Cooler Insulators

[The_Hellbilly]

We use A LITTLE rock salt on top of our ice to keep the beer cold. If you add too much you will freeze your beer solid.

[robbrown27]

Buy a YETI cooler, best cooler I've ever purchased! A little pricey but they work amazing. I mounted a 45 quart in my toon. 2 weeks ago the temps were around 100 everyday at 5000' in Wyoming. Kept ice all week and what ice melted was so cold you didn't want to leave your hand in it to long.

And by the way the cooler sits in direct sun most of the day. Take a look at them if you are ready to quit buying ice all week.

[Rhinohio]

I watched a cooler "shootout" on Youtube (I'm at work so I can't post a link). The Yeti and Coleman Xtreme were nearly equal in keeping ice and as I recall, the Engel was a distant third. The Igloo Maxcold fared the worst. The test was with the Coleman five day cooler... they have a six day cooler now but I have never owned one.

I currently have a 70 and 54 quart Xtreme and relatively satisfied with them compared to the regular picnic coolers. The Coleman’s hinges and latches do fail prematurely (IMO), but for the cost of a new one, I can live with that. They will usually last 3-4 years with reasonable care. Replacement parts are available but I just pitch them.

Because of the thick walls, the Yetis and Engels are not only spendy but take up a lot of room compared to how much storage capacity they have. BPS sells the Yeti, look inside one, you'll be surprised how small the interior is WRT the footprint of the unit. Another downside is that thieves are quite fond of them because they cost so much. I have never had a Coleman cooler ripped off but know people that have lost their high end Engels and Yetis to scumbags... something to think about.

I have four of the blue gel packs I throw in with the cube ice. Takes up less room than the 2 liter bottles and definitely more durable. My best advice is to keep the lid closed... that is, get in and get out. My wife is especially bad for leaving the lid open like when she's making a sandwich or getting another round of drinks, but hey, she's not a beer drinker.

Years ago when I used to tent camp, we would wrap the coolers with scraps of carpet padding and keep it in place with duct tape making a giant "beer huggie". Packing ice several miles into the woods was not a pleasant task and the foam padding did improve the ice holding performance or at least we thought it did.

Mike

[Bryden24shp]

We have 2 Xtremes and they do work good. I always keep them covered with small comforter, we got at PetSmart for the dog, just to keep the direct sunlight of them. Its amazing how cold the bottom of it is when you take it off. It works pretty good! Feels good on a super hot day. The Premier has a built in cooler, but it really sux, its just a big ole storage compartment now. When we were working with Manitou on a new design, we mentioned adding a "built in" that really works. Would really be an eye catcher for buyers. You could incorporate it into the ski locker, easily. But that fell through along with the dual windshield design. So we bought with the S-Series.
What always kills me is people are always draining their ice cold water, to make room for more ice. Whats the difference if the cooler is 1/2 full of 33 degree water and ice, or full of ice. I just add more ice to the water. Drain it off alittle and add more as needed. Freeze all bottled water, Gatoraids and kids drinks.
1/2 frozen beer? I'll try that! I'll buy some PBR to expiriment with, why waste my Busch light!
Have a good one!
Bryan

[LocoCoco]

...1/2 frozen beer? I'll try that! I'll buy some PBR to expiriment with, why waste my Busch light!
Have a good one!
Bryan

1/2 frozen meaning bring two cases, one frozen solid and the other ready to crush. Ya, it's good to separate by brand so you don't mix them up. It sucks when you accidentally open a frozen one and it foams all over and leaves you with a can of frozen, flat beer. Then everyone teases you for crying.

Also, I've heard of people bringing dry ice in a separate cooler. Never tried it myself though.

Here's some info: http://www.dryiceinfo.com/camping.htm


LC.

[Rhinohio]

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-TE4Rnq ... detailpage

Don't get me wrong, I'm not breaking balls on the Yeti and Engel fans, they're great products. It's just that my stuff doesn't get roughed up so the Coleman durability is acceptable. At my age, I don't think I can amortize the cost of a high end ice chest... I'll just buy more Coleman Xtremes as they expire.

Also, take note of the interior dimensions and tare weight. The IRP was more than 30 pounds before you put anything in it. The imagery also you gives you a concept of how thick the walls are as well as the storage capacity compared to the units' volume.

I do have a timely experience to share. My wife needed a food cooler for my father-in-law's 80th birthday picnic on 7/21. I purchased a 52 qt. Coleman Xtreme at Dick's for ~40 bucks. Well, it needed to be broke in so I filled it with beer and ice. As luck would have it, I got a Monday morning unit and the drain had not been caulked... the melted ice leaked out and left a puddle on the floor. The item was returned without incident and I made sure the fitting on the replacement had been caulked so I didn't have to go back to the store a third time. A quick glance at the drain from the inside will confirm if the fitting has been sealed. Maybe can save yourself a trip and the hassle of returns.

For those interested, there are seat cushions available for the Xtreme coolers. A little pricey but does add some additional seating and surely provides insulation to help with keeping ice longer.

Hope this helps.

Mike

[Rhinohio]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... zdaVusohlI

[Chas4273]

Another way to help keep ice is to pre-cool your cooler. If your cooler is already hot when you stock it you're going to lose ice right away, so either store it in a cool place and/or place a block of ice in it the night before. That was the tip from friends who are river raft guides who go on week long trips in remote areas with no way to re-supply (for their really long trips they placed coolers in a walk-in fridge before the trip). They use wet burlap sacks on top of the cooler during the trip. If you're going to be out for multiple days use multiple coolers and stock them in a way that the second cooler is not opened at all until you are finished with the first. We also use frozen water bottles--I prefer the small bottles spread around with the drinks/food.

[tuned]

Another little trick that works great is to take a garbage bag (unopened) a little larger than the cooler and lay it inside on top of the ice. Not only does this help the lid seal better, but something else is at work as well. Even if you don't hang the edges out, it still makes an amazing difference. I know it sounds strange, but after several years of experimenting with it, i am a believer.

[STEVEBRENDA]

We just got back from vacation. We left our cooler out on the boat for 9 days straight in triple digit heat. Each day we added 6-8 ice cubes made from filling 32 oz. cups. We made a cooler-insulator sleeve by purchasing one of those emergency type blankets and duct tape. $4 plus duct tape.

We put the sleeve on at night and took it off about 11 am every day. It seemed to work very well except we did not have the patience to put the sleeve on and off throughout the day. As it was so hot, we were in and out of the cooler a lot.

I think it more than paid for itself in ice, but I would still like to make something that is easier to take on and off. I may make some kind of sleeve with a card board center or something to make it easier to put on and take off. If a cooler were left with the sleeve on except when it was in use, I could see where it would be very efficient and ice could last for days, even in the 106 heat.

[fwood]

The emergency blanket trick is pretty good. I use one of the reflective sun shades for the car windshield on the top of the cooler. Works great to keep the top of the cooler, cooler. I got mine from AutoZone for 3.99.