Homemade Show cattle cooler.

Help Support Steer Planet:

Sassy2899

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 11, 2010
Messages
397
Hello,
  This upcoming show season will be my senior year in 4-h.  So to go out with a bang I want a calf with lots of hair, and let me tell you it is alot of work hosing down my show cattle two times a day.  So I can up with the idea of making a homemade calf cooler out of my stall were I keep my show steers.  So my question is if I were to create a homemade calf cooler will I be able to use a window unit? and will it be enough to cool down a 12X12X6 space?  If you have any other ideas or if you may have an answer to my questions they would be greatly appreciated. :)
 

CWshorthorns

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
Messages
213
Location
Missouri
Most window units will cool down to 55 or 60 degrees. If you want them to blow any cooler you can take it to your local heating and air company in your town and they can make it blow as low as 38 degrees. I was going to use on when out compressor went out on our meat cooler and that is the lowest that they could make ours blow. Hope that helps you out. When building your wall make sure you pack the insulation in there tight and you will have no problem loosing and cool air.
Chris and Wendy
 

KMJCC

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2009
Messages
212
I put a 24,000 btu window unit in my cool room which is 12'x16'x7' and I run it on energy saver mode set on 69 and I can get it down to 65 or a little lower with 2 sullivan turbo fans going.  I put all white metal on the inside and insulated the heck out of it.
 

DLD

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
1,539
Location
sw Oklahoma
It can work, but please remember if it's airtight (even relatively so) that you really need to invest in a magnetic door that pops open or an alarm that calls you (and preferably a couple of other people nearby) in the event that the power goes out or the temperature rises dramatically (a malfunctioning cooler unit can blow hot air), or be absolutely sure someone can check it at least every hour.  I've lost count of the number of cattle (that I know of) that have died in makeshift cooler rooms in recent years, just within say a 50 mile radius of me.  Even because someone in a hurry put them in one morning and forgot to turn the cooler on...

We use a water cooler and fans under an open barn with shade cloth around the "cooling area".  Not real cold, but it helps, and you can grow hair with a little work.  It's just our choice, but at least we don't have to worry about killing our cattle if something goes wrong.
 

OLD WORLD SHORTIE

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 15, 2008
Messages
813
Location
TX
of course anyone can grow hair with hard work, but she said it is alot of hard work rinsing 2 times a day. ha try 4 times a day

i would say that a cooler will make your calf look better, but in the end its the work and genetics that make the difference at least for the people in the purple.

"It cost just as much to feed a good one as it does a bad one"
best advice i ever got
 

Spencer10218

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2014
Messages
147
I'm bringing up this thread again because I have some questions
What size is your cooler and what does it cost to run and what fresh air system do you use
 

mainecattlemother

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 26, 2010
Messages
380
Location
Minneota
If you want to keep it real cool you could invest in whats called a coolbot.  This keeps your air conditioner cooler than normal.  It is a little of an investment but if you are not planning on showing beyond this year you could probably sell.  We used for a couple years until we bought an old cooler out of a Pizza Hut.  They are cheaper to run than a cooler.  Just for the info I have to agree with the other posts that there is no substitute for hard work.  Not to brag my kids up but the month prior to state fair they rinse almost everyday 3 times a day and we show a lot of Simmental cattle and it is not really in their genetics for great hair.
 
Top