Mexray
Super Nomad
Posts: 1016
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: California Delta
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Mood: Baja Time
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Ice Chest (cooler) Hints...
Here's a compilation of the useful 'Ice Chest' hints contributed by Nomad Board Members...
1. Use the new 'Extreme' type coolers with the thicker insulation - mass market stores sell em' at the best prices. More insulation means longer
retention of the ice inside - at the expense of less internal capacity.
2. Pre-cool your 'cold stuff' whenever possible. You then won't waste ice bringing cans and food down in temp.
3. Block ice last longer in the cooler. Pre-freeze block ice at home before leaving - use cubical containers. Use wax-type orange juice or milk 1/2
gallon containers to make block ice - or Tupper-ware type containers that are cubical - round containers leave unusable air space inside the cooler.
You can use the water from the containers as it melts for cooking or drinking for you or your pets.
4. Freeze meats and foods at home before leaving - storing at the bottom of the cooler will help keep them frozen longer.
5. Keep cooler out of the sunlight. Sunscreen won't protect your cooler from the sun - stash it in the shade!
6. keep the lid shut tight - these new coolers have a tight fitting lid. You have to give them an extra 'push' to close them fully - educate the kids
and new comers!
7. keep cooler covered with a blanket for extra insulation - stop at a flea market and get several of those heavy, Mexican blankets. Keep a couple of
them for the coolers or to put on the car seat for the dog.
8. Don't drain all the water as the ice melts - some water in the cooler conducts the 'cold' from the ice to the contents better than an air space.
The ice is cooling the water also, so don't over due it.
9. We use the ice melt water for all kinds of stuff when camping...pet drinking water; bird bath water; car wash water; clothes rinsing water;
radiator water; window washing water...etc.
10. Don't add warm drinks...try to cool em' first - maybe leave outside overnight to cool as much as possible before adding them to the cooler.
11. Freeze non carbonated drinks at home before leaving; IE, Gatorade, lemonade, mineral water, etc. Don't forget to make sure there is enough
airspace at the top of the bottle before freezing, to avoid 'exploding' the container. They are a perfect drink as they thaw out slowly providing an
ice cold drink to sip on for hours.
12. Put cooler stuff into the larger, 'freezer' type locking plastic bags. They will fit into spaces in the cooler. They will help contain a spill if
the contents become loose or open during a bumpy road transit.
13. Repack fragile stuff, like eggs, into another container. You could crack eggs into a re-usable jar or tupper-ware type sealing container that
won't easily break. The eggs can then used as required, and you don't have to dispose of the shells on the road!
14. Margarita mix, juices, milk, liquid coffee creamer, and other liquids: pour into 16 oz. water bottles. Use of Figi and Dasani type containers
seems better as the Arrowhead and Crystal Geyser appear too thin. Leave a bit of airspace and freeze the bottles prior to leaving.
15. Separate food and drinks. One cooler each. Keeps the food colder as it only gets opened at mealtime.
16. Use a large rectangular tupperware container. About 6 in X 6 in and 14-inches high - or whatever fits your cooler. Completely watertight. You can
stuff a lot of food into it. Shredded/sliced cheese, veges, meats, etc. Anything you don't want to become water logged. Then place a couple frozen
gel packs between some of the food. Also can be used on day hikes to keep a lunch/drink cold.
17. Tie a bottle opener to the cooler with the drinks.
18. If you have enough room, leave beer bottles in the cardboard box they come in to help prevent breakage on rough roads. NOTE: If cartons become
water logged for too long a time, the glue holding them together will 'sour' and smell up the cooler.
19. Some suggest replacing cold drinks remover from cooler with warm ones to insure a continued 'cold' supply. Failure to follow this procedure is a
'hangin' offense in some camps!
20. On long trips take a large ice chest and completely fill it with block ice. Use it to 'restock' the other coolers as required.
21. Avoid opening the cooler until needed - every opening allows some of the cold air to escape, and then uses some of the ice's cooling power to
replace.
22. Keep the cooler in as cool a location as possible.
I'll try and update this 'post' with any worthwhile additional 'hints' that are brought up...enjoy.
[Edited on 7-6-2004 by Mexray]
According to my clock...anytime is \'BAJA TIME\' & as Jimmy Buffett says,
\"It doesn\'t use numbers or moving hands It always just says now...\"
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jrbaja
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4863
Registered: 2-2-2003
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Dry Ice
Since I haven't seen it mentioned here, I will mention it. Although when I was last dealing with dry ice, it was getting harder to find up there but
I'm sure it's available.
If you put a couple slabs of dry ice wrapped in newspaper and a plastic bag in the bottom of your cooler, "Igloo Marine" type, along with the
blocked ice, you can extend the life of your ice by one week. This means, you can get up to 3 weeks without having to think about an ice run if you
follow all the rules listed above.
Especially the part about keeping it covered and out of the sun.
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FrankO
Nomad
Posts: 301
Registered: 11-10-2002
Location: Ocean Beach
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San Diego Ice and 31 flavors ice cream both have it.
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jrbaja
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4863
Registered: 2-2-2003
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Thanks FrankO
I also wanted to mention that if I am going to be in the remote areas for more than a week or two, I take an extra cooler with frozen milk, meats or
fish, and dry ice and block ice. I then duct tape the whole lid closed. This is used when everything else runs out and it is generally still frozen
solid when I open it.
These are ideas from the past because now I have a freezer in the van. I still use a combination of ice chests and the freezer. But now I can make
my own ice for the coolers.
This is because of the importance of ice cream and cold Pacificos when in the wilds of Baja.
Here's a picture of us roughing it in Baja. The ice chest is under the TV and the box in front is the printer I use on the road for printing out
pictures for the rural folks. That's Herb at the LapTop.
[Edited on 6/7/2004 by jrbaja]
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Bajasurf
Newbie
Posts: 22
Registered: 5-26-2004
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Norcold
jrbaja, Do I see a Norcold freezer in your van? If so, I have had one for 8 years and love it,works great with my invertor and does keep the chicken
frozen and ice cubes on demand
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HotSchott
Nomad
Posts: 156
Registered: 9-4-2003
Location: Sandy Eggo
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If you have a dog...and a threaded drain cap at the bottom of your cooler, either elevate the cooler off the ground or dig a hole large enough to put
the dog's water dish in and under the drain. If you "crack" the drain so that it drips water into the dog bowl and elevate the opposite end of the
cooler, it keeps the dog bowl fresh and cool all day and night. Most importantly it also removes ALL the water from the cooler. Water at any
temperature is at least 33 degrees (unless it is saline or in a vacuum). Any amount of water will melt ice and thaw frozen food in contact with it.
It is better to keep your cooler bone dry at the bottom. I have tested this personally and after several days in 100+ heat we always come home with
block ice left in the cooler if we drain the water into the dog bowl.
The one thing water does do is conduct cold better. For a constant supply of cold drinks in bottles or cans, use a smaller cooler one-quarter to
half-full of water to keep the drinks cold. Warm drinks are ice cold in 15 to 20 minutes when they are put directly into icey water.
For longer trips we use dry ice - usually just for the trip down. Always place dry ice on the TOP of your cooler. Dry ice is -109 degrees F.
Everything else in your cooler, even if it is frozen solid, is warmer than the dry ice. When dry ice melts it sublimes directly into a gas without
ever becoming a liquid. The cold CO2 gas is heavier than the air spaces in the cooler and makes its way to the bottom after passing through and
around all the frozen stuff on the way down. Using dry ice this way extends the cooling power of the water ice in a cooler.
If you put dry ice in the bottom of a cooler (which I have tried) it eventually gets in contact with melt water and condensation from the ice at the
top of the cooler. After contacting just a small amount of water, dry ice sublimes quickly and is gone. It will last longer and cool more if it is
placed at the very top of the cooler.
The best place to purchase dry ice in San Diego is Parsons Air Gas in Barrio Logan (under the Coronado Bridge). They are a commercial distributor and
will usually fill a cooler with pellets for a few bucks. They sell by the pound, but are pretty loose with the "extra couple of pounds" here and
there. Last time they gave me twice what I paid for and they are good people.
Anything you can do to keep the outside of the cooler cool will pay off by keeping the inside colder. The Mexican blanket works best if it is damp.
I use a mister to keep the whole cooler wet when we have access to running water (like Guadalupe Canyon).
Steve
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Hotschott is right on!
That is great info Steve, thanks! I appreciate the explanation about dry ice placement. My thought was if you put the dry ice on the bottom, as the
wet ice melts, it would refreeze upon reaching the dry ice, below. Good to hear the scientific facts!
About keeping the ice chest dry... absolutely! Every year I watched my friends at Gecko make daily runs for ice which they added to the water filled
ice box. Melts in a day! I can go for almost a week before buying more ice. I drain the water out daily.
Now, for me ice is most important to preserve food (milk, meat, etc.). I keep drinks in a seperate cooler. Starting with frozen water bottles... I
freeze a flat of the pint drinking water bottles and add pre-cooled beer, sodas, juices to that chest...
Keep lids closed tight, keep boxes in shade, drain water daily (from the food ice box) cover with blankets... I love Baja when it's hot! Shell Island,
Gonzaga, L.A. Bay... it's all great!
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Bob H
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5867
Registered: 8-19-2003
Location: San Diego
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This is really good stuff here!
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GeoRock
Nomad
Posts: 329
Registered: 3-7-2003
Location: Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Mood: Always have one
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I have used dry ice in the past, and it works extremely well. One hint, though: be sure and remove any frozen foods you are cooking for dinner,
allowing enough time for thawing. The first time I used dry ice I had to change dinner plans when the food was still frozen solid.
Thanks for the compilation!
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