teemch5 Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Hi all, Just got back from a two week camping trip with my 3 daughters. Our camp site was situated on an island in the middle of Lake George, NY. Pretty spartan with only an outhouse, picnic table and fire pit. Needless to say everything you need must be brought out to the island with you. My question is this: How to make ice last in a cooler for as long as possible? I went through at least a 20 pound bag of ice each and every day as well as some blocks of ice, which I thought would last a bit longer and keep the water cold and slow the melting time of the cubes. One cooler wasn't too bad, but a new Coleman just didn't keep the ice. Any suggestions? By the way, we had a great time, relaxed, and had beautiful weather. Thanks....Teemch5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avezorak Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 If you dont mind spending the money, get a Yeti. 10 lbs of ice will last three or four days if you only open it a few times a day.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 (edited) For stuff that you plan to keep frozen, get a 20lb block of dry ice. It will last a long time if you don't open the cooler much. But, do not, I repeat, DO NOT put anything that you DON'T want frozen in the dry ice cooler (soda, mayo, mustard, eggs, etc). Dry ice will freeze them solid in about 30 minutes and make them explode. I did the dry ice thing on a camping trip a while back, 30 minutes outside of town, my wife heard this strange noise coming from the cooler in the back, so we stopped to look. By this time, the soda had exploded (that was the sound we were hearing, the cans exploding in the cooler), the eggs had exploded, the mayo and the mustard. The cooler itself was frozen to the seat of the car. Three days later, I used one of the steaks (which was thawed when I put it in the cooler) to drive a tent stake into the ground. One bag of regular ice on top of the dry ice lasted well over a week. Edited July 30, 2010 by GrumpyOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old506 Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 I know a guy who puts an old heavy weight wool blanket over his cooler. It seems to do a little bit better and lasts longer than mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Whole bags of ice will last longer than bags that have been opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Another trick from photo days -- put a white towel over anything you want to keep cool. Reflecting sunlight off the item helps.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickJ Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Another trick from photo days -- put a white towel over anything you want to keep cool. Reflecting sunlight off the item helps.... Yep, Igloo marine coolers are white, and their insulation is thicker than their regular ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasOPM Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Block Ice will last much longer than cubes. Put a cookie sheet and a towel over the ice, then put a blanket over the cooler- keep the cooler out of the sun- and most of all KEEP IT CLOSED! Living in the desert has taught me a lot about keeping things cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kend Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Biggest thing I learned about coolers, spend a little extra money and get the Marine version, huge difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Gene Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I have had several brands of coolers. I just bought my first Yeti, and it is worth every peny. I have spent days on the river with other brand Marine coolers, and nothing comes close to the durability or the ability to keep stuff cold of the Yeti. wg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 You want cold? I'll give you an old girlfriend's phone number. Instant frost right through the phone lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZip Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 You want cold? I'll give you an old girlfriend's phone number. Instant frost right through the phone lines. That is soooo bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juan Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 dont drain the water out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griz Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 The Coleman Xtreme coolers will keep ice for an honest week if you don't open it very often. The trick is to have 2 coolers, a big one that only needs to be opened occasionally and one with drinks in it that everyone will be opening constantly. When you have to open the "long term" storage cooler to get food or whatever, replenish the drink cooler's ice. Whatever you do, don't drain the water... When you drain the water, something has to replace the water and that something is hot air. No faster way to melt your ice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 While the Yeti coolers have a great reputation, @ $ 250 - $ 400, you can buy a lot of ice for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Antichrome Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 YETI. Nothing else comes close. Oh, and you have to prechill the insulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbbean Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 You want cold? I'll give you an old girlfriend's phone number. Instant frost right through the phone lines. What? You dated my ex, too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Go to www.thehulltruth.com and search for best cooler if you want a lot of suggestions. The boating guys are pretty clued in to what cooler is best. I've had really good luck with the igloo marine ultra and maxcold ultra. No, you can't use them as hard cover in case of a pirate boarding but they do the job well and will keep ice for several days in the Florida summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 If you want a PROPER cooler look at the ARB Refrigerator. While it IS cooler sized, it will keep ice frozen in desert heat til the battery in your car dies. http://store.arbusa.com/Fridges-C11.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Rader Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 The dry ice is the best for long term. Wrap it in newspaper and place it in the bottom of the cooler for a refrigerator effect and place it on the top of items in the cooler for a feeezer effect. A good point for dry ice is that there is no water mess as it melts so you don't have to waterproof everything in the cooler. Also, make sure all of your items are cold before placing them in the cooler. Putting dry ice in with regular ice will melt the dry ice quicker until the regular ice drops in temperature some. If I am using regular ice, I either pack some myself or purchase some a couple weeks in advance and keep it in my deep freeze at -15 until I am ready to use it. It lasts quite a while that way. If you have room in your freezer, put your cooler in there for a couple days before use also. And yes, Yeti coolers are the way to go! Dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAZZ Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 YETI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 You want cold? I'll give you an old girlfriend's phone number. Instant frost right through the phone lines. What? You dated my ex, too? Brrrrr... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 FWIW, dry ice doesn't melt..... ....it's dry.... it sublimates back into a gas -- Carbon Dioxide. No mess, nothing gets wet.... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Rader Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 (edited) Actually, dry ice DOES indeed melt: Dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) DOES melt like regular ice. The difference is that the pressure of the vapor of dry ice at its melting point is about 5 atmospheres. This occurs at a temperature of -57 C. Now when you have a lump of dry ice in a container of some sort, the pressure applied by the atmosphere on the dry ice is only 1 atmosphere, rather than 5 atmospheres. The temperature at which the vapor of dry ice is 1 atmosphere is -78 C, which is lower than its melting point. So the dry ice passes directly from solid to vapor because you don't have the needed 5 atmospheres for it to form a "normal" melting liquid. This is not all that mysterious. It happens with water all the time in the winter where often we can observe frost disappearing from a window or driveway in the morning without first melting. The process is a little different, but the concept is the same. In the case of frost, the wind blows water vapor away at temperatures less than 0 C., and eventually all the frost (ice) disappears without ever turning into a liquid. Vince Calder It is still the best choice for long term in an ice chest. Dale Edited June 24, 2012 by Dale Rader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowrider Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Learned this because I like my beer cold, cold, cold! You can also pack your cooler and pour rock salt over the ice. It will be colder than just ice so it stands to reason that it will stay cold a bit longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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