coolers

[Shadow Catcher]

West Marine has a new Igloo marine cooler with SS hinges and closure and a gasket. there is also a claim for longer ice holding,
read scuttlebutt www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/1729 ... ooler.html and the only source so far http://www.westmarine.com
This does not appear on the Igloo web site so West may have an advance model.

[Endo]

West Marine has a new Igloo marine cooler with SS hinges and closure and a gasket. there is also a claim for longer ice holding,
read scuttlebutt www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/1729 ... ooler.html and the only source so far http://www.westmarine.com
This does not appear on the Igloo web site so West may have an advance model.

They looked promising but only the 128qt. and 162qt. models feature air-tight, rubber lid gaskets. I wish the smaller models came with the gaskets.

[CPlater]

They looked promising but only the 128qt. and 162qt. models feature air-tight, rubber lid gaskets. I wish the smaller models came with the gaskets.

I put some foam weather stripping around the top to make my cheap 18 quart Igloo cooler much more effective. I had ice last for several days on a fishing trip and the strip lasted over a year before I needed to replace it.

[hacksaw55]

Has anyone tried to but expandable foam in?

[Mightydog]

We have a 50 qt Gott cooler that we bought from Costco about 15 years ago. One trip, I left a moving pad on top of it. The ice lasted an extra day or so. The extra insulation against the sun probably helped it keep the cold.

[bc toys]

I was thinking about biulding me a foam box out of the leftover insolation I used in my trailer and setting the cooler in while im at campsite think it will help with ice

[bama29]

i have one of the yeti it is a good cooler but if you keep opening it the ice dosent last that long as well

[Arne]

I went to cabela's and bought a coleman extreme... put a gasket around the top... did not work any better than my igloo extreme... had to buy ice every two days. The two gallong jugs of frozen water still had ice left after 10 hot days.

But, I was in and out of the cooler a lot.. and the ice bags I bought had chipped ice in them, not real cubes...

The stop and shop near me sells 5# and 20# bags... next time I'll start out with a 20# bag.. opened and spilled around the 2 gallons of frozen water.

On my 10 day trip, bought ice every 2 days, but found a place that sold 10# bags for 2 dollars... cheap enough.

[Visionsbydarrah]

Just courious has anyone tried one of those 12V coolers?
I've heard both good and bad things about them.

[eamarquardt]

Later that evening my son went to get a soda and wondered why someone put their empty can in the chest He grabbed another one, when he tried to open it it was froze to a slushy-like state.....we all thought WOW this really works Until the next day when everything was froze SOLID, there were even cans that burst, ripped the can right down the side. So needless to say, ice was not an issue that trip, but there were a couple of drinks runs that had to be made. So I guess in moderation, say fill chest with drinks, then ice, then a little salt on top should suffice. I haven't tried it again because SHE won't let me LOL So folks, there's my 2 cents, enjoy.

Everything in life is a compromise. Adding salt created a salt solution that freezes at a temperature lower than water. So, when some of the ice melted (requiring 144 btu/pound) that energy went into lowering the temperature of the remaing ice (which required 1/2 btu/pound for each degree the ice temperature is lowered) and the temperature of the cooler dropped below 32f. For example, in theory one pound of ice melting could lower the temperature of 24 pounds of ice from 32f to maybe 26f ice (but I'm not sure you can add enough salt to reach this temperature). The downside of this equation is that your ice will not last as long. So depending on what you want, reallllly cold drinks (salt it down) or maximum ice life (but slighly warmer drinks) to salt or not to salt is the question.

Cheers,

Gus

[dguff]

Does anyone have experience with the Coleman "steel belted" cooler? They look like a rerelease of the older Coleman metal coolers. Cabelas website reviews are kind of mixed so I am curious about teardroppers actual useage. Thanks for any info.

Jerome

[GuitarPhotog]

Just courious has anyone tried one of those 12V coolers?
I've heard both good and bad things about them.

They are very inefficient in terms of what you get for what you put in. They consume 4-12 A of 12 VDC and are typically rated to cool to 40F below ambient.

Mine burned up after a 3-day heat wave when I was using it in my 90+F garage.

40F below ambient in a 90 or 100F trailer is not food safe. My plain ole' Coleman cooler keeps everything at 40F with minimal inputs of ice.

My $0.02 worth

<Chas>

[Bikerman]

Setting a cooler inside another "cooler" box really helps.

I'm not an engineer. Going back to boating and various types of foam filled cavities, like building a hydroplane there is an issue with foam breaking down, cracking, compacting and even exploding when compressed and it is hit with a hard blow. So with that, I would think that setting a hard case cooler on a metal frame may demenish the effectiveness of some foam causing it to seperate and crack inside the case.

I have certainly seen the tied on to frames and cargo racks and it might be the owner will never notice a difference in performance. My coolers (good ones) have usually been inside the vehicle (I usually wanted to get in there on the way). If it were me and I wanted to put one on the frame I think I would pad the underneath, maybe wrap or roll some rubber roofing around the frame to absorb some of the shock. Might help from it getting banged up. Just a thought.

[newimage]

Try ebay I just picked up a Aussie built Techi Ice very similar to the Yeti in construction and qualityat a fourth of the price, a 36 Quart for $85.00 plus shipping
Love it It holds ice for 8 days no problem.

[BC Dave]

Just courious has anyone tried one of those 12V coolers?
I've heard both good and bad things about them.

They are very inefficient in terms of what you get for what you put in. They consume 4-12 A of 12 VDC and are typically rated to cool to 40F below ambient.

Mine burned up after a 3-day heat wave when I was using it in my 90+F garage.

40F below ambient in a 90 or 100F trailer is not food safe. My plain ole' Coleman cooler keeps everything at 40F with minimal inputs of ice.

My $0.02 worth

<Chas>

this is from a 12V Coleman discussion someone posted a couple or 6 months ago ... The 12V seems to be better constructed and insulated with foam and UV silvery lid.

I purchased a coleman 12V plug-in a couple of seasons ago, with some scepticism; they work better with a frozen jug of ice in a container (I use a 2 L juce container; a large chunk of ice (ie a 4 L milk catron would last 2X longer)) also freeze oj; then start with cool items such as beer; pop; frozen cheese and meats etc. When traveling in a vehicle I keep it plugged in; when stopped i plug it in for 1/2 hour at meal times to remove heat from the cooler; I do not keep it plugged in continuously ... it would drain a battery quickly; nor do I think there were designed to be plugged in continously. They are better insulated that standard coolers; 2L ice in the heat of the summer lasts 5 days ... not bad ... also i'm contious of where I store the cooler; ie in the shady cool spots; not inside hot vehicles ... Im happy with it; but it does use lots of 12V powe,r so plug in sparingly; and yes the 40 degree differential is about right; so in hot weather you need to suppliment with ice in a container.

oh and I keep it ice box style not upright where the cold air would drain out every time it was opened ...

my 2 cents of experiance ... from camping in the Cariboo Summer heat in the 90's