Freezer and generator help
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: Toby
04-Aug-15
We have pretty much decided to bring a freezer and generator along this year. There isn't any place close to take the meat to cool or freeze, and if we hit a spell of warm weather we would really be scrambling. I know we need a generator powerful enough to handle the freezer, already have one lined up.
I'm looking for tips to get the most out of our outfit. Is a seven cu. ft. Freezer big enough, we have 4 hunters in camp, and if we get more than one elk we would rotate meat from freezer to coolers. How often will we have to run the generator? How much gas should we plan on?
Any tips will be appreciated.
From: buff
04-Aug-15
If you have access to a bigger chest freezer, it would take take the same power to run and once it gets cooled down would actually be more efficient , the more you put in the more efficient it will be. Heck you can buy the big chest freezer new for a couple hundred
From: t-roy
04-Aug-15
Freeze a bunch of gallon jugs of water & bring them with you inside of the freezer. It will make getting the freezer chilled down a lot quicker & you can also use the water as it melts.
Think there was another similar thread on here not too long ago as well.
From: nogutsnostory
05-Aug-15
I use a chest freezer and run two honda 2000ei generators,hooked up with a parallel wiring harness. Run them both at the same time,filled with gas they run around 10 or 11 hours. We try to run them nonstop once meat is in them. Last year we used 26 gallons of fuel, also it helps to shade the freezer during the day. We also bring all of our meat cutting supplies, a grinder and a stuffer,hamburger bags etc. Process it right in camp. We are usually gone for 16 days.
From: mainecheesehead
05-Aug-15
you might want to think bigger - I doubt one elk will fit in a 7 cf freezer
From: cityhunter
05-Aug-15
i but two bulls in a 7ft chest
From: TEmbry
05-Aug-15
7 Cubic Foot is right at 200 liters, I think that would fit a boned out elk pretty easily. That said, I am clueless when it comes to how much gasoline one would drink.
From: mainecheesehead
05-Aug-15
depending on the brand a 7 cf freezer is @ 3'x3'x2' I don't see how 'all' the meat from 2 bull elk fits in that
From: cityhunter
05-Aug-15
Easy 1 cut up boned out the other quarters very easy and the capes! HD about 159.00
From: olebuck
05-Aug-15
I'm taking a 7 cuft freezer and two big ice chest.
fill up one ice chest with bagged ice
fill other ice chest up with dry goods.
frozen foods go in freezer - fill up available space in freezer with ice.
but deboned meat in "drygood" ice chest and transfer ice.
From: TD
05-Aug-15
City, I bet you don't get many tailgaters!
I'd plan on taking what you've got, should hold one elk easy all deboned, cut and wrapped, sure could be possible for two, especially if it's a couple spikes or a cow and a rag....
Take what you've got and if you knock down more it won't be hard to figure out how to deal with it when/if it happens. You'll have a working freezer with you for cryin' out loud....
From: cityhunter
05-Aug-15
box is 3ft long 21 wide 32 high
From: Backpack Hunter
06-Aug-15
Your generator should have some info on how much gas it consumes at full load. You can expect a full load for the initial freeze, probably a couple of hours, and then another full load for a total of two or so hours per day.
From: buckykm1
06-Aug-15
IMHO, a 7 cu. ft. is to small, specially if you have a cape that needs to go in it too. or more than 1 Elk. I use a 12 cu. ft. and that work okay.
Kevin
From: Ben
06-Aug-15
Our freezer is around the 12 cu. ft. range. Our generator is a 2600 watt. It runs about 4 hours + or -. When we put an animal in we run 2 full tanks of gas thru the gen., then run a full tank of fuel thru it once a day. If we add a new animal then 2 more tanks. The hardest part we have learned is to NOT open the freezer, except when adding an animal. This cools the meat and makes it frosty, but not frozen. We cut the animal up at home so we don't want it frozen solid. When I have cut the meat up at home it is crunchy and slices up easily.
From: OkieJ
07-Aug-15
If you have a freezer big enough at home you can freeze 2 gal. buckets and add to freezer when you leave for your trip. this will cool it down and will be ready when you show up with the meat. Will last for days if you will cover with a old sleeping bag/blanket and don't open,
From: redwillow
09-Aug-15
Nice tips from everyone, just bought me a $168.00 chest freezer for my upcoming bow hunt to Co. It is 7.5 cubic feet, and will hold 245lbs. Of boned and packed meat with seal--meal. Taking my old 5000 watt generated, I think this should be efficient for one hunter and his elk. This generator seems to take 1 gal. Of gas every 3-4 hrs., maybe more doing a elk.
From: cityhunter
09-Aug-15
redwillow trust me that freezer will do just fine ! 5000 watts is way more then needed but if that cuts your cost then use it best of luck ..
From: Kurt
09-Aug-15
My Honda 2000 inverter gen ran for 16 hrs on a gallon tank full of gas running an ancient 6 or 7 cf freezer. I would run the freezer from noon till 4 am when it ran out of fuel each day. It took about max power to start the freezer, then it idled along using less than full load fuel consumption. Worked good for over two weeks elk hunting 6 yrs ago. My buddy used it for his elk, but mine went to a locker to hang for a week while I scouted for him. We just kept frozen meals and made ice for the coolers until I left and of course he killed his bull.
