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How
I built a CoolBot Refrigerator Trailer
Overview
I'd
first read about CoolBot many years ago and when doing my farm planning
documents I always included a CoolBot designed refrigeration unit
in my costing plans. Then a couple of years ago I saw an article in
"Growing for Market" where someone had used a CoolBot to build a
refrigerated trailer unit. The thought of joining the costs of a market
trailer and refrigeration unit were too good to be true and I decided
instantly that this was the way to do it. We're in our first year of
farming on our land now and this spring I got my chance to build my
CoolBot Refrigerator Trailer.
I am by no means a skilled DIYer.
I like to have a go at most jobs around the farm but generally they end
up looking like a non professional did them. I found the nuts and bolts
of converting the trailer was not above me. It took much more time than
I expected, due 90% to insulating the trailer, and don't forget to
leave time at the end for materials to cure before you put food into
it.
Following is a cost break down and a photo journal of how
I built my trailer. After a few wrong turns and a little more work than
I expected I ended up with a refrigerated trailer that I think works
really well and EASILY can be kept to 40 F or below. At home I just use
an extension cord to power the A/C unit. At markets I use a generator.
My produce is kept cold wherever it goes!
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Cost
breakdown
| 6'
X 10' Stealth Trailer with V Front |
$2,380 |
| CoolBot |
$299 |
| LG
Window Air Conditioning Unit (12,000 btu) |
$315 |
| Foam
Insulation - 2" x 4' x 8' sheets (20) |
$400 |
| Reflective
bubble wrap insulation |
$100 |
| Other
materials (gap fillers, screws, power cord, sealants, plywood...) |
$350 |
| Total |
$3,844 |
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Tools
I ended up using the following tools:
Placing A/C unit:
Sawzall
Grinder
Hacksaw
Power Drill and Impact Driver
Insulating:
Hand Saw to cut foam and plywood
Circular Saw for some plywood cuts
Level
Tape measure, marker pens
Caulk Gun
Power Drill and Impact Driver |
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Photo Journal
First
of all I wanted to install the A/C unit and CoolBot and get
it all
running. After the initial apprehension of putting a great big hole in
your brand new trailer this is actually by far the easiest and most
rewarding part of the whole build process.
I decided to make
the trailer as level as possible. Mostly I ended up taking measurements
relatively but when it came to trying to find the studs at the
insulation stage I sometimes needed to use a level to try and hit the
stud and this payed off.
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Step 1: Create a hole for the A/C unit
Remove the front panels of plywood and store in a safe place. (I reused
all the original plywood in the final layer)
I
measured the A/C unit to be 15" high and 21" wide without the top piece
where the window would normally butt up against. I made the
top of
my hole 6" from the top of the trailer estimating 4" for the insulating
+ a little for the plywood. In hindsight when insulating this got a
little too close. I'd leave an 8-10" gap from the top of the trailer
next time. I measured the hole as
best I could and then drilled holes in the walls big enough for the
sawzall. I then cut one side of the wall out, then the other, and then
the center strut.
To
test the fit, the A/C unit can be taken out of its outside casing. It's
easier to use just this outside casing to test the size of your hole
and make further adjustments where needed.
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Step
2: Frame in the supports for the A/C unit
I
had some 2" square metal piping laying around and I decided to use that
to support the A/C unit. Originally I was worried about how to support
the unit as they're around 80 lbs in weight but this didn't prove to be
a problem. By the time I'd added the supports and then insulated around
it the unit was very solidly in place. You could easily just use 2x4s
to support the A/C unit if you wished and save yourself some time.
I didn't end up framing
the whole unit as I originally planned. I ended up just making a ledge
basically for the unit to sit on. The outside cover was then screwed
onto the ledge and the unit slides into that and is screwed to the casing. It seemed very secure.
Your
A/C unit will have specific instructions for how it is supposed to sit
and these should be adhered to as closely as possible. Because of the
v-front I ended up covering over the top vents so it would not be
drawing in the cool air from the trailer and this hasn't appeared to
have affected the unit's performance.
As my trailer has a
v-front I put a support post vertically down the center for the two
horizontal beams to sit on. The horizontal beams were attached to the
trailer and vertical post with metal brackets.
Next, a third
horizontal beam goes across where the front of the unit is going to
sit. Each end needs to be cut at the propper angle and again I used
metal brackets to secure it to the previous two horizontal beams. I did
not think I required a vertical support of this beam and liked that I
had a clear usable space under the unit. Perhaps if you're using 2x4s
you may be happier with an additional vertical support.
Finally
the cover for the A/C unit is placed and screwed down onto the frame.
The A/C unit is placed inside it's cover and screwed in. You can decide
whether or not you want to seal around the unit now or wait until the
insulation stage. |
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Step
3: Adding a power cord and testing the A/C and CoolBot works
To
supply power to the inside of the trailer I ended up just buying a 2'
tri-source plug. This left me with three sockets on the inside and a
male connector on the outside I could connect my extensioin cord to.
To
fix it to the trailer I cut a hole big enough for the male connector to
fit through and placed the three socket end on top of the horizontal
beam I made to support the A/C unit. In hindsight I should have left
more cord so the sockets were further from the wall. I had to cut into
my last layer of insulation to allow for the plugs from the A/C unit
and the CoolBot. There's no real reason I can think of not to leave
plenty of cord to play with.
I refilled the hole around the plug with a spare piece of the metal
from the trailer and some sealant.
Now
to test it's all going to work! I temporarly screwed the coolbot to a
place under the A/C unit. Then following the instructions with the
CoolBot was able to hook it up in less than 5 minutes I would guess. It
really is very easy and logical and the A/C unit I chose didn't have
any of the possible problems (i.e. no extra or metal sensor).
Plug
the CoolBot and A/C unit into your tri-source plug then plug the
outside male connector to your extension cord. Adjust the A/C unit to
it's lowest temperature (probably around 60 F) and highest fan speed.
Adjust the CoolBot to around 40 F if it's not already set there. I was
amazed at the frigidity and amount of cool air coming out of the unit.
Even with the doors slightly open the air temperature dropped to in the
40s within 5 minutes.
Ok, this really is going to work!
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Step
4: Insulating
This
is no doubt the most important stage and it definitely takes some time.
I spent a lot of time insulating around the A/C unit and the front "V"
of the trailer. In hindsight I'd consider a flat front trailer next
time in hopes of saving time on the build. Other difficult areas are
the tail lights and around the rear doors. In the end though it's a
case of jamming enough stuff in there, using the gap filler and calling
it good enough. How ever tight you get it there's always going to be
weak spots around the rear doors and the A/C unit itself is not built
air tight.
First of all I padlocked the side door closed. I'm going to insulate
over it so it won't be being used again.
Secondly
I took off all the existing plywood. I saved this and used it at the
end to help recover the inside of the trailer. My original intention was to
put the insulating foam right against the outside wall and cut around
the metal joists giving me an extra 1 1/2" usable room each side. I
started by insulating around the tail lights and above the door. By the
time I'd finished that I looked at the rest of the trailer and couldn't
imagine how long it would take to do something similar to the whole
trailer so I went to plan B.
Plan B was to attach reflective
bubble wrap around the inside of the trailer first and then attach the
rigid foam insulation over that. Per square foot the reflective bubble
wrap was cheap and depending on how it's installed could add quite
nicely to the R-Value (I couldn't work out exactly what R-Value I was
getting with how I installed it). Then I'd add the rigid foam. I could
only find 2" foam with an R-10 value. So 4 inches would add another
R-20. Hopefully I'd be getting somewhere near R-30 but atleast R-25 I'd
guess in most places.
To attach the reflective bubble wrap I
found that professional grade duct tape worked well. Eventually it
would be sealed behind 4" of foam board so this should keep it in place
fine. Try to leave a gap where ever possible between the bubblewrap and
the side of the trailer. The bubblewrap is designed to work with an air
gap and that's how it gets its higher R-Values. I overlapped it
slightly
and taped along the edges to try and get a nice seal. I used two 25' x
4' rolls and two 25' x 2' rolls. The 6' of width between the 2 rolls
covered the areas nicely without having to do any long cuts of the
bubble wrap. Eventually I covered the entire trailer except the
rear doors. (I'm not sure now why I left the rear doors uncovered,
perhaps I forgot when it came around to insulating the doors).
Make sure you keep track of where the studs are
with a marker so you can find them again when attaching the rigid foam
and plywood.
Once I bubble wrapped the ceiling and walls I put
the first layer of rigid foam insulation on the ceiling. I used 3" self
tapping screws to hold up the foam for the first layer. I needed to
drill a pilot hole into the metal stud first for the screw to be driven
into.
To reduce the amount of gaps I insulated the areas in this order.
- Layer 1: ceiling, floor, walls
- Layer 2: ceiling, floor, walls
- Rear doors both layers
Once
the ceiling had it's first layer of foam I bubble wrapped and put rigid
foam on the floor. I kept this in place also with a few screws into the
flooring.
Next, the walls. These I managed to cut fairly tight
and was able to jam in between the ceiling and the floor so I didn't
need to use any screws in this layer. The tricky part here is making
the cuts for the V-Front and around the airconditioning unit. Once done
fix up the gaps with sealant and gap filler and leave for a few hours
or over night as you'll probably have to do some trimming of the gap
filler. It's really important with each layer to try and get it as
airtight as possible so don't be shy filling those gaps.
Then
you're on to the next layer which I did in the same order as the first
layer. Remember to overlap the foam panels so the gaps do not line up.
Things should go much the same as your first layer. Hopefully you've
kept track of where your studs are. For this layer I used 5" self tapping
screws and again had to predrill into the studs. I used some glue on
this layer but I didn't find it that useful as it took too long to set.
After you're all done again fill the gaps with sealant and gap filler
and leave for a few hours or over night.
Next
step is the doors. When I closed the doors I noticed a 1" gap between
the door and the floor insulation. When making my first layer for the
door I cut a 1" x 4" high gap for the bottom of the doors. When I
closed the door I found it took a little effort for the door to close.
Perfect. The second layer for the doors can just be added over the
existing door from the floor to the ceiling.
To allow the door
to close some of the center area of the door where the doors meet must
be cut away. Be careful not to cut too much so that you allow for
enough meeting of the insulation on each door to give some insulation
when the doors are fully closed. |
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Step
5: Adding the layer of plywood and water sealant
You'll
need to buy some extra plywood as you'll be covering the ceiling, floor
and doors where you previously haven't removed any plywood.
I started with the floor using a decent thickness of wood. This was
easily laid down and secured using the 5"screws.
Then
it was on to the walls using the old materials I'd salvaged. Of course
the measurements are all different now so there was some cutting but
all in all the sides went back together well. I used the 5" screws and
tried to find the studs as best I could. By now I was missing quite
regularly but found enough to keep the whole thing secure. I used the
insulation glue also to help keep the plywood flatter against the
inuslation foam. I then went around and filled the old holes with wood
dough and pumped some more sealant into any new holes I'd created when
I missed the studs.
For the ceiling I used a 1/8" ply (same as
the sides) and again used 5" screws and attempted to hit the studs.
Definitely a 2 or 3 person job. I was also quite liberal with the glue
here in case I really had a hard time finding the studs.
Lastly was the doors. These were the easiest part and I nice end
to the construction part of the project.
Again I went around with gap filler and filled all the gaps. This time
it's more for moisture than for insulation.
After
you're happy with that and its dried it's time to seal the plywood
against moisture. I searched around for a long time about sealants you
can and can't use next to food. After finding it hard to get a straight
answer from my local stores I ended up on a woodworking sight where the
question was answered. Basically after they have cured shellacs,
lacquers, varnishes etc are safe around food. After all people coat
bowls and chopping boards etc with these sealants so the inside of the
trailer (which is never going to come in direct contact with food)
should be fine. If you wanted to be really safe you could go with a
type of oil. These however tend to need regular reapplication
which may not be possible if used all the time.
I applied 3 layers over 2 days. Depending on the product you use it may
take 1-2 weeks for the product to cure properly.
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September update
Our
first summer into using the cooler and the cooler has been working
great. For June we had the cooler on only a few days a week when we had
produce in there. We left the doors open when it was not in use which
was great for drying it out.
For July and August the cooler
has been running continuously. The cooler seems to easily get down and
keep down to 40 F. I ended up just parking the trailer in the shade of
a tree to help with the electric bill. It stays fairly damp inside the
trailer but I have not noticed any degredation in the plywood or
insulation. When we're all done this year I'll let it dry out and then
apply more coats of varnish to the plywood.
We feel the trailer is worth its weight in gold:
- Our produce is always kept cold so we can store it for longer and still sell it.
- We
can take more to market and not worry if we don't sell it. Then if we
have a really busy market we can take advantage of having more there.
- As
our produce is stored better (at home and at market) the customer gets
a better, fresher product which helps distinguish us from other
vendors. Customers have definitely noticed how long our produce lasts
in their fridge.
- Consequently, we have thrown away very little harvested produce this year.
- It seems to be very economical to run, between $1-$2 per day.
- (It's also great for parties - storing food and beer)
Also, we have not needed to buy a generator for market use. In the end we were able to hook up to an outlet at all our markets.
Problems
We have only had two issues.
- The
sensor fell out of the A/C unit while driving and the unit froze up
when we plugged it in again. After allowing to thaw out everything
worked fine. Now I always check that the sensor is in place before
restarting the unit.
- The A/C unit stopped working entirely at
one point. The fuse on the plug would trip instantly. After much
consternation we worked out it was moisture in the actual plug. The A/C
unit is obviously not designed to be in such a humid environment on the
inside. I took the unit out of the trailer and put a fan on it. Once it
had dried out and the unit was working again I taped all seams and
points moisture could enter the plug with electrical tape and I have
had no further problems.
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