Pre-Chilling Coolers and Other Tips

wkearney99 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 27, 2010 10:32 pm

I've found the "Marine" white colors to be junk compared to the Igloo MaxCold series. The marine ones seem to be nothing more than the standard line but in white plastic (and an inflated price). The light blue MaxCold ones do a significantly better job of keeping things cold. One of mine kept three bags of ice cubes in it close to frozen for four days. I don't know that it'd make a big difference to chill the cooler itself, certainly not as much as it'd help to chill the stuff going into it. I definitely make a habit of freezing water bottles beforehand. But those I keep in the basement fridge anyway. No way in hell I'd want to go through the extra effort of prepping the cooler. I don't need to to be THAT much more efficient.

Besides there's nothing I'd be putting in there that's going to last that long anyway. It usually ends up getting restocked well before the ice runs out. I usually fill the cooler about 60/40 of beverages to ice (with frozen water bottles probably making more like 50/50). You have to leave enough space for there to be enough ice.

Sea Fiend · **Joined:** Mon Jan 24, 2011 7:31 pm **Posts:** 1

check your local yard sale or thrift shop you might come across an old metal shelled ice chest they work way better then the plastic ones. i found an old coleman one 8 years ago painted it green and still use it till this day. It looks older then the ones out on the lake but can you say "coldest beer in town".

tonythu · **Posted:** Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:40 pm

start with a good cooler! this is the one we use at lake powell 95+ degrees. sorry about the "plug" for cabellas. this is a great deal if you don't mind a few blems.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Blemished-Steel-Belted-Coolers/731569.uts?WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

Obie · **Posted:** Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:40 pm

I gave up on using ice coolers several years ago. I purchased a Coleman thermoelectric cooler. It draws only 4 Amps and keeps everything comfortably cold. It also weighs less than a typical ice chest because I am not hauling ice around. I start the cooler from a 110 volt connection when we start getting the boat ready and it is cold by the time we pack it for the day. Then put it in the boat run it on 12 volts. The low amperage is not really a big load on the battery if you run the engine at least an hour a day.

298VISTA2000 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:25 pm

It doesn't matter what kind of cooler you have when your kids break into it and start tossing out the ice. At least they leave the beer alone (another benefit of drinking Nat Light).

Personally, I like having ice water in my cooler. It seems to make the beer colder.

Another thing, be sure to get a cooler that looks good on your boat too.

ric · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2011 8:12 am

Also add salt to the cooler. It allows the melted water to go below 0* where there might not be enough energy to turn it back into ice.

Paul I. · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:37 am

We have a fridge on board, so my wife swaps out the freezer packs from cooler to the freezer when needed. Her parents have a 12V, plug in cooler that works OK. But you need to plug it in at leat 4hrs before you really need it.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:45 am

Original thread is over 1 year old. Spammer resurected it. Didn't ya notice :?:

pet575 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 28, 2011 11:05 am

Accoutrement.

www.iFourWinns.com

Pre-Chilling Coolers and Other Tips

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