Cool cooler...

[Crossfaced]

I can't afford an ARB fridge so I came up with this.

I have a Pelican cooler that I really like. Holds the temps really well. So I took that and put a smaller cooler inside it and I fill that with dry ice. A small cooler like this will hold about 10# of dry ice in chunks. I pay $15 for 10# of dry ice. With that little cooler shut it keeps temps down to about 33-37 degrees. Open it will drop the temps down to single digits. I line the little cooler with cardboard to protect it from damage. Also the little cooler will keep the dry ice for 4 days but the temps will stay cool for an additional day. Oh and I also put a little battery powered RV fridge fan in to circulate temps but you can leave that out if you want to place frozen foods on the bottom as cold air sinks.

It may seem like it takes a lot of room but it takes up less room than a bag of ice. Also the little cooler can be used as a shelf. I put our frozen food and drinking ice around it in direct contact and those items stay frozen solid. Also this keep everything dry and makes it a lot easier to find items, there's no need to dig through the ice.

One note because the dry ice off gasses CO2 you need to make sure the cooler is vented. So high quality coolers like Pelican,Yeti,Orca etc.. need to have their vents opened a little to let the pressure out.

 

[proper4wd]

Nice hack, but

Pelican cooler - $300
Dry ice $15 x 10? trips per year - $150
Time/gas to buy dry ice - priceless
Running out of dry ice mid trip because the lid was left open - priceless

Whynter 45 fridge, $420

The math still doesnt add up for me. As "tactical" as these Pelican coolers are they don't make sense in a vehicle where you have (essentially) endless 12V power available.

 

[Crossfaced]

I totally see your point but I already had the cooler and other people may also have one already. Also for me, and I didn't mention this, I don't have endless 12v power. My wife has a CPAP machine we run off of the vehicle. It would die out pretty quick. As it is I occasional have to use a jump box in the mornings.

 

[daniel3507]

Interesting. Recently went on a one week trip and used dry ice in the Yeti. Might have used too much though since everything froze solid the first day. Sounds like this would prevent that.

 

[expidator]

I can't afford an ARB fridge so I came up with this.
need to have their vents opened a little to let the pressure out.
View attachment 364164

This is an interesting idea, I'll have to try :Wow1:
I like to use a wonderbag to keep cool beer cans and food for a while.
Insulation is really good, take little space when empty (contrary go big plastic containers), no need for power!
And should be easy to keep ventilated.

 

[TwinStick]

I had this same dilemma. I just could not see spending $300-600+ for a cooler, no matter how good, when for just a little more, you can get an ARB. Do what ever works for you.

On our last camping trip to a state park (a holiday weekend), the store was only opened on Fri & Sat - noon. They ran out of ice early Sat morning. As a result, many people ended up spending Sat & Sun driving around looking for ice, up to 50 miles, so their food would not spoil. While my wife SERIOUSLY balked at the prices (we got an 82 & a 50qt), she looked at me & smiled that day & said I sure am glad we don't have to do that. We can also set one on freeze & keep refreezing & rotating the ice/water/jugs (when we do use a cooler for drinks when we have lots of visitors). We use old OJ containers. Eliminates the wear & tear to ARB locking handle & the possibility of breakage from heavy handed people.

You are lucky to be able to get dry ice by you. We can not. Which is quite common. My mom & stepdad (78 & 94 yrs old), took a fishing charter in Wisconsin. They caught lots of fish & tried to send them home & 2 two to me but no dry ice was avail. So, the relatives that went with them got them all. It SUCKED to spend $2000+ on fridge/freezers, trust me. But this is one area where you DO get what you paid for. No more ice runs for us.....ever.

 

[Crossfaced]

Just spent 5 days in the mountains with this setup. Again it worked great. I am lucky that dry ice us sold less than a miles from me. If I weren't it certainly would not be as cost effective.

This setup won't replace refrigerator but it works great, and for those of us with coolers already, or like us who need our 12v power for other necessities(CPAP)...its a great alternative.

 

[Crossfaced]

Interesting. Recently went on a one week trip and used dry ice in the Yeti. Might have used too much though since everything froze solid the first day. Sounds like this would prevent that.

Yup I had the same problem. I went to crack an egg that was frozen solid. Try it....works great.

 

[TacomaAustin]

I went to crack an egg that was frozen solid. Try it....works great.

It takes a couple of days for things to settle down. Were the eggs on top and at the far end of the cooler?

I used to have easy access to dry ice at work and would put a block in an insulated lunch bag, which went into one side my old metal jacketed, Coleman cooler - followed by a couple of frozen gallon jugs of water between the ice and the food. Frozen everything was a problem until about day three. 5 days later, I would still have a chunk of ice sloshing sloshing around in each the gallon jugs.

 

[Crossfaced]

It takes a couple of days for things to settle down. Were the eggs on top and at the far end of the cooler?

I used to have easy access to dry ice at work and would put a block in an insulated lunch bag, which went into one side my old metal jacketed, Coleman cooler - followed by a couple of frozen gallon jugs of water between the ice and the food. Frozen everything was a problem until about day three. 5 days later, I would still have a chunk of ice sloshing sloshing around in each the gallon jugs.

I no longer have freezing issues. The small cooler on the inside keeps the dry ice longer(going onto the 6th day now) and keeps the freezing down to only those items next to the dry ice. The small fan also helps.

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

Be careful with venting dry ice gas into the cabin of the vehicle, as it can kill you... but nice job.

 

[TacomaAustin]

Be careful with venting dry ice gas into the cabin of the vehicle, as it can kill you... but nice job.

Well I had read up on CO2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide

Now, I know what I didn't know.

Normal levels are at ~.04 % of the air we breathe. It looks like even a .1 % concentration of carbon dioxide will affect human cognitive abilities. At .5 % OSHA will classify your work place as unsafe. At above the 1% carbon dioxide level the canary in the coal mine might stop singing and fall off its perch.

 

[Kerensky97]

The math still doesnt add up for me. As "tactical" as these Pelican coolers are they don't make sense in a vehicle where you have (essentially) endless 12V power available.

It's only endless while the engine is running. As soon as you stop it can end in one night, and if you're solo and have no alternate power source or jumper option you could really be in a world of hurt.
The "Refrigerator equation" leaves out the cost of Dual Batteries and their installation, wiring up your cargo area or truck bed, and possible solar installation.

 

[Jenburton1974]

Anyone interested in a vintage Marlboro cooler by Colman? Works well, uses a 12volt plug, keeps food cold. $150.00

 

[MrWesson]

He has a point about already having stuff and making it work.

I have tons of coolers laying around but an ARB fridge will almost always have to be purchased for a specific need.

I got a Yeti as a gift so for me it might make sense. I also never use the Yeti because its so damn heavy, tiny inside and I generally don't need cold anything for that long.