DIY Foamie' Super Cooler ...

[lrrowe]

I surf fish with a cooler on a front truck mounted rod rack such as this:
(This is an example photo, not my rig)


We use this cooler for bait and go through a lot of ice in trying to keep bait fresh. These ideas passed around in this thread give me ideas of building foam box (maybe 2 in thick) around the cooler and coated it with cloth as on the TD's.

Thanks

[GPW]

Tac, liking the cooler Cozy...

Bob ... That should work ...

[wagondude]

GPW - I know the "plug" top is the way to go, but I don't want to lose 2" off the interior height of the cooler.... I'm thinking about using epmd rubber or foam weather stripping to seal the two.

The exterior dimensions are 21L x 18W x 15H

IMG_3010.JPG

You don't need a plug, just a flange. Cut the middle out of that plug to keep from loosing so much space. Also, you could lay the flange up with 1" or even 1/2" strips ripped from that plug to keep from loosing too much space.

[GPW]

Bill, Great idea !!!

[GPW]

We just measured inside our outer box ... The inside dimensions are 17” X 17” X 12.5” deep ... We happen to have some 3.5” thick foam sheet (left over from the FoamStream build ) and if we add that to each inside wall , and the bottom , we would end up with a space of 10” X10” X 9” , and a wall and floor thickness of 5.5” , and R value of ~ 25 ... and enough room for a 6 pack ... and a small slab of ice ... While not really practical for the huge outer size of the cooler 21” X 21” X 18” , it is an EXTREME example of what is possible ... and if you really had to keep something frozen for a while ...

We could add the 3.5” thick foam to the outside of the box and end up with the same R’s but a much more practical space , and room for a big Block of ice ... That may be even better!!! ... The new size would be a bulky 28” X28” X 25” tall ... Big cooler for Big storage ...

[GPW]

Another drawing ... Note: both blue boxes are the exact same size ...

[CanuckShooter]

I think I'm going to tackle the foamie cooler project for my camper. I'm going with 2" XPS. From what I've read, keeping a good seal around the lid is much more important than pushing past R10 insulation. I'd really like to have the cooler double as a seat, so I'm going to line the top and bottom with wood, and probably the hinge/clasp mounting points as well. We'll see how it turns out!

Years and years ago we built our own cooler using 2" XPS foam, it was 2'x2'x6'. We just built a wooden box like a tool box for the back of a pickup with a hinged lid and a couple of lock clasps on the front to hold it down. The foam we just glued in the box and the foam lid 2x2x6 just sat on top of the foam walls inside the box, when the wooden lid was pressed down and clasped it compressed the foam lid onto the foam walls inside the box and sealed it up. It was all pretty crude compared to what you have been discussing but it worked. We would go on extended moose hunting trips in august with temps between 20C and 30C and with some big ice blocks inside we could keep stuff cool for at least 10 days, far outperforming our store bought coolers. FYI

[GPW]

CS , Thanks , That sounds just like what we’re after ... a 10 day cooler ...