Ice chest users

[Tony's Dream]

Which do you think is better, keeping your drinks in the ice chest or taking pieces of ice out and poor your drink over the ice in a cup?  I am thinking that the ice would not have to work to keep my drinks cool all day.

 

[highdesertranger]

It's very hard to keep an ice chest and the ice in it sanitized and safe for consumption. Ask me how/why I know this? Highdesertranger

 

[user 30781]

How bad was it?   :s

 

[highdesertranger]

I had to see a doctor for me that's pretty bad. Highdesertranger

 

[tx2sturgis]

This is also the same reason I do not normally consume water that has been in an RV holding tank. (certain situations notwithstanding).

The water in the 'fresh water' tank is anything but fresh...and especially if your RV has been parked in warm climates or on warm pavement for periods of time. Algae and mold and other unspeakables LOVE warm moist dark places!

If your ice chest has slots for a divider, you can buy or fabricate one and then you can keep the ice you will consume separate from all the other items in there: plastic bags, bottles, cans, wrappers, loose food particles, etc etc, (that you have handled with your grubby paws!) and have a reasonable expectation the ice in the separate compartment will be safe for consumption.

Daily draining of the meltwater is important also. Put fresh ice up on top of both sides if you wish, but don't consume the ice on the 'food' side of the cooler.

The world of icechests according to me...others are free to disagree and that's OK too.  It's your health!

 

[G0ldengirl68]

man is this a good thread! Thanks to all, I didn't know any of this!

 

[RoamerRV428]

both. we throw 20 lb bagged ice from that ICE machine cheapy place and put drinks more to one side and I just take ice off the top from the bag and use in drinks.

ain't dead just yet not saying I might not go down that road?? but been doing it for over 50 yrs and no troubles at all.

But my cooler is bagged ice and drinks only, a bit separated on where I take my ice from....I open a small slit in one bag and use that ice....so.....kinda got my own little somewhat healthy system set up that I am able to live with I rarely do loose bulk ice in a chest. Too much of a pain kinda, I like keeping it bagged at all times tho. again just me!

 

[RoamerRV428]

oh and can't edit now but saying that one should worry more where your ice was produced and how clean that was when we buy it but darn we ALL have to mostly just HOPE they got great sanitary actions in place LOL

 

[tx2sturgis]

Yep, some nasty little germs can survive freezing...hanging in there till they end up in a glass of sweet tea or cola...then the little buggers wake up when the ice melts...all active and looking for a nice warm mammal gut to get all warm and fuzzy and make more of itself. 

Oh...carry on....Imma go have a sip of iced coffee!

 

[RoamerRV428]

yea like anthrax being awaken in the artic areas from millions of years ago from rotting dead critters from long ago.....ice holds who knows what and its source is a key factor and we can only hope darn it the facility keeps it great for us but again, so far in my 59.5 yrs on this planet I don't think my ice source has taken me down HA...best knock on wood cause I jinxed me now I think!!

 

[vanbrat]

I have a small, well insulated bag that I put my drink ice in so it stays safely away from any food/raw meat germs that might be larking around my ice chest. I also have a small ice chest that is just for the days drinks beside the drivers seat in the van when driving around and under cover around our chairs, that way I don't keep opening the ice chest so much.

 

[VanFan]

If you enjoy canned drinks, here's another option:  Place the warm can in a large cup with ice and water.  Every 20 seconds or so, twirl the can in the ice water.  In 10 minutes you will have a very cold drink.  (I don't like canned drinks, but my husband does this all the time.  Saves room in the cooler, and contamination is not an issue.

 

[Tony's Dream]

Thanks everyone for your input. I have never used ice to store food/drinks for long periods of time, just weekend camping or traveling. I was talking with someone at work and they said that some places where you buy ice there is a tag on the stoarge unit that says something like....this ice is not meant for human comsuption but rather for keeping food and beverages cold. So that supports the idea of some of the posts about the healthiness of using this ice in a cup. Just trying to think of things to make my ice last longer. Ideally I would like to buy block ice, but those places are few and far between. Someone posted they keep the ice in the bag. Is it better to keep it in the bag or dump it in the ice chest?

 

[highdesertranger]

When I got my treatment the Doctor told me it's the glue they use to glue the paper labels on glass containers. He said it carries all kinds of nasties because it's natural glue product. In other words it's rendered from animals. So even if you have no food in your chest if you have glass containers with paper labels it's still bad. Remember Don't eat the paste? Not to mention sticking your dirty hands into it. Highdesertranger

 

[Morefun]

My experience over the last 30ish years of road travel without a fridge.
Remove all labels.
Never let melted ice water get near the lid of anything. It might seem tight, but it it most likely is Not.
Wash the inside of the cooler every 2 to 3 days.
Never put raw, cooked meat, or meats to thaw in a cooler. You might think it won't leak but it will.
We use ice blocks for condiments that go into a tiny cooler just for that purpose. Anything we drink goes into the "drink" (yeah, go figure) cooler. We also keep fresh vegies on top of the ice in that cooler, wrapped. Yes, I know vegies won't last as long when sealed up but vegies also spread ick.
Any ice that goes into our water/etc to drink is kept bagged and away from melted water/food.
Get a freezer. It is where we store extra foods that won't survive well in a cooler.

That might seem extreme but a day or two of potty runs and stomach ick is just not acceptable to us.

 

[RoamerRV428]

bagged ice in the bag in the cooler suits me then loose. Loose ice can get more into it on opening your cooler from outside contamin even from your hands.......I love bagged and keep it bagged LOL this again is just me

Are we just talking drinks you want to handle? OR WHAT are you trying to accomplish?........your cooler is what keeps your ice best so BUY A GREAT insulated cooler first as that needs to happen for longevity of that ice and then also be sure you keep the cooler in shade etc.............this gives ice longevity but ice is ice ya know.....hot weather and cooler and ice is melted fast and more and with use you have to drain the water and clean the cooler so coolers are some work for maintenance etc.

so what you require etc might be a small solar set up for a very small fridge that works off solar for food? or are we talking just ice and a few cans of drinks?
how ya roll will truly determine on what you are wanting to accomplish here for your situation.

 

[Tony's Dream]

My plan is to take short jaunts of 1-2 weeks. I plan to prepare meals in advance, most fully cooked and bagged individually. Any raw foods will be individually bagged. I will freeze the meals until I am ready to go, then transferred to the ice chest. When it's time to eat, I will retrieve one of the bagged meals and cook it. The ice chest will contain food, drinks, and condements. The drinks (orange juice and cool-aide) will be in their own containers, no canned drinks. I plan to drain the chest of any melted ice each morning and replace the ice as needed. the ice chest will be stored in my van and wrapped in a blanket to help insulate it.

 

[JasonMcD]

I plan on trying something i saw on one of the channels i subscribe to on YouTube. He was trying to recreate Yeti cooler results, but on a budget. He basically just bought a smaller cooler and then put it into a larger cooler and insulated the space between with foam. Basically a cooler in a cooler. He put the same amount of ice in each one and timed it, and it clearly kept ice quite a bit longer. I don't know if it achieved the same results as a Yeti, but if its the difference between spending $400 and $50 i think its worth shot.

 

[highdesertranger]

Well I got to point this out,

Ice chests cost me more money than my 12v refrigerators. between the cost of ice the gas it took to get ice the time it took and the ruined food and beverages. It took me less than a year to pay for my refrigeration. and that was many years ago when 12v refrigerators were expensive. now-a-days they are cheap and so is solar.

Ice is expensive and where I go there is no guaranty that ice will be available at any price. I go many places where it's not even practical to make ice trips let alone daily. It's common to waste a day chasing Ice. No matter what you do you will loose food and beverages. I tried all the tricks, we would freeze everything tape the door up, wrap it in extra insulation and bury it in the ground.

BTW to get maximum life from your ice you must leave the melt water in. until all the ice is gone the melt water is right around 32-34°. remember physics heat moves from hot to cold. so that melt water is still absorbing heat until it reaches ambient temp.

Highdesertranger

 

[tx2sturgis]

BTW to get maximum life from your ice you must leave the melt water in.  until all the ice is gone the melt water is right around 32-34°.  remember physics heat moves from hot to cold. so that melt water is still absorbing heat until it reaches ambient temp.

This is only true if the cooler and the vehicle are not moving. Sitting on the floor in a stationary camper or van, yeah.

But in a moving vehicle the meltwater sloshing around melts away the remaining ice faster. I used Yeti coolers for around 10 years in the trucks and trust me, I did lots of testing.

Draining the meltwater every day resulted in longer life for the ice...again, in a moving vehicle.

BTW, draining the meltwater into a bucket or pail when camping in a stationary situation provides you with some non-drinkable water for wetting rags or towels and wiping down tables, countertops, stoves, etc. it doesn't have to be poured directly into the ground.