How many cu/ft freezer for Elk?
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: dakotaduner
26-Aug-15
same question here. part of my answer is which one my wife wants.
From: BowCrossSkin
26-Aug-15
http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?forum=5&threadid=444834&MESSAGES=19&FF=5
Here's a link from a few weeks ago
From: Bear Track
26-Aug-15
Darn, that's an idea I never thought of. Freezer is here and generator at the cabin.
From: Franzen
26-Aug-15
If you know about what cooler size you would use, divide that by 30 to approximate. This should give you a little spare space because you won't have to have room for the ice. For example, if a 150 qt. cooler is enough, then a 5 cf freezer should work.
Depending on how much of the meat you plan on taking, and how the meat is packaged will dictate the best answer. Honestly, I myself would buy a little larger than I thought I needed, so 10 cf (+) would probably be good.
From: fawn
26-Aug-15
fawn's Link
For the money and the space, I would check the area you are going to and see if there is a commercial freezer available. It will freeze faster than your little one and then you can transport it in coolers with dry ice. BTW, here's the link to the other discussion.
From: cityhunter
26-Aug-15
Pat i pickup a freezer from Home depot about 160. for a 7ft ,
From: Redclub
26-Aug-15
We use a 5.4 cu.ft and it works great. We have a 2000w Honda generator.
From: Bou'bound
26-Aug-15
YES HOME DEPOT on sale 6.9 CF for 168.00 or you can spend $600 an buy a yeti cooler.
From: midwest
26-Aug-15
Shouldn't need one for another 13 years. ;) ;) ;)
Good luck, Pat!
From: Toby
26-Aug-15
Just got a 7.0 cu.ft. Model
From: oldgoat
27-Aug-15
Zero cubic feet for me the last five years!
From: LKH
27-Aug-15
One of the big things to consider is if you are cutting and wrapping yourself. Don't stack unfrozen packages. Best if unfrozen all touch the walls and then you can move and add new as it freezes.
From: Mike Lawrence
27-Aug-15
A 5 cubic foot will just barely fit a quartered 2 -3 yr old bull elk: you will have to to "trim" the bones on the quarters. If it is boned out it should work for any elk.
A 7 cubic foot will fit a quartered elk of any size and should just fit the cape of a bull also.
If you completely fill a freezer like this with meat and let it run constantly, remember that it will likely take 3-4 days for the center to become frozen...if you put it in there warm it the center meat will likely spoil in that amount of time. You need to have it cooled down reasonably before putting in.
From: LINK
27-Aug-15
Ouch, Midwest is not holding any punches. I have to admit I thought Pat sure sounds confident given his track record.
From: South Farm
27-Aug-15
I'd find somebody local to flash freeze it for ya. The cost, weight, generator, and anti-thievery issues just aren't worth it in my mind, and like mentioned above you can't just stuff 250# of raw meat into one and think it's going to freeze properly and without spoil. I know guys do it, but always seems to be more trouble than it's worth in my opinion.
From: Mr.C
27-Aug-15
boned! a 7cf will work for 1 elk but its tight with the cap,like someone stated..I got a new 7 couple years ago and wish i would have gotten the 10cf..but I can pick up the 7 by myself when empty and put it in the truck if needed,thats why I picked that size,couldnt get my arms around a 10cf...good luck to you Mr MikeC. no Sir you cannot fit 10 gallons of S in a 5 gallon bucket
From: Bear Track
27-Aug-15
Thanks for this thread Pat. It got me thinking and now have a 9 cu. ft. in my truck and a borrowed Honda 1,000 Watt generator. A lot less to think about than ice and coolers for 24 hours of driving.
From: cityhunter
27-Aug-15
Pat i fit a cow that was cut and wrapped and then a bull that was quartered up and the bulls cape in a 7ft ,, Pat it dosnet take days to freeze the meat . and once frozen no need to run generator my elk quarter was so frozen in the chest i had to leave the chest open for two days just to get it out .
1000watt wont be enough i run a small 2000 watt
From: tracker
28-Aug-15
I've used a 7 in the past. Chill it down before you leave and use it as a refrigerator as you drive out and run for short periods while out there until you get one. When you get one take other food out and put elk meat in. If you move meat around so that all packages get against the walls they all freeze in a day or so. I vacuum sealed mine and put in freezer as I was butchering. I butchered while the other 2 guys continued hunting so all the meat didn't go in at once anyway. Had plenty of room. I'm sure we could have gotten another one in.
From: IThunter
28-Aug-15
I dont really know the answer...but I was talking to a guy one time and the question came up. His answer was whatever the local RTO place had. He would then load it up take it hunting and return it. I dont have it in me to do that myself but I did find some humor in it.
We actually bring a fruit crate lined with 2" foam board, put in dry ice then cardboard add meat more cardboard and foam board and wham bam frozen meat. that all sits in the back of the truck under the camper shell and best part no generator.
From: flybyjohn
31-Aug-15
I bought a 7.1 cuft freezer last year as it was really warm and I needed to get my elk quarters cooled off in a hurry. I could not get the whole elk into the freezer with the bones in the quarters. I had to debone one front quarter to get it all in. They were odd shaped and I had to put the loose meat around in the areas that had air pockets. Boned out, then no problem. All the meat would fit in just fine.
Word to the wise. I put the quarters in the freezer with the game bags on them and had to slowly let the freezer thaw to get the meat out to cut it up. It all froze together and against the sides of the freezer. Took 2 days to thaw. Kept a thermometer in the freezer to keep an eye on the temp. It might be a good idea to place the meat in plastic bags before going into the freezer to cool. It would also be a good idea to debone the meat first.
From: South Farm
18-Sep-15
Did you process and wrap that or have somebody out there do it for ya??
From: deerman406
18-Sep-15
I would agree with Pat, a;though I have not done it with Elk. I have done it with deer. We were actaully able to get 3 boned out deer and 3 capes in an 11 cubid ft. freezer. We had a trailer we were towing so space was not a problem. It would of been tough to get into the back of the truck with our other gear. Shawn
From: Bear Track
18-Sep-15
Pat's very correct. I had a 10 or 11 cubic ft. (not sure which)for my elk hunt and easily put my elk in it. Did not look packed like yours at all Pat. I had room for near another half in there. I ran a 1,000 watt Honda generator in my truck and was more than enough wattage for the freezer, but shut it off when over nighting half way home. I kept the generator in the cab of the truck overnight. I ran out of gas in the generator a short time after I crossed the border into Canada with an hour from home and was still frozen hard in the morning. Actually took 2 days before I could start processing the meat myself here.
From: Bear Track
18-Sep-15
And thanks Pat for the good idea.
From: Surfbow
19-Sep-15
So do you guys just run the generator the whole time you're on the road or just cycle it on and off to maintain the temp once in a while?
From: deerman406
19-Sep-15
I left mine running the whole time, it is very quiet and will run about 28 hrs. on 2.5 gallons of gas. It is fairly quiet as well. Shawn
From: Bear Track
19-Sep-15
When I was at the lodge, the night before I plugged the freezer in to have it well chilled for my morning departure. It ran on the generator for the first 13-14 hours till I shut it down where I spent the night in Nebraska some where. I ran it again the next day till I got to Manitoba. I double checked it when I got home and everything was froze and like I said, took 2 days to thaw anything in there. You cannot hear those little generators running when you're on the highway either.
