cool room questions

[RochholzFarms]

im puttin a new cool room up this spring and i would like to know wat to use to cool it i looked at the cool calf untits but i cant find a price for them it will be a 10 by 15 room and i would like to be able to get it down to the 50s if possible just wondering wat i could use and how much it will cost thank you

 

[GoWyo]

You can use a 24,000 BTU air conditioner ($500) and if want to go below 60 degrees, use a cool bot ($300).  That is the poor man set up.  If someone not around all the time, then need to put in a safety latch door that pops open if you lose power to the AC unit or room gets too warm (really good idea to have the safety latch anyway).  Cool calf units seemed to be over $5K when I looked.

 

[RochholzFarms]

how cold does the cool bot go down to

 

[GoWyo]

Cool bot overrides the thermostat on the AC unit so it keeps cooling down to the temp set on the Cool Bot.  I have not used yet, but understand it will take it down into the 40s.  Problem is AC unit can frost up and that type of use (continuous cooling) will shorten the life of the AC unit.  We get decent hair at 60 degrees with butt fans and total darkness with cattle going in by 7:30 or 8:00 AM (after rinse and blow out) and coming out at dusk, so haven't wanted to shell out the $300 yet.

 

[fastforever]

Cool bot overrides the thermostat on the AC unit so it keeps cooling down to the temp set on the Cool Bot.  I have not used yet, but understand it will take it down into the 40s.  Problem is AC unit can frost up and that type of use (continuous cooling) will shorten the life of the AC unit.  We get decent hair at 60 degrees with butt fans and total darkness with cattle going in by 7:30 or 8:00 AM (after rinse and blow out) and coming out at dusk, so haven't wanted to shell out the $300 yet.

Your idea seems to be good but i think it is something costly...

 

[Davidsonranch]

Does anyone have any pics of their "lower budget" cool rooms?  How they have them set up and where they locate the AC units in comparison to the animal, etc?  What is the ideal / minimum size? Do people run fans along with the AC units?  Kids are just now getting into showing and have been thinking about putting one together.

 

[farmin female]

there are all types of cool rooms out there and you just have to decide what works for you.  I personally believe that the fans are the most important factor in the equation.  You most certainly have to keep that air circulating around the calves to keep them cool.  It doesn't do any good to try and pull a cool room down to 60 when its 80 degrees or better under and around the calves.  I admit that after several cool barn builds and remodels and using swamp coolers, we finally just bought a cool calf.  It's nice to just go flip that switch, but you still have to work to grow good hair.

 

[RochholzFarms]

thanks everyone for the help and opions it really helped think im going to go with cool bot it looks the cheapest for wat im looking for

 

[kfacres]

this gets me every time, people want to skimp on cool rooms.. the cheap, cost effective, easy to build kind.. kill calves, ruin calves, and really screw stuff up...

I once saw a steer in a cool room that got a leg tangled, ended up ripping it off, and it looked like a bloody mess of a war zone...  That was a cheap ole do it yourselfer...

 

[GoWyo]

How did the steer get tangled in a cheap cool room?  Was the cheap part in not putting in the tie ups at the right height or was it something else?

We made ours that fits 2 head for $1500 by spraying on 3-4 inches of foam and putting in the 24000 BTU AC unit and run a single turbo fan in it.  Stays a comfy 60-62 degrees on 95 degree days and is pitch black inside.