BajaNomad

ice

timmurphy - 6-16-2009 at 12:49 PM

heading to the central coast(south)on Monday.Can anybody update me where I can get block ice south of Ensenada ? I'd like to load up before I turn left and head into the wild.Hielo purificada por favor. Gracias

re:ice

timmurphy - 6-16-2009 at 12:55 PM

I mean turn right...on the "left coast". Norte de Sta.Rosaliita.Glad I have my directions figured out now.

toneart - 6-16-2009 at 01:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by timmurphy
I mean turn right...on the "left coast". Norte de Sta.Rosaliita.Glad I have my directions figured out now.


:?::?::?:

Oops...Never mind. I see Tim started two strings regarding "ice".

[Edited on 6-16-2009 by toneart]

woody with a view - 6-16-2009 at 01:16 PM

san q has a hielo place. it's on the inland side of the hwy. if you're driving straight thru i'd just get it in the u.s. and not worry about it. 4-5- hours isn't going to matter. if not, then san q or at el rosario probably has a place for the fishing co-op. turn right at the curve and it's on the right about 1/2 block down. but don't count on it.....

David K - 6-16-2009 at 01:31 PM

If you are coming from the USA, how much ice do you think you will need after just a 5 hour drive from the border to San Quintin?

Pack an ice chest with blocks surrounded by crushed... and if you can add some dry ice on top... Never open this ice box until you need to add ice to your food or beer ice chest... You should be able to last a week or more!

If you do not have room for more than 1 or 2 chests (one for food and one for drinks/ beer) then a block will last longer... and surround any gaps with crushed ice... cool only the food/ milk etc. that requires it and only the beer you need daily allowing for as much ice as possible in the chest(s).

Do not put any dry ice in the same chest with food... it will freeze or carbonate any.

rpleger - 6-16-2009 at 02:04 PM

:?::?::?:

timmurphy - 6-16-2009 at 02:27 PM

thanks for the tidbits.I have used all these measures for years,however it is hard to conserve the ice for 1 week plus...sitting at your favorite spot hours away from ice cold cerveza can be a dilemma.Perhaps it is God telling me it's time to go home.Yea..I guess the whole point of my question was trying to purchase ice at the furthest point south before turning off. I just gotta remember that if supplies were too easy down there,then it wouldn't be my kind of place.Thanks again.

dtbushpilot - 6-16-2009 at 02:52 PM

Seem to me that while most cubed ice in Baja is purified most block ice isn't. Any others have that impression?....dt

[Edited on 6-16-2009 by dtbushpilot]

Bajahowodd - 6-16-2009 at 03:56 PM

Takes a bit of planning. We used to get dry ice on our way in to Lake Powell. The coolers weren't opened until later in the week and the food was still frozen solid. Now, if you're looking for ice for c-cktails, that's a different story. Your statement that block ice isn't purificado surprises me in that the same ice suppliers are involved. Maybe you're right. But, even so, if you are using block ice only to keep stuff frozen in the coolers, you can bag everything to prevent contamination. Otherwise, seems to me up and down the peninsula, places like oxxo and the beer joints, Tecate, Modelo, have sufficient ice.

mtgoat666 - 6-16-2009 at 04:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbushpilot
Seem to me that while most cubed ice in Baja is purified most block ice isn't. Any others have that impression?....dt


i did not get that impression. but if you got that impression, then ask the vendor when you buy ice.

even if ice is purified, it is pointless as it is soon contaminated after my raw pork chops leak over the ice, i spill the milk in the cooler, and everybody puts their grimy mits in the cooler to grab a beer :lol:

woody with a view - 6-16-2009 at 04:32 PM

put your beer in the ocean and enjoy a "cool" 65-70 degree beer out in the 90 degree sun.

David K - 6-16-2009 at 04:50 PM

You can get ice in El Rosario... bags of cube ice, that is... Perhaps you can get blocks of ice there where they process sea urchins for Japanese shipment or caracol (sea snail/ turbin shell meat)?? Block ice like that is what dtbushpilot is talking about... It is not necessarily made with purified water as it is made to keep produce cold, not to put into you drinks.

Again, I am wondering why you would need ice your first or second day in Mexico? Unless you will be camping some of the time near Ensenada before heading for Santa Rosalillita? Maybe better to jam for 7 Sisters and head to Ensenada on the way home, as you can easily buy ice there...???

DanO - 6-16-2009 at 05:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by woody in ob
put your beer in the ocean and enjoy a "cool" 65-70 degree beer out in the 90 degree sun.


Yeah, who needs ice. This is comparatively easy to do in rocky areas, by putting the beer in a mesh bag and lowering it by rope down into a suitable depression in the rocks that gets inflows of cold water but is protected from direct wave action. The beach, however, presents a different problem. No protection from the wave action means you need to get the beers out to sufficiently deep water beyond the surf (or you'll be drinking foam). Unless you have a wave runner or small boat, you'd have to swim the beer bag out and tether it to a float, swim in, then swim out again for more cold ones.

Excellent exercise, but maybe there's an easier way. I'm thinking a remote controlled blimp with sufficient power and lift to haul a couple of sixers. Attach enough rope to equal the desired chilling depth, and add say another 20 or 30 feet. Fly the blimp to the desired location, lower your beer into the water until your rope goes slack, and you can cut the motor and let the blimp serve as your airborne float anchored by the cervezas. Power it back up when refreshment is needed. This baby right here should do it -- it's got a 3.9 kilo payload. Rechristen it the BeerBlimp and you are good to go. A little more expensive than ice, but a man's gotta have priorities.

http://www.minizepp.com/Resources/spec/outdoor/zepp-specs-8....



[Edited on 6-17-2009 by DanO]

zepp-specs-8.gif - 37kB

Pacifico - 6-16-2009 at 05:51 PM

If you your main goal is cold beers at the end of the week then I would pack a small or medium sized cooler just of dry ice and not use it until you are out of the "conventional" ice. Then as room allows, put in beers as needed. This should get you through your trip...

bajabound2005 - 6-16-2009 at 08:40 PM

Here in Ensenada they offer "grey ice" and the ice we'd put in our drinks. When you buy beer at the big beer places, they will usually give you "grey" ice for free. That just keeps your bottled/canned stuff cold. If you need a lot of the "grey" ice; the price is minimal. Just don't use it in your drink!

bajaguy - 6-16-2009 at 08:50 PM

Hit your beers with a blast of CO2

DENNIS - 6-16-2009 at 09:47 PM

http://www.triggerandreel.com/Engel_50_p/engel50.htm

castaway$ - 6-16-2009 at 10:09 PM

Straight shots of tequila, no ice needed, problem solved.

Bajahowodd - 6-16-2009 at 11:39 PM

I know that the water supply has improved in quality over the years, but just know that the grey ice is not from purified water. Not using it in your c-cktails is only the tip of the grey iceberg. If that ice has anything potentially harmful, and you pull cans or bottles out of the cooler, you really need to make sure they are wiped completely dry, lest some of the moisture migrate into your mouth. I speak from experience of years gone by in Yucatan.

k-rico - 6-17-2009 at 07:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbushpilot
Seem to me that while most cubed ice in Baja is purified most block ice isn't. Any others have that impression?....dt

[Edited on 6-16-2009 by dtbushpilot]


I think that's true, at least I was told that by a Mexican. Maybe less so now than in the past, maybe.

Also, the clearer the block of ice the better, less air bubbles I think. It seems to last longer.

quick chill method

capt. mike - 6-17-2009 at 08:18 AM

i learned this from a couple sitting around a jacuzzi in Laughlin NV during the river run MC expo a few years ago when i still rode.

he had a little 6 pack case with ice cold beer.
this will conserve ice as you chill em on an as needed basis.
it's the home made ice cream concept.
he puts the beers in the small case, tops them with cubes or crushed then pours course kosher salt over the top.
the ice melts fast due to the salt and it quick chills the beer - almost to freezing if you don't monitor it. - due to the heat exchange precept.

it works fantastically. i do it all the time now when i need to quick cool a bottle of chard. or beer. or reposado........

David K - 6-17-2009 at 08:21 AM

Great idea Mike! Shalom!!

woody with a view - 6-17-2009 at 08:23 AM

anyone wanna veer off topic and hazard a guess on pouring out the water?

i say leave enough water to cover your stuff as long as the trapped air in the cooler is hotter than the water inside.

David K - 6-17-2009 at 08:30 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by woody in ob
anyone wanna veer off topic and hazard a guess on pouring out the water?

i say leave enough water to cover your stuff as long as the trapped air in the cooler is hotter than the water inside.


There have been studies... On page 61 of 'Shifting into 4WD' by Harry Lewellyn he states it is best to keep ice from contacting the melted water... Since we usually don't have room for both in the same chest (ice and melted water without touching), we drain the melted water away.

It confirms what my dad had always believed when camping... However, for cold drinks and if you have a seperate chest for drinks... the melted water with the ice will keep the cans colder

Frank - 6-17-2009 at 08:36 AM

The melt water is warmer then the ice, but I always leave some in there.

Now you could combine Capt. Mikes info along with what we do on the boat. We mix seawater with our ice to rapidly chill the Tuna, almost to freezing.

Sit on the beach with a small cooler of ice and your favorite beverage, add some seawater to the cooler and enjoy.

woody with a view - 10-4-2009 at 12:57 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Frank
The melt water is warmer then the ice, but I always leave some in there.

Now you could combine Capt. Mikes info along with what we do on the boat. We mix seawater with our ice to rapidly chill the Tuna, almost to freezing.

Sit on the beach with a small cooler of ice and your favorite beverage, add some seawater to the cooler and enjoy.


and how long will this keep the tuna cold? if you were to refill with fresh/salt water and ice every 24 hours? just wondering how to keep fish fresh if a freezer isn't available for 3-4 days. a vacuum sealer will be part of the program as it keeps the water and oxygen away from the fish....

any ideas?

[Edited on 10-4-2009 by woody in ob]

mulegemichael - 10-4-2009 at 01:53 PM

we have a dc cooler that holds a half a rack...plug it into our cigarette lighter; gets the cerveza real cold....no melted ice, no water, no hassle...keep your beer at room temp until an hour before you want a cold one then transfer to the cooler...i think we got it at walmart a few years ago...don't leave home without it

woody with a view - 10-4-2009 at 02:16 PM

great! how much tuna filets will it hold?:light:

Diver - 10-4-2009 at 02:20 PM

Salted water (more-so in sufficient concentration ie 15-18%) will lower the temp of the ice and make the ice last longer. Freeze the ice in milk jugs and surround with regular ice. The colder salt ice will help the other ice last longer as it is colder. Freeze the whole cooler and all contents for at least 1 full day before you leave if possible. Also, those foil cooler insulating bags will help.

If you place your fish in a cooler with fresh ice andf then salt the ice, this lowers the ice temp for as long as it lasts. You will have to replentish the ice often unless the ice is in a freezer. Otherwise this is only good for quick freezing or if you have lots of ice.
The trick for longer lasting ice when traveling is to freeze the salt ice (and the cooler if possible) to it's lower temp in a freezer before use.

[Edited on 10-4-2009 by Diver]

Fred - 10-4-2009 at 04:17 PM

So most of do not know where to buy blocks of ices in Baja.

woody with a view - 10-4-2009 at 04:40 PM

i resurrected this thread to get a grip on if there is no freezer available, then will the salt/water route keep fish fresh if the fish is vacuum sealed? ice will not be a problem to restock the cooler. i guess i could just keep the filets packed in ice, but ......

any other ideas as we'll be possibly w/out a freezer for 3-4 days and will be fishing the first 1-2 days. we might only catch a buzz, maybe the fish won't wanna die!

[Edited on 10-4-2009 by woody in ob]

larryC - 10-5-2009 at 11:34 AM

Back in my camping days, we would spend 2 weeks at animas every Easter. In preparation for that trip I would take a 70 qt. Igloo cooler and put it into my chest freezer at home in San Diego. Every day or 2 I would pour 2 or so gallons into the cooler and let it freeze solid. I did this till it was completely full and then I closed the lid and let it sit for another day or 2 till we left on out trip. Once at Animas the cooler was buried in the sand in the shade of my awning. after a week of so when we started running out of ice I would dig up the cooler and use its ice to refill my other coolers. In a week only about 10% of the ice had melted. Problem is you need a dedicated chest freezer and 2 men and a boy to help lift the cooler out of the freezer. Now I just use a dometic freezer and a 5 gallon propane tank. Turning the freezers thermostat to its warmest setting will keep the temp in the mid 30s. Much easier.
Larry

Martyman - 10-5-2009 at 11:53 AM

Block ice is available everywhere in baja. Go into a store and buy it. Why are we discussing this?

Mexitron - 10-5-2009 at 11:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by woody in ob
anyone wanna veer off topic and hazard a guess on pouring out the water?

i say leave enough water to cover your stuff as long as the trapped air in the cooler is hotter than the water inside.


What I concluded after much debate with others was that for short trips, or cool season travel, where you will have ice left til the end of the trip, drain the ice chest--it will keep it a little cooler and you won't have sloshing on bad roads.
For longer trips or in warm season travelling keep the water in the ice chest--even if the ice is all melted you still have cool water. One additional caveat is that if you don't drain the ice chest you have a backup water supply for emergencies, although you may have to boil it.

Barry A. - 10-5-2009 at 04:19 PM

We used to stay on the beach at Bahia Animas for 12 day stays at a time, usually in Oct. or Nov.. We took 2 normal size coolers, one chocked full of multible 25 lb block ice, and the other with one 25lb block and pre-cooled food and drink, using ice from the ice-only cooler to restock the food/beverage cooler as needed. We had an insert that kept the food out of the water.

We drained the coolers each and every day very early in the morning, using the cold water from them to pre-cool our beer in a wash pan, and then put it in the chest with the least ice.

This way we always had ice (and cold beer) for 9 days, and by then we were dedicated beach bums and would just drink warm beer day 11 & 12------I am British, you know, and we like our beer warm sometimes. :lol:

Barry

DENNIS - 10-5-2009 at 04:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
http://www.triggerandreel.com/Engel_50_p/engel50.htm


I posted this link earlier in this thread. From what I understand, this cooler will keep ice solid for around two weeks. It's supposed to be the most efficient cooler on the market. If one can judge by the price, it's a really good cooler.
Research it through Google.

Barry A. - 10-5-2009 at 04:41 PM

Wow, Dennis-------that is a really cool cooler!!! worth every penny if it does what it claims to do.

Many thanks. I want one!!!!!

Barry

Fred - 10-5-2009 at 05:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Martyman
Block ice is available everywhere in baja. Go into a store and buy it. Why are we discussing this?


I can name 117 places that I stopped at, that DO NOT carry block ice in Baja.

DENNIS - 10-5-2009 at 06:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fred
I can name 117 places that I stopped at, that DO NOT carry block ice in Baja.


Not THOSE places, Fred. :biggrin::biggrin: We all know THEY don't sell ice.

Desertbull - 10-5-2009 at 09:41 PM

One word-FridgeFreeze check em out at "http://fridgefreeze.com/ have two different sized units in two different Baja vehicles, don't stop ticking..and you can make your own ice at 115 degrees F + if you want to...all off of 12 volt:cool: