ice thread

[fred1diver]

hey everyone, I'm getting ready for my august trip and I'm concerned about ice longevity, I dont have a fridge aboard Narcosis so I'm using a cooler.
the cooler I bought is supposed to keep ice for 5 days, but after 2-3 days there isn't much ice left, any tips or tricks to conserve ice and food?
I thought about dry ice, would that be any good or too dangerous?
will probably get a second cooler and have only frozen food in that one

 

[Stu Jackson]

BLOCK ICE. Forget cubes, they melt too fast. Why? More surface area.

Have a great trip.

 

[kappykaplan]

What Stu said . . .

 

[fred1diver]

I usually use both, the cubes to fill the empty holes and some blocks for the rest.

anyone use these before?
SOGEMAN ICEBOX BLANKET.

 

[David in Sandusky]

Freeze your meat, milk, OJ, and anything else that you can. Fill a jug or two with water, and freeze them at home. Your home freezer will cool them lower than any purchased ice.

Of course, buy a high quality cooler.

Then, open the cooler as little as possible.

We have gone five days using the ice box on our h27 with these ideas, and block rather than cubes.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

IF you can find block, that's the only way to go. The ice chest on my boat will hold a 20 pound block for 8-9 days. And that's on the gulf coast. A 20 pound bag of crushed? MAYBE 3. But cruising, Block is difficult to find. From where I am on the Texas coast, around to Annapolis, I can probably count on one hand where it's available easily

And no, dry ice is not that big a deal, if you can find it. People will tell you it's "dangerous" because it gives off CO2. That's true, but if it's warm enough to worry about keeping ice, the boat will be all open to an air flow- no biggie.

One thing- be sure food doesn't get right next to the dry ice. Once had a container of eggs, broken into the container. Got against the ice, and we couldn't use them for several days - all frozen solid

 

[Boomer54]

Arctic Ice makes Two great products: Arctic Ice Alaska series and Arctic Ice Tundra series. One keeps cold stuff cold while the othe helps keep frozen stuff frozen (in a good cooler like Yeti). Link to Arctic Ice home page
http://www.arctic-ice.com/

 

[Skipper]

And don't drain the water.
Draining bleeds off a lot of cold.
My ice box will stay in the 40's (lazer thermometer) for almost a whole extra day just on the melt.

You want to keep the sides and bottom insulated on the outside. Heat rises, so the cold stays low. Use a towel or blanket etc.

 

[Stu Jackson]

And don't drain the water.

My experience is exactly the opposite. The water, based on physics, will melt more ice than if you drain the water.

 

[Ron20324]

I have a 54 qt Igloo. If I don't need the space, I put a smaller one inside, but filled with ice for use in the drinks. Yeah, make blocks at home. For longevity in the cooler, cubes are the last thig you want.

 

[kloudie1]

Pre chill the box with ice the day before, box empty but for ice. Pre-chill all food and especially beverages before putting them in the box.. Then load box and replace ice that has melted ..Another way is to load box the day before then refill ice just before you leave .. I like blocks lining the bottom and a couple standing , then food then cubes to fill. In the H-34, that will keep ice for about a week.
EDIT: it is good to have food in one box and beverages in another.. keeps the food stuff cooler ..

 

[LooseDiamond]

Not much to add here. All on point. I do my block ice in 1/2 gallon and gallon containers (used cranberry juice containers,etc). No water in cooler as it melts, and I have a large supply of good drinking water as it melts. (Or if something goes wrong and I'm out there longer than expected). Happened last month when my buddy showed up a day late at the island and we stayed thru extra tide cycles to rescue/recover his swamped powerboat. Two and half days turned into 4!

 

[Joe]

Open big, main ice box just once or twice per day, only to transfer that day's consumption to small, good quality ice box that you use throughout the day.

 

[jwing]

Open big, main ice box just once or twice per day, only to transfer that day's consumption to small, good quality ice box that you use throughout the day.

Additionally, have a third cooler that has frozen food and water that won't be used until the second half of your trip. Drop some dry ice in there, then tape the cooler shut and don't open it until you've depleted the first main cooler. Then stage a day's worth of provision from the dry ice cooler to the wet cooler. Your food and water will still be frozen and will thaw as it cools your beer.

 

[Gunni]

Similar to Loose Diamond, I have refrigeration but fill my freezer (which is the cool source for my frig.) with a combination of frozen food and 2.5 gallon water jerrys. The secret to keeping a good cooler cold is to FILL it with the coldest stuff you can. 5 -7 gallons of frozen water jugs give you that plus an emergency water supply. Walmart sells them.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=85328&gclid=COjhofmQgs4CFYMehgod5GMFBw

 

[Parsons]

Great advice above, so I'll only add one point. The heat transmission (in this case outside - in) is based on insulation value (on houses: R-value), and the temperature difference. If you have a good cooler (high insulation), then you should next worry about the temperature difference. On the inside, it will be about 35-40 F, not freezing but slightly above, which is why your ice melts. Keep the outside cool to limit the difference. I don't know how much room you have on your 23, but try to keep your cooler out of the sun in the coolest part of the boat. Even a tarp over it to provide a sun-shade (with an air layer below) will help cool the outside of the box.

 

[Justin_NSA]

We have been using dry ice at the bottom of the cooler wrapped in cardboard. Works but expensive. I need to try the frozen jugs tip. Are there some BPA-free jugs out there that can freeze? My wife's business is fundamentally based on getting as many hazardous consumable products as possible out of the household. Containers as well.

 

[Brian S]

I usually use both, the cubes to fill the empty holes and some blocks for the rest.

anyone use these before?
SOGEMAN ICEBOX BLANKET.

You could do similar with a piece of blue camping foam or something with insulating value. I've seen silvered bubble wrap looking plastic. Or maybe the silvered foam windshield blinds you can get a Wally World. Lay on the food in the cooler. The idea is to close off more volume inside the cooler.

Some people keep a damp towel over the cooler, so that evaporative cooling keeps the outside of the cooler as cool as possible for the inside.

 

[rgranger]

... I also freeze my drinking water and use the bottles to keep the food cold.

 

[Gunni]

Are there some BPA-free jugs out there that can freeze? My wife's business is fundamentally based on getting as many hazardous consumable products as possible out of the household. Containers as well.

Those water jerrys I linked to are advertised BPA free. Another thing I used to do was save the bladders from box wine, pull the spout, rinse and fill about 3/4 full with filtered drinking water, then freeze flat on a freezer shelf. They are lightweight, but good for one use as a ice pack/ drinking water bladder.