunting during bow season, which is the first 2 weeks of september...still to warm to leave the meat hanging outside for any legth of time...

The walls, floor & cieling are all made out of remnants from a door factory (The cutouts from steel insulated entry doors that have large double pane glass centers). This was build over the winter in my buddies garage, with the intent of easy disassembly to be transported to the hunting camp (It's quite remote). The base is a large hardwood pallet set and levelled on some logs for good airflow. It is 6' wide, 8' deep, and 8' tall. We skinned over the whole thing & roofed it with steel siding remnants.




This is the A/C usit we used...it was given to my buddy...we run it off a generator...but we do not need to run it all day...it stays nice & cool in there...we get it to blow really cold by having a small incadescent light bulb to throw heat on the a/c frost sensor...the thermometer in the moose fridge has no problem getting down to 38*

There are beefy galvanized channels across the top so we can hang the moose quarters off them with the hooks seen in the upper left... Two moose fit in there real nice !

 

[p_mori7]

How about a few moose pics ? Season's almost here ! I can't wait !

 

[jerryd68]

Hey all, I had a Moose tag a couple of years ago in Idaho, ended up taking a pretty nice bull, 45" about 3/4 palm. The question about the window air cond. being used as refrigeration? I all amounts to the amout of heat that needs to be removed from the space! The evaporator on the window A/C can only remove as much heat as it was designed for, the lower you take the temp the less capacity the system will have. Also the fin spacing on the window a/c will be very close so the lower the evap temp goes the more frost the evaporator will form, once the frost blocks the air flow across the coil they heat transfer gets less and less. Without a proper defrost methood to remove the frost the system wont do a lot.