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PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 9:15 pm
by Chris C
Rob, the site you listed the link for clearly states:

As a general rule, dry ice will sublimate at a rate of five to ten pounds every 24 hours in a typical ice chest. This sublimation continues from the time of purchase, therefore, pick up Dry Ice as close to the time needed as possible. Bring an ice chest or some other insulated container to hold the Dry Ice and slow the sublimation rate. Dry Ice sublimates faster than regular ice melts but will extend the life of regular ice.

and that has also been my experience with it.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 11:11 pm
by remarquian
Chis,

I'm sorry, I read your post a little to quickly.

rob

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 6:05 am
by Larwyn
When camping I use the 3 chest method (no dry ice).

But my reason for posting is that I use an ice chest daily. I work out of a service truck and often out of town. I always have one of the "5 day" coolers in the van. I found that the food trays that used to come with most ice chests are still available, you just have to buy them seperate.
During the hot part of summer I start the week out with one block and one 20lb bag of ice. After 3 days, drain a bit of the water, and add a 10lb bag, in a couple of days it needs another 10 lb bag which will keep things cold over the weekend, then start over on Monday. Main thing is to keep the chest full with the water level low enough that it does not splash into the food try while driving. It also helps to line the bottom of the food tray with a couple of layers of paper towel.

Works for me. :D

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 7:48 am
by Denny Unfried
Coleman and Igloo don't put seals on their coolers for safety reasons so there can be an air exchange in case a child gets inside. A few years ago I noticed when I camped in breezy conditions the ice melted faster so - I installed a seal on the lid of my Igloo Ultra and the ice keeps much longer as long as it's kept out of the sun. The stock latches are also quick release that will open with less than 20# of pressure so I installed latches to keep it from popping lose while on the road.
:beer:
Denny
Image

PostPosted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 11:17 am
by Larwyn
Denny Unfried wrote:Coleman and Igloo don't put seals on their coolers for safety reasons so there can be an air exchange in case a child gets inside. A few years ago I noticed when I camped in breezy conditions the ice melted faster so - I installed a seal on the lid of my Igloo Ultra and the ice keeps much longer as long as it's kept out of the sun. The stock latches are also quick release that will open with less than 20# of pressure so I installed latches to keep it from popping lose while on the road.
:beer:
Denny


Denny,

This past weekend I installed latches and a seal on my Igloo Maxcold cooler. This is the one that I use daily in my work van. Guess I shold get an idea of how much this improved the cooler over the next couple of weeks. I'll let you know.

Even if it did not improve the performance, it sure looks cool (what a pun from me?)...... :D

PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 10:40 pm
by Larwyn
Thanks for the tip Denney. It works... :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

The modified ice chest is saving around 20lbs of ice a week, same ice chest, only added latches and a foam seal. And besides saving ice, water no longer sloshes out under the lid. This is one worthwhile modification.

This chest stays inside my work van parked under the hot Texas sun and is bounced around for around 2000 miles a month.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:25 pm
by Juli n Bill
just a word of caution, if you add latches and seals to a cooler DO NOT put dry ice in there. Something about gasses building up. Saw something about it on TV one day and thought about this thread.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 6:20 pm
by rianael
Can one of you builder types explain how to add a seal and latch?

Thanks!

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:10 pm
by TomS
This dry ice dicussion is very interesting. How much does dry ice typically cost?

I like the idea of having a separate "Freezer Cooler" to store frozen meat and extra ice. We typically only take enough meat for 3 days then replenish. And, constantly runing to the store to buy ice every day is a major PITA.

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:17 am
by Wright
is a major PITA.


Tom,
I didn't know you had met my 4y/o son???????

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:22 am
by BobR
My favorite way to keep the water out my food is to seal the food in plastic using a vacuum food saver. I seal everything from meat to potatos. You can pre-prepare stews or leftovers, package them in a vacuum bag, freeze them and use them for additional cooling power in the ice chest. When you want to eat, just boil the bags....

You can get it at WalMart

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=4228525

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:31 am
by SteveH
The dry ice idea is a really good one, except where do you buy dry ice? Don't see it around here.

The way I keep food out of the water is I freeze milk jugs (the 1/2 gallon ones) full of water and lay them in the bottom of the cooler. Then put the food on top and as the ice melts, the water stays in the jugs...at least most of it. What doesn't, gets drained out, but in any event, the jugs at the bottom keeps the food out of what little water gets in there. Four 1/2 gallon jugs of ice are good for a weekend if you don't open the chest too much.

Not perfect, but it works for me.

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:17 am
by larryl
Bob wrote, "My favorite way to keep the water out my food is to seal the food in plastic using a vacuum food saver..."

Great idea Bob, have to give that a try.
Larry

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:25 am
by dacrazyrn
I have purchased dry ice from City Market (mainly in Moab, UT-throw it in the cooler, duct tape it up for 3-5 days while backpacking. COme back to ice cold beer!!) they are also King soopers stores. Haven't seen it in my Soopers, but y never know. Ice cream stores usually have it, also. Baskin Robbins and the such.

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 11:16 am
by TomS
Wright wrote:
is a major PITA.


Tom,
I didn't know you had met my 4y/o son???????


I'm a 5-year-old with 40 years experience :lol: