Cooling rooms

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Sundae

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Mar 11, 2008
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14
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Cherokee, County
Well our show experience is going up, new equipment each year, all that is left now is a cooling room.  Its been hot and humid here in NW Iowa, so we want to be prepared a little better in the years to come, youngest son just started showing so we have many years left and learning a bunch each time we show.  What is a good way to make a cooling system for our shed?  The shed is about 24x18...insulated and wood floor.  Any and all help would be appreciated.  TIA

S.
 

WBar Farms

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Jul 27, 2008
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i am wondering the same thing but i would say a cool calf check their website but it will be about 3500
 

farmboy

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Apr 21, 2007
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south webster ohio
if it is insultaed, just put a window unit in it and your set...

and btw cool calf has alot of stuff you DONT need, you just need plywood, insulation and 2 x 4's and maybe some other stuff
 

BCCC

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Jan 6, 2008
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Hillsboro, TX
Well you need to decide how many head you want in there. Its not going to be cheap any way you do it. You can always do the a/c window unit but for a room that big you might just want to contact cool calf for one of their drop in units. If you want to use a a/c window unit you will need at least one that is 24,000 btu's if not two. And even then it wont be able to go below 65 or so, There is a thread about a device called cool bot and supposedly it can cool a room down to 40 with a standard a/c unit. You will also need at least 4inches of spray insulation or an equivalency in standard insulation. You will also need a sloped floor for drainage. You will still need fans also. You will need a fresh air system and a safety door that will open if the electricity goes out. You can also get one of those from cool calf for 350 bucks which is nothing compared to the amount of money you will have invested in cattle. If you are going to have the cattle roaming around they need about 70-75 square feet each. If going to have them tied they will need about 3 foot of space between each calf. I think that covers most of it, If not others will add their input!!
 

BCCC

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zach said:
if it is insultaed, just put a window unit in it and your set...

and btw cool calf has alot of stuff you DONT need, you just need plywood, insulation and 2 x 4's and maybe some other stuff
Yes you are set for a room that stays cool builds up ammonia quickly and doesnt stay very cool, jmo though if you are going to do it you may as well do it right seeing as you said you said you have many years left to show.

Also another thing you might want to think about putting tin or something easily washable on the inside walls so you can wash it down every so often and disinfect it
 

farmboy

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Apr 21, 2007
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south webster ohio
BCCC said:
zach said:
if it is insultaed, just put a window unit in it and your set...

and btw cool calf has alot of stuff you DONT need, you just need plywood, insulation and 2 x 4's and maybe some other stuff
Yes you are set for a room that stays cool builds up ammonia quickly and doesnt stay very cool, jmo though if you are going to do it you may as well do it right seeing as you said you said you have many years left to show.

Also another thing you might want to think about putting tin or something easily washable on the inside walls so you can wash it down every so often and disinfect it


im just going off of ours and everybody elses i have ever seen. you need about 8x4 ft space per calf. A freind of mine has a 15 x10 room he puts 4 head in ever year and he just has 1 air conditioner and it stays around 60...

oh and sundae, coolrooms dont grow hair, elbow grease does. rinse before dawn and after dark and vrush when possible

 

Steer Boy 101

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Jun 21, 2008
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239
Alright i got the idea of a cool bot. i see the drop in units of the cool calf. now i have a sloped cemented floor wtih a drain. im gonin to insulate teh room annyhow for a wash rack int eh winter. anyone tiwht a cool bot or cool calf drop in please email me at [email protected] or call me at 1 920 728 4223 im curious on how these work for yall and the electricy bill. thanks alot.
 

savaged

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Mar 9, 2008
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Greenfield OH
If you are willing to do the work the right way, you can build a quality cool room for less than half the price of a typical stand alone unit (commercial walk-in coolers).  I would not bother to do it half-way.

After considerable reading and research, and a ton of work this past winter, here are my thoughts.


You MUST use rigid foam insulation, at least 4 inches in depth.  Standard fiberglass simply won't cut it if you want temperatures that will make a difference.

All seams and corners must be spray foamed.  You want the room as air tight as possible.

Aside from using the Cool Bot, you can not cool below 65 degrees with a window unit, no matter how many or how large a unit you use.  They are designed to "stop cooling" below this temperature, and will freeze-up otherwise.  The Cool Bot device "tricks"  your window unit into cooling to lower temperatures, while keeping it from freezing up.  However, you will still need a large btu unit to cool effectively.  I'd day 18,000 btu's minimum, and the more the better.

You will need a way to bring in fresh air, on a controlled and timed interval (use a "cycle timer" that you can get at electric supply stores).  In my room (15 X 12) a single bathroom vent fan has been working well.  It is set to run for about 20 seconds every 3 minutes or so. 

You will have to clean the room daily to the floor where there is urine.  A tied calf makes it easy to control the areas that need cleaned most thoroughly.  I also gently spray the vents on the window unit to remove dust each day.

I have found the the wood bedding pellets are the most absorbent and odor controling.  I  spray the bedding with a fine mist each morning to reduce dust.

You still need a fan or fans on the animals.  A good fan at 50 degrees, combined with daily rinsing, brushing, and hair care, WILL make a big difference with your calf hair coats.
 
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