Cooler Ice

B

bridma

New member
I have just been given a brand new 6-day Igloo cooler. I have not used a cooler in years.
What is your opinion on ice? I have those freezer packs at home that you freeze before loading the cooler, are they any good? What about freezing bottles or plastic milk jugs of water? If I get ice from the store, what is best, ice cubes or a solid block?
All suggestions much appreciated.

Martin.
 
bridma":1orjgp0o said:
I have just been given a brand new 6-day Igloo cooler. I have not used a cooler in years.
What is your opinion on ice? I have those freezer packs at home that you freeze before loading the cooler, are they any good? What about freezing bottles or plastic milk jugs of water? If I get ice from the store, what is best, ice cubes or a solid block?
All suggestions much appreciated.

Martin.
Click to expand...

Block ice to keep the cooler cold and party ice for the drinks!
 
Blocks or solid masses of ice last longest Martin.

We used some refillable 1 gallon flat jugs for years, With one in a 50liter cooler they would last about 3-4 days max. That is a great approach and you just pick the jug size and shape according to what fits and what you have on hand. Does double duty as drinking/cooking water once melted as well. We also liked some of the plastic 2 liter jugs that juice is sold in.

Crushed is good for quick cooling or drinks but will not last very long. We also like jugs because it keeps the cooler dry.

What is going in the cooler? Drinks or food.... Dry is great for food and crushed is great for quickly cooling down and load of tepid drinks.

Greg
 
Martin-

I'll save you the discussion in physics, but there' considerable discussion on this topic here:

AskReddit

For me, the bottom line is that the Blue Ice type units have very little or no cooling advantages over plain water, and, to be re-used, have to be lugged home, put in the freezer, and are not usable until the next trip.

Water jugs, on the other hand, while they have to be re-frozen in the same manner to be re-used, can at least be drained into your boat's water tanks and contribute to your on board supply, thus doing double-duty. Also, you can dispose of the empty cartons if you wish, rather than lug 'em home!

Sounds like the KISS Principle wins again! :lol:

Again, YMMV!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
The freeze blocks are good if you leave/come back to home in time to re-freeze them. Not so good for longer trips because you can't re-freeze them and have to store them to boot. They are also kind of small (lots of surface area for getting warm, not much mass).

For up to 10 days I used to freeze my own blocks in either gallon plastic milk jugs or dishpans. Jugs are ubiquitous and can't spill (can use water later for drinking, etc.). Dishpans can stack and be used for other purposes when empty. The colder you can freeze them, the clearer and better the ice. Sometimes a nice proprieter will freeze one for you overnight.

Up where you are, there isn't so much strain on the ice, so that helps.

As far as purchasing ice, if you can ever find REAL 10# ice blocks, they are wonderful. I haven't seen them in the US in years and years, sadly. It's always what I call "fake blocks," which look like a 10# ice block on the surface, but are actually made by pressing a bunch of tiny pieces of ice together into a block shape. They don't last nearly as long as a real block.

(Outside the US - Mexico and Central America - there are great ice plants, some of which have clear, cold blocks the size of an entire room that they will saw a hunk off of for you. Not here though that I have found.)

If you tend to have a diminishing load in the cooler, you could make a sheet of something like Reflectix that is the size of the opening, place it on top, and then let it "sink down" as your contents get smaller. Less area to cool and plus helps keep the shock down when you open the lid (you can just reach under the sheet, vs. opening a great yawning maw to the world).

I had thought about getting a very small compressor refrigerator and just using it to make ice for a larger cooler; but then realized that once I put on a solar power system to support it, I could just get a cooler-sized one (also happened to get a good deal on a larger one). But I still may take my cooler on the boat for beverages (and then could use for other storage afterword - lines or some such).

PS: As Aurelia mentions above, crushed ice has its uses as well. I'll put as many ice blocks as I can fit into the cooler, and then use crushed ice (or cubes) to fill the interstices.
 
Martin-

Also, if you have a lot of frozen goods to keep frozen for a considerable time, limit the water ice, and buy blocks of dry ice (frozen CO2). Much colder and longer lasting, but it'll freeze solid anything and everything in the cooler.

NOTE: Don't let the escaping carbon dioxide suffocate anyone or any animals that could be trapped in a closed chamber with it, such as the cabin, v berth, or canvas enclosed cockpit.

Keep Cool!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
We use cold packs (free from work - 30 different shapes!) in the cooler and shrimp bucket bc just out for the day fishing and boating
 
I stay on my boat for periods of time and simply reice as I refuel, I'm wild and crazy I dont lose sleep over the cost of ice. I need it I also need small cubes to fill my personal drink container. I dont own and operate a C Dory becaause I am well off, I use and love the boat because mine is a back pac witrh a 50hp Honda. Ice is just an opperating cost, I sure would suggest up grading your cooler. The two I like are the Yeti & the Pelican which I use. I understand the physics of solid ICE but I need the cubes for my precious cold drink.
 
Overnights I used large, re-usable ice I bought on Amazon.

On longer trips I freeze gallon jugs and use/drink the water as it melts, augmented with party ice bags, since we have no way to "re-freeze" the blue ice packs.
 
We recently purchased a RTIC cooler, and it does keep the ice frozen longer! Probably due to the type of insulation and the "sealed" lid. We find block ice lasts longer. We also freeze our own ice in used milk jugs, as once it melts, we can use the water. However, we also find that letting some ice melt into the cooler, providing cold water in the bottom, helps to keep the food cold. Just make sure your food is sealed well in bags to keep the water out. Colby
 
When we are home I have plastic square buckets that I freeze in our chest type freezer. We use a cooler for the over flow of stuff that gets ejected from the refridge by my better half. We always use block use when available but also like ice for our drinks. In desperate situations I might even put ice in my beer. Keeping the cooler out of the sun with a wet towel across the top of it will help keep the ice a little longer. Buying ice is part of trip expenses like Jimi Cliff says. Happy Hour would not be as happy for us without Ice.
D.D.
 
We have 105-110 degree heat advisories every weekend this time of year, so it's important to us to be able to drink any melted ice without contamination (impossible with leaky commercial ice bags).
The Platypus 2 qt heavy duty water bags on Amazon.com allow a much more flexible shape for your cooler than 1 gal jugs and fit in much tighter spaces. Folds down when empty, unlike a jug. Lasts many years, unlike a jug. Keeps the meltwater sterile for drinking. Leave 2 inches at the top and the lid loose when freezing it at home.
The 2-inch ice cube trays in the boat fridge freezer (holds 3 trays of 16 cubes) on amazon.com stays harder in your drink 5 times longer than crushed ice from the store or marina and doesn't melt to dilute your Gatorade ( I'm sure Dave hates that when it happens).
Try 'em, you'll like em!
John
 
bridma":1bpyxwrt said:
I have just been given a brand new 6-day Igloo cooler. I have not used a cooler in years.
What is your opinion on ice? I have those freezer packs at home that you freeze before loading the cooler, are they any good? What about freezing bottles or plastic milk jugs of water? If I get ice from the store, what is best, ice cubes or a solid block?
All suggestions much appreciated.

Martin.
Click to expand...

I just motor back into one of my favorite bays & pluck pieces of glacial ice out of the water. Lasts for a week or so in a regular cooler with daytime temps in the 70's. :wink: :mrgreen:

Have fun!!
 
gulfcoast john":1ndim194 said:
The Platypus 2 qt heavy duty water bags on Amazon.com allow a much more flexible shape for your cooler than 1 gal jugs and fit in much tighter spaces. Folds down when empty, unlike a jug. Lasts many years, unlike a jug. Keeps the meltwater sterile for drinking. John
Click to expand...

John,
We've looked for these on Amazon and can't find them. Would you mind posting a picture of one of yours so I can do a more thorough search?
Many thanks,

Chris
 
That's great, thanks very much. We're up here in Canada so a lot of the stuff on Amazon is not available under the brand names that you guys have.

I did see similar containers to these but I'll check the local Wal-Marts first.

Again, many thanks. We've been freezing ice cubes in our ice machine for a few days before every trip but they don't last long enough for a week long trip. (They're so small but perfect for drinkies) We also freeze the 750 ml yogurt containers with water in them. They last a bit longer but we don't relish the thought of drinking from a non certified container. Most of our washing up and bathing is done with lake water as we're very fortunate to live on a clean fresh water lake now.
Cheers,

Chris
 
Living in Europe a few years can quench your need for ice in drinks.

Aye.

Grandma used to say, "Everything is relative."
 
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