# Extending the life of ice.



## Trejos (Oct 29, 2012)

So I experimented with extending the life of ice over a Selway trip 2 weeks ago. It was not very scientific but the visual results were impressive. I should have weighed the blocks pre and post trip. After 7 days in the cooler the wrapped ice' were 2 1/2-3 times the size of the unwrapped ice. This cooler was accessed for Beer and food throughout the days (poor cooler maintenance), with no wet towel or cover. I didn't necessarily need it on this trip but I can see its use on extended trips like the GC. 
Having a couple unwrapped for the first week+ then unwrap the others. 
I have about $5 into materials but had the butyl tape. They are reusable and can be cut open and resealed a couple times.





















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## ob1coby (Jul 25, 2013)

interesting. Thanks for sharing


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## jonseim (May 27, 2006)

Where'd you get the wrapping material? Looks like a good idea, does it keep the cooler colder or just what's in the box?
Not sure if you wrapped the entire inside of your cooler/made a box of insulation inside your cooler or separated it out into compartments.

I like the idea and may give it a try on the San Juan in 16 days.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

I have unlimited access to the same bubble wrap foil insulation and have played with it a bit. I have made layers and lids inside the cooler. I haven't tried wrapping the block and my brain is spinning. My feeling is that you didn't let the cold air reach your perishables which would defeat the purpose. However, you had the most cocktail ice which is a very valid endeavor!


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Would be great for keeping select items cold for as long as possible. Just pack em in there, right next to the block of ice.


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## Trejos (Oct 29, 2012)

So I cut the wrap to fit a blocks of ice. In my cooler I had one unwrapped block and two wrapped. The wrapped block's still helped but you do need a block or two unwrapped to keep the cooler at temp. When the unwrapped blocks are about gone you cut open the wrapped blocks. 

I got the foil backed bubble wrap at my local lumber yard. Thinking you could get it at a Home Repo. 

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## climbdenali (Apr 2, 2006)

I've had pretty nice results from cutting either a closed cell foam pad, or the mylar bubble wrap that you used, to the exact size of the inside of the cooler. Ice and frozen stuff beneath, vegetables/delicate items on top. Maybe one block of ice above the wrap, for dairy- so it stays cold, but doesn't freeze. Frozen cheese sucks.


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## Trejos (Oct 29, 2012)

climbdenali said:


> I've had pretty nice results from cutting either a closed cell foam pad, or the mylar bubble wrap that you used, to the exact size of the inside of the cooler. Ice and frozen stuff beneath, vegetables/delicate items on top. Maybe one block of ice above the wrap, for dairy- so it stays cold, but doesn't freeze. Frozen cheese sucks.



I know I have read, on some previous thread a while back, about dividing the cooler into layers with insulation. You must have mentioned that before. It is actually what got me thing about trying the wrap on the block of ice. Thanks for planting the seed. 


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## kokoroltd (Apr 12, 2015)

This is what I (we) have done.......Put "trip ice" either bought or made, in my freezer and put it on super freeze. It is A LOT colder than ice out of the store. One river rat i know, makes his own ice so it totally fits the bottom of his coolers...no wasted space. Before packing food, put ice in the cooler to "pre cool" the trip coolers. Plan which cooler which days food will go in both so the coolers won't be open so long to pack AND you can keep coolers shut on the trip that don't need to be opened. On the river I usually tape and wrap my coolers in a blanket and keep it wet. Freeze all food that you can. I freeze virtually everything like butter. On longer trips, I use the egg in a carton and freeze that. You get the idea. The difference in my cooler ice with a foam cover and without a foam cover on a hot trip is 2-3 days. Open only the appropriate cooler for any particular day(s), like day 5-7 cooler. The ice from previous days can be recycled as beer ice. Otherwise, on a canyon trip our beer is tucked in "beer socks" tucked in the corners of our boat so it is continually drenched by the cold river water. Doing this, we regularly have left over ice at the end of a 100 degree canyon trip.


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

This is my cooler, also has 1/2" of closed cell foam sandwiched between two layers of the bubble wrap duck taped to top of lid (Reflectix 24 in. x 100 ft. Double Reflective Insulation with Staple Tab-ST24100 - The Home Depot).
Helps a lot with ice retention. Did my cheap Coleman coolers the same way.


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## Schutzie (Feb 5, 2013)

So, do you drain the water out daily or not?
*stands back to avoid the posting crush..........


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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

I drain mine about every other day. Been guilty of loosening the cap as I was making a drink, and than forgetting to re-tighten until the next day. Lost ice for sure because of inebriated stupidity.

I will say that my 1st world cooler problems are non-existent with the yeti. I never manage my cooler on 1-week trips. Still manage to have plenty of ice. 

Edit: of course it always helps to have 'real' ice. And yes, I was on the cutting edge of 'the guy that froze 2 1/2 gal water jugs' back in the early '90s in my deep freezer. It's the absolute best way to keep things cold without having to have cooler sloppage or draining. Had ice back in '94 on a grand trip after cooking my 3 days of meals on day 12 with a split lid gott 123. Used the last of it on day 15 with an ice pick for margs. The cold water was amazing on the August trips.


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## Osseous (Jan 13, 2012)

Do you fill the jugs with scalding hot water before you freeze them? Gives you clear, dense ice with very little air trapped within.

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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

I just let out a quart or less of water for expansion. Worked amazingly well all the time I had the freezer. On week trips, I very rarely even needed to use the water for drinking, so I just re-froze it for the next trip. Usually over half the ice was still there. That was with the old split lid coolers with a quilted moving blanket kept wet. Now I do nothing whatsoever for 1 week trips in hot temps. And I add warm beers at times.

On my 3 GC trips in the '90s starting with that one, used dry ice to keep things frozen to the put in. My fresh veggies were in a separate cooler until the launch, I then added them and left the veggie cooler in my truck. Since then, I've rented boats and had food packs for the GC. For the scores of other week trips, it's been the best way to go. 

I wish I had the freezer space now living in downtown Denver.


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

A while back I forgot to close my drain for a couple day's, and didn't notice a difference in ice loss, so I started just leaving it open on purpose, still wasn't losing ice because of it, and I didn't have to jam my hand down in there, or lose ice from forgetting to drain it.
Now I just leave the dam thing open, and am still the last person with ice left on the trip.
Course I have plenty of extra shit around my Ice chest, so the drain stay's pretty cool down there. Sure sombodys flow charts will prove I'm wrong, but it seems to work fine.


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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

I left my drain cap almost off. I'm very sure that accelerated melting. Based on many other trips where I didn't do that. Noticeable difference. Your ice may vary. The best ice I've used was last year from a ice maker in SoCal. 22lb blocks that lasted on a 9day San Juan and a 4 day horsethief/Ruby:westwater and back to SoCal. Total of 18 days including travel and lalagagging time. Still had 1/3 of the blocks. Didn't manage shit. I didn't drain much either that trip. Those blocks were completely clear -- no oxygen, think sculpture ice. 4 of them for 18 days in my 125 yeti...I had room because I re-supplied for both trips. And yes, I added beer too them on both trips. That said, they were not summer trips -- May.

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## Skyman (Jun 26, 2006)

If leaving the drain cap off all the time, wouldn't your cooler and food be exposed to contaminants and bacteria from river water and such? Just sayin.


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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

Not all the way off. Food is always in ziplocks. Didn't notice any water the 2 times I did that. 


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Skyman said:


> If leaving the drain cap off all the time, wouldn't your cooler and food be exposed to contaminants and bacteria from river water and such? Just sayin.


Don't Fuck up.


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

mattman said:


> A while back I forgot to close my drain for a couple day's, and didn't notice a difference in ice loss, so I started just leaving it open on purpose, still wasn't losing ice because of it, and I didn't have to jam my hand down in there, or lose ice from forgetting to drain it.
> Now I just leave the dam thing open, and am still the last person with ice left on the trip.
> Course I have plenty of extra shit around my Ice chest, so the drain stay's pretty cool down there. Sure sombodys flow charts will prove I'm wrong, but it seems to work fine.


I bought my setup as a bundle and the previous owner of the raft just drilled a tiny hole in the drain cap (probably a 1/16" hole). It seems to work well for letting the water drain slowly without letting a bunch of river water in. 

I haven't gone as far as to plug that tiny hole to find out if keeping the melt water makes stuff last longer, but I do know that I did a hot deso trip last month and still had some large pieces of the blocks I bought the day before the trip left over and I wasn't that great at cooler etiquette beyond keeping a wet towel over it. This is a Rubbermaid 178 cooler...so nothing fancy as far as stuff you can get today goes. Its got a pretty burly pad that sits on top (the cooler is the captains seat) which I'm sure helps. 

I actually have a roll of that reflective bubble wrap insulation but haven't gotten around to cutting it to fit the cooler like bighorn did with his, but its on the list before the next trip for sure.


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