I have one of those giant Coleman Marine coolers.  One hot year I pre-froze
a regular-size cooler with all the long-range foods inside that, and then
lowered that whole, pre-frozen cooler into the blanket.  That was pretty
good.

What are those Yeti coolers like?  Worth the investment?

On Sat, Jun 17, 2023 at 10:21 AM Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net> wrote:

> OK,
>
> This was a way to fun read!  It makes me think, maybe I could get more out
> of my electric cooler by putting a block of ice at the bottom.  Then I
> could just let it go when it is melted?  Or, put in bottles of frozen ice,
> and then drink them when melted and nice and cold.
>
> Great reminders and tips!
>
> Eric
>
>
> On Jun 17, 2023, at 10:10 AM, Gabriel Hourtouat <ghourtouat@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> "Then to my surprise, I got a standing ovation."
> --doing things manually is like wizardry nowadays.
> "Isn't there an app to light the fridge?  And anyways, what does it mean
> to light the fridge?  Why are you lighting a flame when you are trying to
> keep things cold???"
>
> I make block ice with empty feta cheese tubs because they stack nicely and
> the square footprint makes good use of the available space in the cooler.
>
> I drape a fleece blanket over the cooler, overhanging the edges, and then
> lower items down onto the blanket and then fold the blanket over top of the
> items.  Load the frozen stuff into the blanket first.  If going out for a
> week or more in hot weather with no access to ice, pre-pack the
> longest-range items (meat for the second week, frozen milk) in a soft
> cooler and/or cardboard box in the freezer and load that whole thing into
> the blanket first with a piece of foam under the blanket.  Then
> strategically use the blanket and load other other items into the cooler
> working outwards from your longest range items. Veggies and other frequent
> use items stay on top of the blanket for a soft ride and to keep them from
> freezing.  The blanket makes an effective barrier to air exchange each time
> you open the cooler, helping to keep out the heat and humidity.  The
> blanket can also be pre-chilled in the freezer at home.
>
> Note:  each time an item gets chilled more than it needs to be chilled in
> your cooler -- that represents failure.  Because it means that the heat
> from that item (ketchup, veggie, peanut butter) went into the frozen stuff
> in your cooler.
>
> cover your cooler with a windshield sunshade and generally keep it out of
> the sun.  Make a custom-made cooler cover out of a broken sunshade (or
> duct-wrap from HomeDepot.   (
> https://www.homedepot.ca/product/reflectix-bubble-pack-2-x10-/1000407996?rrec=true)
> I am still not sure if the best cover is two sides and the top or four
> sides and the top.
>
> Theory: the best cover would be anodized aluminum.  Painted aluminum would
> be worthless as it gets just as hot as steel and other items in the sun.
> But I have noticed that anodized aluminum (such as climbing gear) stays
> cool to the touch even in blazing sunshine.  Needs more research.
>  Comments?
>
> am i neurotic?
>
> i can also clean up a whole one-person meal with a hot, freshly used
> teabag.
>
>
>
>>
>