ICE COOLER

M

melkal

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Joined
Sep 25, 2005
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19130
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I am looking for suggestions for a non powered beer/soda/food cooler for the boat while cruising. It is kept in the open in the sun. I have tried all the ones like coleman and igloo that claim to keep ice for 5 or more days. Maybe in Hudson Bay, but I have not had a lot of luck beyond 2 days or so. I have put a wet towel over it, and that helps.

I once tried buiding a 1" foam insulated box around the box with limited success. I am aware that block ice holds better but it is not always available and it is not like the old block ice anyway.

So, are the more expensive ones like Yeti better?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
I came across my $400 receipt for my Yeti the other day and I said to myself, what was I thinking. But I don't really regret the purchase. They are built like a brick s**t house and they do work very well. We use ours at Lake Powell (where it gets pretty hot) to store extra ice as opposed to using it for food or drinks. I figured for what they charge for a bag of ice on the lake it would pay for itself soon.

You can read about the tips on Yeti's website such as pre-chilling the cooler,packing it full with block ice and filling the spaces with crushed ice and not opening and closing it a lot.

I cannot say that they work all that much better than the 5 day igloos but they are certainly better made and will certainly last longer. We went through about one large costco igloo cooler about every other year, all the hinges all fell off. The yeti will last a long time but only you can decided if it is worth the money. I think it is.

Some guy stopped me in the grocery store parking lot and asked "man where'd you get that cooler?" when i told him the price he about flipped.
 
When I got my 5 day cooler, I had the same experience, 1 -2 days max. I started pre-chilling and performance increased to 3 - 4 days with pretty frequent opening and closing.
 
When using it for "long term storage", we would always place the entire cooler, filled ( if contents were frozen ) in the chest type deep freezer for a day or so prior to the trip. Greatly increased the time till defrost.

If for non-frozen items, place the empty cooler, and if you are using them, the frozen milk jugs of water in the freezer for a day or so, then fill with well chilled goods, just prior to trip.

Protecting the cooler from direct sun was useful.
 
I always wondered how they got those cheap coolers to keep ice in them for 5 day. Did they throw in one beer can and fill the rest with ice?

The same weight of block ice and crushed have the same cooling capacity. The difference is that crushed ice has a lot more surface area. It will keep the cooler a little colder than block ice. The problem is that it will not last as long and then the block ice has the advantage.

Cheap coolers like the ones I have, two 28 qts, do not have any insulation. For the drink cooler, I fill and freeze about a dozen aluminum cans. I put those cans in with the cold drinks and add 8 pounds of crushed ice. I get about 2 days out of it. The crushed ice is gone before than but the frozen cans of ice keep the drinks cool, not cold. The other cooler is for food. I freeze most of my meat using a vacuum sealer. This cooler does not get opened nearly as much so it requires less ice.

If ice is needed I am fortunate that I only anchor a mile from the marina. Someone from our group will normally head to the marina for one thing or another and also bring back more ice. If that's not an option then investing in an insulated cooler is the best way to go. I got the Yeti on my wish list.
 
If the cooler is in the sun wrapping top & sides of the cooler with a space blanket might help to a noticeable degree so to speak. Frigid Rigid, Yeti/IceyTek, Engel and Frostbite all use 2" insulation in their big coolers I believe.
 
I could never find a cooler that would keep Beer cool for any length of time, so I put the beer in the refrigerator at home and take it out in the morning and then take the beer to the boat and drink it fast before it gets a chance to get warm...
 
If you are packing a cooler for several days, layer the contents based on when it will be used (stuff to be used last on bottom) and place a layer of newspaper - 5-10 sheets per layer after adding ice to the section (block ice is best). The newpaper will really help to stop the transfer of cold and even if you open the cooler a lot, the stuff on the bottom will keep for several days. I like to freeze water in quart milk containers instead of buying block ice - the advantage - you can drink the water as it melts.
 
Thanks for the help, we are out for the summer cruising so the answer has to be a way to keep a cooler coolest and the one with the best insulation, minimizing openenings etc. Prefreezing, or cooling only works for the first few days.

DO the expensive ones really hold cool longer or are they just more expensive (and made better). That is what I am trying to figure out.

I do not mind spending the money, but I am looking for something that insulates significantly better.

Thanks
 
We freeze bottled water and throw into the cooler, it helps to keep everything colder and it is good for drinking as it thaws.

Also a couple of sheets of "bubble" wrap works great instead of newspaper since the "bubble" wrap will not absorb water, the little "bubble" works better than the large "bubble".
 
I also have a Yeti and love the cooler. However, opening and closing are the biggest impacts to the coolers ability to keep ice.

If you plan to open and close the lid a lot to get refreshments, try to use a second cooler to transfer many drinks into at one time to limit the opening and closing.

Dry Ice is also a great product for extending cruising. However, be very careful because it will freeze everything close to the block.
 
To answer your question, yes the more expensive ones, with more insulation, will keep ice longer in a side by side controlled test but I also agree with fountain27. It is like anything else, you could have the best cooler in the world but not use it correctly vs someone with a cheap cooler who practices good ice management skills (all mentioned above) , and the cheaper cooler would perform better.
 
Igloo MaxCold 52 Qt. coolers. I have 2. These are inexpensive "5-day" coolers.

The coolers are located in the cockpit and away from direct sunlight most of the time. No problem getting these to last 6 days in hot weather (highs in 90's to low 100's). For hot weather I usually consolidate all remaining ice to a single cooler around day 4 or 5.

Typical hot weather loading for each cooler: two 10 lb. blocks of ice, 5-7 lbs. crushed ice to cover. Sealed frozen food where possible.

One cooler gets used for drinks and snacks and gets opened most often. The other cooler stores food for meals and items that won't be used for the first couple of days. That cooler is opened much less often.

I cover the coolers with white terry bath towels if I want the ice to last more than four days in hot weather (90 degrees and above). No covering is needed for five-day cooling in temperatures lower than this or for three to four day outings in temperatures reaching as high as the 100's.

If Igloo coolers are sitting in direct sunlight, the ice won't last that long. Surrounding air temperature is one thing, a cooler shell heated by direct sunlight is another.

Keep covering towels damp and cool: this is a must to keep ice in these coolers for 6 days in warm to hot weather. When temperatures are over 100 I pour about a quart of water on each cooler every 2 hours to keep the towels moist and cooling. Guests (especially kids) find this a fun chore or responsibility. It's a good time to explain the physics of evaporative cooling.

Don't drain any cold water unless it is to make room for more ice. As long as some ice is present in the cooler the melt water will be nearly the same temperature as the ice. Don't waste cold melt water. Keep foods sealed from water. Ziplock bags are a boating godsend. IPA bottles cool faster in ice water than in ice alone.

I don't have a refrigerator on the boat and coolers are part of the low-power, six-day anchoring capability.

DSC01411a.jpg
 
I have a Frigid Rigid and yes, the more expensive coolers do work better. It has 2" thick insulation and a heavy gasket which seals the cover. I usually try to pre-chill everything I put in it and also use a combination of block ice and cubed or crushed. I have a large model (250 quarts) which also allows me to put plenty of ice in it and everything will stay cold for days.

John
 
I did some edits and clarified the info posted above. How long a cooler will keep ice depends on the cooler itself, how much ice you load, how hot the cooler shell gets, size: the larger, the more efficient (if filled), and how often the cooler is opened. Igloo claims that their ice blue color MaxCold reflects as much heat as their white colored coolers. That seems to be the case in my experience with Igloos.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Radioactive

When using it for "long term storage", we would always place the entire cooler, filled ( if contents were frozen ) in the chest type deep freezer for a day or so prior to the trip. Greatly increased the time till defrost.

If for non-frozen items, place the empty cooler, and if you are using them, the frozen milk jugs of water in the freezer for a day or so, then fill with well chilled goods, just prior to trip.

Protecting the cooler from direct sun was useful.

Click to expand...


/Do you have a spare chest cooler that you can use just to pre-cool ice chests? I cannot imagine having an empty freezer sitting around my house.

George
 
Unless I missed it, I did not see any one mention "blue ice." This will keep frozen much longer than just plain old H2O ice.

Melkal said "I am aware that block ice holds better but it is not always available and it is not like the old block ice anyway."

What is the difference between todays "new" ice and "old." (Other than the old has long ago melted.

G
 
In the old days about 60 years ago and before the advent of electric refrigerators, there was block house ice. It was cut from ponds and stored, cut into slabs and then "ice picked" to size and moved to homes by "tongs" as the shapes were odd. Up to 8 years ago or so, there was a marina on the south shore of Boston, that had similar ice, but not to mean that ice actually came from ponds, I had no idea where they got it. But it looked and lasted the same. They gave you an odd shaped piece after you told them about how much you wanted, as they cut it to size and the ice was absolutely clear.
Todays ice you find in blocks seems to be quicker frozen is not clear and does not last anywhere near as long. I do not know the chemistry. You would think water below 32 is frozen, period.

But, I can tell you they are different animals from experience. While a block of new ice lasts longer than cubes the new blocks do not last anywhere as long as the old kind did.
Blue ice is probably some sort of chemical which may last longer, but I have no way to refreeze them when out for 60 days or more.
PS, I my case I have an electric refrig/freezer that works on 12vdc or 120vac, which is a cold food management process in itself.

My original post was trying to find the best outside cooler for drinks or overflow foods, that hold ice the longest. I thank everyone for sharing their experience.

I even thought about the thermoelectric ones, but they seem to promise a 45-50 degree differential than the outside temp, so that does not sound like ice cold beer to me in hot summer.
 
--> gcolton

The chest freezer was for two things: "The Boat", and in late fall, holding home-made Christmas gifts ( food items ).

There was little other use for it.
 
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