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  • From: Aaron Brower <aaronbrower AT yahoo.com>
  • To: "john AT farmindy.com" <john AT farmindy.com>, Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] "Cool Truck"
  • Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:55:21 -0800 (PST)

On the last farm I worked at, we constructed a cooler box that fit on the back of a Mitsubishi Fuso. We used it for markets and deliveries 2-3 times a week, 52 weeks a year for the last 2 years. The box could be moved on/off the truck with the fork lift on the tractor. It was cooled with a coolbot/ac. It took a beating but never broke down. On the contrary, we had a reefer trailer whose compressor broke down 3 times over the last couple years. Each time, the repair cost approximately 3x the construction of the box and the coolbot/ac. The only advantage the reefer trailer has over the coolbot is that the reefer has a heat coil that keeps it above freezing in the winter, however with a simple heater we have never had a problem with freezing in the cooler box. Additionally, the generator that runs the coolbot/ac has never broken down. This has been a maintenance free setup, as with my other coolbot setups. I believe the coolbot is possibly the best small farmer invention in the last decade. 
Aaron


From: John Ferree <john AT seldomseenfarm.com>
To: Jay Sleichter <jaysleichter AT yahoo.com>; Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] "Cool Truck"

i have seen vendors with the trailer setup.  i'm sure they chew up gas generators like popcorn on a friday night.  alternatively. . . you could use a coolbot setup in a reefer box and set it up for 'standby only' (elec plugin) or run it off a generator/oversized alternator in transit.  there are a bunch of reefer boxes on ebay right now. . . not too hard an item to find. . . and cheaper than having a box sprayfoamed and paneled.  in all of this, i wonder if the DIY method isn't a false economy vs getting by as vs sucking it up and buying a reefer truck (in the market at the moment).   If you have to hit 34 oF in a timely manner (coolbot won't). . . and you don't want to break down consistently. . . the $$$ look reasonable for a used reefer truck.  A reefer trailer. . . could well be cheaper DIY, but it is impossible to find employees that can 1) drive a trailer 2) do it well.

j

On 2/16/2012 2:49 PM, Jay Sleichter wrote:
I don't know how practical this would be for you, but we had a fellow vendor who resold berries at our market two years ago. He had a refrigerator trailer. He took a regular enclosed trailer, and on the passenger side door, he cut out a hole for an AC unit and hooked a coolbot to it.  Then he ran wiring up to the truck and had a very small generator sitting in the back of his truck to power the whole set up. 

Inside his trailer, he had insulated it with 3 or 4 inches of rigid insulation and make a floor that was insulated too.  He only insulated the front half of the trailer.  It kept everything very cool and was a nice place to hang out in July!  When he got home, he would then just plug the AC unit into an electrical outlet in his shed.

It can be done, I don't know the costs, but he was very happy with it.

Jay
Jay's Jellies, Produce and More
Clay Center, Kansas
www.jaysjellies.com
http://highfarming.blogspot.com/

From: Jan Lite <liteshoe AT gmail.com>
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 12:24 PM
Subject: [Market-farming] "Cool Truck"

Hi,
Question: Does anyone have a low-cost solution for keeping produce cool (about 55-60 degrees) in a transport truck?
Our Co-op is upgrading from an uncooled rental van and is examining our options.
Most times the produce would be in the truck an hour or less, but transferring to a simple air-conditioned space for several hours for distribution. The truck would be making several trips each of two mornings, with no time to really cool in between.
We are in the market for a truck, and will be getting a lift-gate mechanism, but a full refrigerator.compressor seems like expensive overkill, as we are not hauling produce between coasts but within a 50-mile radius.
I know there are some clever solutions out there!
We deployed a CoolBot based on suggestions from this list several years ago.
Thanks!

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FarmIndy
Danville & Needham, IN
317.373.4081

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