Cooler replacement

JohnScott · **Posted:** Mon May 04, 2015 7:45 pm

Our 2006 288 has a Coleman marine cooler which is pretty much useless as the ice we put in it usually melts within a day. We're looking for a cooler that will fit in the same place under the cockpit sink that has better insulation. Has anyone with a 288 replaced this cooler and if so, can you provide details? Thanks.

babbot1 · **Joined:** Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:46 pm **Posts:** 570

The cooler we have is probably the same on the 258 so I can relate. Other than the obvious of measuring the cooler and finding a better cooler have you looked into the portable fridges? A good cooler is very expensive and not much cheaper than a good portable fridge, not a college fridge but the ones that are basically a plug in marine cooler. The better ones don't seem to draw much power and they are usually both 12 and 110 volts.

I like having a cooler so I can fill it up at home and bring it but you have to maintain the ice and things get wet. A plug in cooler seems to be the next best thing.

Defender.com has a huge selection of both good coolers and portable fridges. Shipping might be costly if you live far from their warehouse but you can get an idea of whats out there.

JeffLW · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 10:16 am

babbot1 wrote:

The cooler we have is probably the same on the 258 so I can relate. Other than the obvious of measuring the cooler and finding a better cooler have you looked into the portable fridges? A good cooler is very expensive and not much cheaper than a good portable fridge, not a college fridge but the ones that are basically a plug in marine cooler. The better ones don't seem to draw much power and they are usually both 12 and 110 volts.

I like having a cooler so I can fill it up at home and bring it but you have to maintain the ice and things get wet. A plug in cooler seems to be the next best thing.

Defender.com has a huge selection of both good coolers and portable fridges. Shipping might be costly if you live far from their warehouse but you can get an idea of whats out there.

Now that I think about it, this is a great idea. I believe there is a 12 volt outlet on the battery switch panel next to the cooler on my 248.
Would be nice when I'm spending more than a couple days on the boat. Currently I have to remember to get a bag of ice every morning before we head out.
I may pick one of these up and try it out.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-PowerChil ... leman+plug

babbot1 · **Joined:** Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:46 pm **Posts:** 570

I looked into these a couple years ago. There are a couple different types. This type which only chills about 40 degree below ambient temp and the expensive ones like "Dometic CoolFreeze" models that are real fridges or freezers that can chill down to 0 degrees no matter how hot outside. the better ones turn on and off like a real fridge so power consumption is very low and they are very well insulated. The cheaper ones are always on and will kill your battery fairly quick but if you are at the marina this will probably work okay.
Giant price and weight difference between the two so makes for a difficult decision.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 10:45 am

Look at the Coleman Xtreme series of coolers.. I have a few in various sizes and about to buy another 36Q to go in my rear bench seat. I have been very happy at the ice retention life of these economical coolers.. Extreme holds ice better than the marine series of Coleman FYI..

another ice tip is to not start out with a hot cooler, as the cooler itself will suck over 50% of the ice cool out to cool the plastic.. You also do not want to start with hot drinks.

What i do for the football games (148Q is opened and closed all day long) ice lasts in 90* september heat at a football game. on friday i put beer and ice in the cooler and lay 3 20# bags of ice in the cooler that let the cooler get cold and my beer. Fridays my buddies show up and we toss in their beer. top ice. In the am i usually need to add one 20# bag on the way to the game. This setup with 7-8 cases of beer and food with 90-100# of ice will last until tuesday afternoon with people opening and closing the cooler all day saturday and adding warm beer periodically. The key is to have the cooler itself pre cold ahead of time.. BE it 2 hours before you hit the water or hell a 5# bag the night before. It makes a huge difference int he life of the cold..

Now when i say TUESDAY i would say that it is 50/50 ice and water.. BUT it is FREEZING cold drinks still. take my word the beer is refreshing on tuesday. Why tuesday you ask.. well sometimes thats when the hangover from all day sat into most of sunday wears off and i decide to clean out the cooler. PLUS we wanted to do a test.. Repeated about a dozen times or so..

with his said>>>>> My factory dash 32 quart convenience center cooler from FW i can make last all day.. I plug the drain add a 5# bag of ice the night before. and then day of add ice and cold drinks. it will stay cold all day int he 90s.. No it will not last all weekend as it is an inefficient seal on the top if being only a thin fiberglass. BUT for a 1993 built in it does perfect.

Parkrat · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 11:02 am

When I bought my 278 it didn't come with the cooler. I'm too looking for a good one to keep in there that fits well. There is always Yeti!

ric · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 11:45 am

Oh hands down:
http://yeticoolers.com/

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 12:56 pm

ric wrote:

Oh hands down:
http://yeticoolers.com/

i would disagree, dollar to ice hold these are over priced, heavy and bulky. YES they do great holding ice.. But real world on a boat with people in and out all day we have found comparing to the 5 and 6 day Xtreme Coleman coolers that the coleman holds just as long and as well for the day or weekend on the water. NOW if you do not care about $$$ then by all means. but know that they are heavy empty and even heavier loaded. JUST saying for a fraction of the money you can get comparable ice hold and save money for gas and beer..

Parkrat · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 2:36 pm

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-36-Quart- ... me+coleman

That might work well.

I'm going up to my boat Thursday and will measure the cooler holder.

ric · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 2:53 pm

Also, successfully using a cooler for 2+ days requires some prep. You must pre-cool the cooler and everything going inside of it at before filling the cooler. Throwing in warm beer and ice into a cooler 5 minutes before launching will result in having all your ice melted by the end of the day. Use ice blocks or ice in jugs not loose ice.

It might sound crazy if you're used to going to the 7-11 grabbing a few bags of ice, dumping it into the cooler with beer and calling it day. It wouldn't matter if you had the worlds best cooler, doing that won't get you about 24hrs of ice til things get warm.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 3:32 pm

Parkrat wrote:

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-36-Quart-Xtreme-Cooler-Blue/dp/B000G68I84/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1430854311&sr=8-11&keywords=xtreme+coleman

That might work well.

I'm going up to my boat Thursday and will measure the cooler holder.

this is the same on i am buying for the rear bench seat of my renovation

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-36-Quart-Extreeme-Cooler/19268482

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 3:35 pm

ric wrote:

Also, successfully using a cooler for 2+ days requires some prep. You must pre-cool the cooler and everything going inside of it at before filling the cooler. Throwing in warm beer and ice into a cooler 5 minutes before launching will result in having all your ice melted by the end of the day. Use ice blocks or ice in jugs not loose ice.

It might sound crazy if you're used to going to the 7-11 grabbing a few bags of ice, dumping it into the cooler with beer and calling it day. It wouldn't matter if you had the worlds best cooler, doing that won't get you about 24hrs of ice til things get warm.

i said this LOL

the funny thing is that so many people do not comprehend this concept.. Also i love using rock salt and i like to keep my cold water int he cooler as water has a greater surface area than ice and thus actually cool a drink more efficiently than ice only.. this also is a difficult concept for many..

THE KEY is prep. end of story. or have a mother trucking Fridge on the boat.

taz42169 · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 8:01 pm

JeffLW wrote:

babbot1 wrote:

The cooler we have is probably the same on the 258 so I can relate. Other than the obvious of measuring the cooler and finding a better cooler have you looked into the portable fridges? A good cooler is very expensive and not much cheaper than a good portable fridge, not a college fridge but the ones that are basically a plug in marine cooler. The better ones don't seem to draw much power and they are usually both 12 and 110 volts.

I like having a cooler so I can fill it up at home and bring it but you have to maintain the ice and things get wet. A plug in cooler seems to be the next best thing.

Defender.com has a huge selection of both good coolers and portable fridges. Shipping might be costly if you live far from their warehouse but you can get an idea of whats out there.

Now that I think about it, this is a great idea. I believe there is a 12 volt outlet on the battery switch panel next to the cooler on my 248.
Would be nice when I'm spending more than a couple days on the boat. Currently I have to remember to get a bag of ice every morning before we head out.
I may pick one of these up and try it out.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-PowerChil ... leman+plug

Jeff, let me know if you go that route. I'm curious how well it fits/works.

298VISTA2000 · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 9:21 pm

ric wrote:

Oh hands down:
http://yeticoolers.com/

Yeti and Engel are top of the line but they are not the best when it comes to ice retention. Check out this high-end cooler test: https://youtu.be/6-TE4RnqT0U

ric · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 10:46 pm

Ice retention takes prep. I have a $15 soft over the shoulder cooler from Target that can keep beer cold all day if you leave it in the freezer overnight.

www.iFourWinns.com

Cooler replacement

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