Post by TOO $ on Aug 1, 2017 6:48:37 GMT -5
No matter what cooler you own proper cooler/ice management can greatly extend the life of your ice and keep your goods colder longer. I'll share what works for me, YMMV.
First, chill the cooler. If you have AC in your house leave it inside for a few days before you leave for your trip. Day before you leave put one 10 pound bag in the cooler. close the lid, do not open it. Pre chill all contents that are going into the cooler. If you put warm beer and ice in your cooler than you immediately start to lose ice. Use block ice. Make your own. You can use tupperware containers and freeze them to make blocks of different sizes. Use a gallon milk jug to make large blocks. Freeze a few water bottles to put inside as well.
When you pack the cooler drain all of the water out and place items inside. Leave room for ice. Many people put so much stuff inside there is no room for ice. If you need more room use another cooler. Use solid ice cubes if you can find them to fill the gaps between beers/water, etc. Place larger blocks on top and then fill in with cubes. If you have any empty space place a towel inside to take up the empty space. Close the lid and do not open it until you have to. For the first day use a small satellite cooler for day one beers. Keep your cooler out of the sun and out of your car. You can cover it with a space blanket to keep the outside cool. Some will tout the benefits of dry ice. I don't need it so I don't use it. If not used properly you can freeze items that should not be frozen. If you have room separate items that you need to access from ones that you don't. Put your food in its own cooler. The trick here is DO NOT OPEN THE LID UNLESS YOU HAVE TO.
Oh and don't drain the water if you don't have to. The water is almost as cold as the ice. If done properly you should not need to add any ice for at least the first two days. A few days in if you need to put all your stuff in one cooler so you have to buy less ice. I usually don't have to buy any ice at Lockn, maybe one 20 pound bag in four days.
First, chill the cooler. If you have AC in your house leave it inside for a few days before you leave for your trip. Day before you leave put one 10 pound bag in the cooler. close the lid, do not open it. Pre chill all contents that are going into the cooler. If you put warm beer and ice in your cooler than you immediately start to lose ice. Use block ice. Make your own. You can use tupperware containers and freeze them to make blocks of different sizes. Use a gallon milk jug to make large blocks. Freeze a few water bottles to put inside as well.
When you pack the cooler drain all of the water out and place items inside. Leave room for ice. Many people put so much stuff inside there is no room for ice. If you need more room use another cooler. Use solid ice cubes if you can find them to fill the gaps between beers/water, etc. Place larger blocks on top and then fill in with cubes. If you have any empty space place a towel inside to take up the empty space. Close the lid and do not open it until you have to. For the first day use a small satellite cooler for day one beers. Keep your cooler out of the sun and out of your car. You can cover it with a space blanket to keep the outside cool. Some will tout the benefits of dry ice. I don't need it so I don't use it. If not used properly you can freeze items that should not be frozen. If you have room separate items that you need to access from ones that you don't. Put your food in its own cooler. The trick here is DO NOT OPEN THE LID UNLESS YOU HAVE TO.
Oh and don't drain the water if you don't have to. The water is almost as cold as the ice. If done properly you should not need to add any ice for at least the first two days. A few days in if you need to put all your stuff in one cooler so you have to buy less ice. I usually don't have to buy any ice at Lockn, maybe one 20 pound bag in four days.
