Holding Ice

[Moxadox]

I gotta ask...

[emoji14]

Requires whisky.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[highdesertranger]

"Requires whisky."

that can be arranged. now I want to hear too. LOL

highdesertranger

 

[Moxadox]

"Requires whisky."

that can be arranged. now I want to hear too. LOL

highdesertranger

This will be fun.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[bullfrog]

Hope you drink it straight! Everyones ice will probably be melted!

 

[tx2sturgis]

I bought a portable ice-maker.

Ice is NO PROBLEM.

Just gotta have water, solar, and you know, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum to float the cubes in, for 'testing' them.

:angel:

 

[Moxadox]

Hope you drink it straight! Everyones ice will probably be melted!

Dude. I take my whiskey with more whiskey, to keep it company ;-)

The Dire Wolfess

 

[Ticklebellly]

If you are considering zip lock plastic bags, I assume you will start with water then freeze? If you Google "Collapsible water bottle" you should get something like these in the result https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesal...101201856&SearchText=collapsible+water+bottle

Seriously cheap. I have several that have been used lots and have survived. If taking a six pack of refreshments, somewhere, I put six empty cans in a soft cooler bag then slip half filled water bottles into the spaces and freeze the lot. Prior to leaving the house, I remove the empty cans and replace with the full ones. As the ice in the bottle melts, who cares, as they collapse into the space left when the cans come out. Of course there is some condensation to deal with but mostly the soft cooler bag is no more than damp at the end of the day. The water in the collapsible bottles is also a way to transport drinking water.

The thing with the collapsible bottles is that they can be laid partially full on their side in the freezer so you end up with a tall brick of ice that fits/ packs well in a solid wall cooler.

 

[Ticklebellly]

I.  Dry ice on the bottom will extend your coolth a long time.  Wrap it in newspaper, cover it with loose ice cubes.

Whatever works for you, of course.   I get free dry ice from a device that scrubs and cleans methane gas from coal seams and have experimented with a few different arrangements intended to freeze large catches of fish, for example.   We layer water ice on the bottom, vacuum packed fish next, and dry ice in multiple layers of newspaper, on top.   This arrangement will freeze fish going in and keep water ice solid until the dry ice has evaporated.   I have found that dry ice in contact with water evaporates at a faster rate.   I expect that your method would be better if you want to keep any food unfrozen in the upper layers in a cooler.   During my experiments, I did have to throw out the odd lettuce or tomato because they froze solid.

 

[Moxadox]

Exactly! Dry ice on top will freeze your food. If that's what you're after, then that's what you do. If you're just looking to keep ice longer and keep your food cool longer, put your dry ice on the bottom and cover it with something (newspaper works well for this), then add your ice cubes.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[[email protected]]

I'm redesigning my ice chest.  I have one I build a couple of years ago that works well (keeps ice 5-7 days), but it is too big for my upcoming van reconfiguration.

The current way I hold Ice is in large pitchers or large plastic containers with lids so the water doesn't spill out into the ice chest.  I was going to build the new ice chest around a couple of rectangular plastic containers to hold the ice on the bottom of the box.  This idea is okay, but by the time I put 2" R-Max all around, and 3/4" plywood, the structure is a little too bulky for the space available.

I'm looking for an ice hack to hold ice on the bottom or side of the chest, but not necessarily in a rigid plastic container.  I was thinking something like a vinyl liner to hold a large bag of cube ice or block ice.  Over this I could put a rack to keep the ice and water off my food.  I just don't know how to manage the waterproof liner.  It would have to be seal-able so I could easily remove and replace it.

Ideas?  Anyone?  Anyone?

Tracy

I was thinking about cutting a piece of hardware cloth plus six inches on two sides. Bend down feet on two sides and ice on the bottom food on the rack

 

[bullfrog]

Maybe cut off the bottom of a plastic milk crate and flip it over?

 

[VanFan]

Nothing we did kept ice melt out of our food over time.  We got tired of wet hands and throwing food away. Our solution has been to attached a plastic tube to the drain outlet on the cooler's side and run the tube under and out the back door.  Water drains as we go, with only a little in the sump.  In a very sensitive area, water could be caught in our fire bucket, but it's clean and minimal.  The cooler is an old, light blue "5-Day-ish" Coleman.  It sits on a small plywood platform I made with metal shelf brackets for legs.  The stove and wash basin go under.

Ice needs to be replenished about every three or four days, but it works really well!  Bonus:  I can reach everything from inside, too.

 

[highdesertranger]

don't ever, ever, EVER drink the melt water in an ice chest. it is not clean water. trust me on this I have first had experience. did I mention don't ever drink the melt water. LOL. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

Maybe if you like swapping ends in the bathroom

 

[lenny flank]

I used to have a plastic bin nested inside the cooler, and put the ice in the space between them, then put the food in the inner bin. When it melted, my food was not floating.

 

[VanFan]

don't ever,  ever,  EVER drink the melt water in an ice chest.  it is not clean water.  trust me on this I have first had experience.  did I mention don't ever drink the melt water. LOL.   highdesertranger

Haven't had the pleasure, but think I'll pass!  Good advice, and one thing I am VERY particular about.