How to add additional insulation on my Coleman cooler?

[yamsack]

<span id="post_message_1272366474">Hi all,<br>I just got my 70qt Coleman Xtreme Marine cooler (in white).&nbsp; The thing is, the cooler has 4 cup holders at the top, which I don't plan on using.&nbsp; I was thinking about filling them in with some sort of foam insulation to help retain any cold that may escape from the thinner walls around these cupholders.<br><br>My current plan is to cut out some basic styrofoam rounds, stack them into the holes, then fill the voids with foam insulation from a spray can.&nbsp; Does anyone have any thoughts about how to do this?</span>

 

[akrvbob]

My head is always full of thoughts!! This is something I have given lots of thoughts to and I have done all these things I am going to describe:<br><ul><li>I think the floor is more important than the roof, so the first thing I suggest is a piece of Pink or Blue (white will fall apart) styrofoam Gorilla glued to the bottom of the cooler.Why is it more important? Becuase the ice water is in constant contact with the floor underneath. Water is a much better transmitter of cold than air (it has very little Resistance to cold), so the top of the cooler being air is better insulated than the bottom being water.</li><li>Next, get as big a&nbsp; bucket as will fit in the cooler and still let the lid close, and put the ice in their instead of the cooler itself. That keeps your food out of the melt water and keeps the water from being on the floor which will let more cold escape. I've used Kitty Litter buckets before and they work great. This also makes it easy to dump the ice water, you just lift the bucket out and dump it.</li><li>The next easiest&nbsp; thing to do is make a "blanket" that surrounds the walls with Reflectix. You want an small air gap between the walls and the Reflectix. Then make a "lid" out of Reflectix that goes over the top of the cooler and part way down the side of the walls. You fold the corners in a similar way as wrapping a Xmas present. At Home Depot you can get silver tape that is designed for duct work that works great with Reflectix. Use that to form the walls and lid.</li><li>If you want to do more it is better to cut styrofoam sheets to fit the walls and glue them to the walls first. Then use the Reflectix over it. You can skip this if you want.</li><li>An alternative to the styrofoam is closed cell foam backpackers sleeping pads. These have a very high R value--I have slept on a glacier with nothing but a 1/2 inch closed cell foam pad under me and slept warm. You can buy them cheap at Walmart or at military surplus stores. Cut and glue it to the bottom&nbsp; and top of the cooler. Put multiple layers till it is used up.</li><li>Finally, I keep a plain old Queen size bed pillow on top of my cooler all the time for insulation. Cheap and easy!!You might need a King Size.</li></ul>Bob<br><br>

 

[yamsack]

@ akrvbob,<br><br>Wow, that was awesome!&nbsp; You've really given me some great ideas.&nbsp; It never even occurred to me to put the ice in some sort of bucket/container so the melted ice would not soak up the food.&nbsp; I'm definitely going to do that.&nbsp; My previous idea was to get a couple of heavy duty jumbo ziplock bags and put the ice in that.&nbsp; This idea is much better and easier to remove the water.<br><br>Regarding the cupholders, what are your thoughts about how to fill up the holes?&nbsp; Would that even gain any additional insulation, or should I just leave it as is?<br><br>

 

[SheketEchad]

<span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Thanks to you both for the topic and information. &nbsp;My initial plan, regardless of TT or motor home of some sort, is to utilize the Xtreme cooler rather than the propane/electric fridge. &nbsp;</span><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br></span><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The only thing missing is the fan nearby to transfer the limited escaping cold into air conditioning <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Bob, you should seriously consider a mentoring or shadowing program, as well as some of the other more experienced people here. Might be a revenue stream, if you could handle having others around with incessant questions...LOL!</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">~SE &nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br></span></div></div>

 

[akrvbob]

The cupholders probably aren't that important. You could cut circles of styrofoam to fit in them or stuff them with bubblewrap. Ideally I think you could buy a can of expanding spray foam insulation form Home Depot and fill in the holes. I think they are about $4. <br><br>My camp is always open to anybody to come and talk vandwelling!! All I know is available to anybody who is interested. Right now I'm near Victorville, CA, if anyone is nearby sop in and let's visit! You can't ask too many questions. Bob<br><br>