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SFandH
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Plus, it's a disaster when the deviled eggs with avocado and/or the mushroom caviar get wet. You must drain the cooler.
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AKgringo
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My ice chest is a cube, it fits nicely in my small car. It sits on an inch thick insulation panel, and I keep a blanket wrapped around it. Loose
food items are in Tupperware containers.
At frequent pit stops, I drain the melted ice water into my dogs dish, and what she doesn't drink I use to wet her down. She is a large, dark haired
girl, and seems to enjoy the instant air conditioning!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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David K
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Quote: Originally posted by SFandH  | | Plus, it's a disaster when the deviled eggs with avocado and/or the mushroom caviar get wet. You must drain the cooler. |
My dad was a drain guy and I WAS a drain guy... But, I did test the difference and after 5 days in the summer on Shell Island, two identical Coleman
(5 day) ice chests, one had drinks and was opened often and one had food and was not opened often. Both kept out of the sun as best as possible.
A) The chest that I drained (the food chest, not opened much) lost ice the quickest.
B) The chest that I left the melted water in (the drinks chest we opened often) had much more ice!!
The exception!!! If you are moving, especially Baja roads: DRAIN! The sloshing of the melted ice water really speeds up the melting... plus, if you
have food in there as SFandH says, drain it or lose it.
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SFandH
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To drain or not to drain, that is the question. Watch an experiment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vclUo238moM
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John Harper
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I have found that if I cover the ice chest with a towel, and keep it wet, that will keep ice much longer. I just use the drained ice water to wet the
towel. I also try to cover my ice chest with a white towel when it's just in the bed of the truck, seems to keep it from getting sun baked.
Two ice chests seems to work well, one for food, one for drinks that you open more often. If alone I usually just get by with one.
Keeping the water in the chest seems to work better, as DK has observed.
John
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David K
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Yes, but only if you are parked. I highly recommend draining if you are going off-roading! 
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BGR
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While we're on the subject of ice I've got a couple of tips for ya all to try.
1 If I'm going on a short trip and use the cooler I get an XL zip lock freezer bag, one that's big enough to fit a block of ice or a full bag of
cubes, put the ice in and zip it up. No leaks, no mess, no water sloshing around in the cooler. If the bag ever breaks open I'd have a mess but it
never has so far.
2 I cut out a piece of reflectix to fit my cooler, ice and frozen food under, other food over.
I realize these tips won't work for everyone but sure work for me.
My solution to the ice problem on long trips.........bring the fridge.
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JZ
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You only drain water when too much ice melts, and you don't drain it all the way, unless you are adding new ice.
Every experienced boater or camper knows this.
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motoged
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Lotsa experts here....Google the debate and form your own conclusions....pros/cons
Don't believe everything you think....
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JZ
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Holy missing the main point of having some water in the cooler. The difference is if your drinks are submerged in the cold water they're actually
much colder then ones just sitting on ice.
You don't want so much water that it completely sloshes around causing 1) an annoying noise and 2) bottles to break from off-roading or rough water
on a boat.
[Edited on 6-14-2019 by JZ]
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motoged
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What is a better insulator/temperature "moderator-retainer"": water or air?
Does water in a cooler make ice melt faster?
More accurately, a warm beer placed in a cooler of ice will emit heat as it chills. ... If you drain the water, the ice isn't going to get any colder.
Because the water is already at 32º (and not warmer), draining it won't slow down the rate at which the ice melts.
[Edited on 6-14-2019 by motoged]
Don't believe everything you think....
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MMc
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| Quote: Originally posted by motoged | What is a better insulator/temperature "moderator-retainer"": water or air?
Does water in a cooler make ice melt faster?
More accurately, a warm beer placed in a cooler of ice will emit heat as it chills. ... If you drain the water, the ice isn't going to get any colder.
Because the water is already at 32º (and not warmer), draining it won't slow down the rate at which the ice melts.
[Edited on 6-14-2019 by motoged] |
As you open the cooler you warm up the air, the water will retain the cool temp.
I put my ice in a plastic container in my food chest. The chest stays about 35 to 37 most of the day. I find it easier to manage my food products in a
dry chest.
The drink chest is only drained if I am moving or it fills up. I use the water around camp for non food things, cleanup and such. I also prechill my
drinks in ocean water and a bucket. Getting them to 65 or 70 helps reduce the ice melt. slower.
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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BajaTed
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Solar powered coolers are awesome.
Plugs into roof mounted panel with cable or stands alone with lid panel.
It was 117 in Ehrenberg AZ yesterday
Es Todo Bueno
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motoged
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When away for more than 3 days I will use a separate cooler to store BLOCK ice and also use block ice in coolers for food/drinks...it might mean
having 3 different size coolers, but I will still have ice at end of a week.....normal crappy standard coolers....will cover w/ wet towels and keep
out of sun and out of vehicle in hot climates.
Pre-cool canned/bottles liquids before placing in cooler....tupper-ware and quality ziplock baggies are your friend.
No one has mentioned sand in their coolers yet....
Don't believe everything you think....
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AKgringo
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I prefer my sand at ambient air temperature!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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David K
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Great advice!
*Block ice lasts the longest.
*Pre-cool anything that is going into the icebox if possible.
*Keep iceboxes out of the direct sun or cover with wet towels.
*While staying in one place, do not drain the water to retain the ice and cold as long as possible. Only drain if you are going to be driving.
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motoged
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | Great advice!
*Block ice lasts the longest.
*Pre-cool anything that is going into the icebox if possible.
*Keep iceboxes out of the direct sun or cover with wet towels.
*While staying in one place, do not drain the water to retain the ice and cold as long as possible. Only drain if you are going to be driving.
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Jeeeez....do we have to copyright our posts so DK doesn't repeat our comments to bolster his hits?????
I don't go with the "drain if off-roading".....cold water retains temp longer than cold air....
Don't believe everything you think....
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TMW
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Of course it depends on how long I'll be gone. For most desert and Baja trips I boil some eggs and pack them in the container and in the cooler. I'll
fry some ham, sausage or hamburger or a mix of hamburger and sausage and put that in the cooler. I bring a mix of sodas, beer and non-alcoholic beer
all in the cooler. A 16 inch tool bag with various can food like soup, chili, tuna fish, crackers etc. I also take vodka and sometimes wine. I usually
don't eat or drink all that I take so I give away everything before crossing the border except the can goods and a couple of beers or the vodka. I
also tend to eat in restaurants a lot.
We sometimes have an excellent cook with us as some of my trip reports have shown and will bring whatever he needs to fix us a great or gourmet meal.
I have two Canyon Country coolers a 35 qt and a 50 qt. Depending on how long and who is with me depends on which one I take. I put a block of ice in
them, sometimes two blocks in the big one along with cube or crushed ice. The blocks will last a week or more. I don't drain the water from the cooler
until I have more ice to add.
I seldom eat bread, candy, donuts, pie, cake or ice cream. I prefer mixed nuts to chips. My favorite food is fresh caught fish. But I'm not picky. I
like liver and onions as well as tongue like that served in a Basque restaurant.
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mtgoat666
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block ice does not last longer. all ice melts at a heat transfer rate of 80 calories per gram.
you keep your cooler closed, with all other things equal, and heat transfer through cooler walls is same whether you have block or cube ice in the
cooler.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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basautter
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I take a large cooler (70 qt), and fill it half way with frozen water bottles, the rest of the way with food. The bottles last about 5-6 days with an
Igloo Extreme (maybe longer with more expensive coolers), and you have water to drink after the bottles melt  .
[Edited on 6-14-2019 by basautter]
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