Marine and other HD coolers

[jeffryscott]

Hi, I am looking for a high quality cooler to replace my ARB fridge I am selling. For how little I actually use the fridge, I have decided a quality marine cooler and dry ice will suffice (I do know a fridge come back to me at some point)

Looking at Yeti or Engel, but Coleman, Igloo and others make "Marine" coolers and I would like recommendations and real world experiences on the better coolers out there.

My needs are to keep food and beer cold for two or three days, maybe a week at most. I think dry ice is a likely candidate for cooling. Size I will probably go between 35 and 65 quarts.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[/dev/ram]

I've always found dry ice to be problematic - if you use more to last longer, then everything freezes. Small quantities to just cool work fine, but then it evaporates/melts and you're running for more. YMMV.

 

[1911]

Looking at Yeti or Engel, but Coleman, Igloo and others make "Marine" coolers and I would like recommendations and real world experiences on the better coolers out there.

My needs are to keep food and beer cold for two or three days, maybe a week at most.

Of all the ice chests I've ever had, my Yeti's keep ice longer than anything else. But I'm going the opposite direction from you - bought an ARB fridge a year ago and never looked back.

 

[762X39]

I have a couple of Coleman 7 day coolers and they are pretty good compared to most "marine " coolers but nothing compares to the Yeti coolers. They work as advertised and cost accordingly. If you want to cut the cord (as it were) they are your best bet and you won't need dry ice to keep stuff cold for a decent amount of time.

 

[cruisertoy]

I have the Engel cooler. It works well. I still use ut even though I have the fridge. A lot of time I'll put frozen stuff in the fridge and non frozen in the cooler. Makes for a nice trip into the desert when you pull out popsicles.

 

[Mc Taco]

I know folks here will roll their eyes, but I still like my "theremo-electric' cooler. It cools to 30* below ambient temperature. In the cab with the A/C I never have a problem. They use a lot of juice, but I only run mine while the engine is on. I keep the 'blue ice' blocks in there and stuff is plenty cold the whole trip. Disclaimer: This is only for those trips where I am changing camp spots every day. As a base camp option it is a poor choice for long term. You won't run the vehicle long enough to cool enough.

 

[jeffryscott]

Anybody have experience with Evakool Ice Kool's or Techniice coolers? Both are Australian brands ...

 

[Colorado Jeeper]

I have two steel belted Coleman's that work ok. Hold ice for three days with a lot of little hands reaching in. I have the Yeti 20qt. The cooler is built well but I have never really needed a cooler this small to hold ice for more than a day so the small Yeti is kind of a waste.

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Your the first person I've ever heard of that wants to sell his ARB Fridge for a cooler. I keep mine running in my Land Rover 24/7 it's been in there for 9 months now and I'd almost never used my cooler before because it was such a pain in the ^**. I've left it for a week and half and it was still cooling and the truck started up just fine. I'd be interested to know why you haven't found much use for it.

 

[jeffryscott]

Your the first person I've ever heard of that wants to sell his ARB Fridge for a cooler. I keep mine running in my Land Rover 24/7 it's been in there for 9 months now and I'd almost never used my cooler before because it was such a pain in the ^**. I've left it for a week and half and it was still cooling and the truck started up just fine. I'd be interested to know why you haven't found much use for it.

Priorities. I can use the money more than the fridge. I will have another fridge another time, but for now, I am not using it much. In my old job I drove everyday all over and the fridge was invaluable for everyday use. In my current job, I work inside for 12 hour shifts. Not much need to keep things cold. For how often I use the fridge, a quality cooler will suffice for now.

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Makes sense I know all about the needing money more than the convenience. Of course my ARB cost me a 200 bucks, because the guy that had it thought it was broke it just needed a fuse. Good luck and those yeti coolers are supposed to be great

 

[jeffryscott]

Think I am going to go with two Techniice 36qt eskys, one for drinks, one for food, or one for both depending on how long and how many of us. $99 each on eBay in either white, yellow or blue. Judging from reviews from Oz, techniice has a good reputation and if done right, the ice box will keep things cold for what I need.

Certainly not as convenient or efficient as a fridge, but it will be interesting to see how it works.

 

[D110]

I have a Yeti and two Igloo marine coolers that I use on the boat and in the truck - The Yeti is a beast, you can jump up and down on the top of it (I'm 200 lbs) and it is solid as a rock, and it does a great job of keeping ice as long as you pre-cool it the night before loading. That said, if I am going away for 1-4 days I usually take one of the Igloos, as the Yeti weighs about 40 lbs empty, and once it is loaded it takes two people to move it... the Igloos probably weigh 12 lbs empty and are a little smaller - they are fine for the shorter trips as far as keeping ice, but you certainly don't want to be jumping up and down on them as the build quality isn't even close to the Yeti.
A little tip for ice... I like my box wine (Bota Boxes are great) when camping. I keep the bladders, rinse them out at home and fill with water and stick in the freezer to use when packing my cooler... works like a charm.
Cheers!

 

[fullybalanced]

I've got a 35qt Engel and it's kept ice for 4 days (as a matter of fact is was 80-90 every day) and I probably on had a pint of "water" from teh melted ice.

 

[jeffryscott]

Ordered the 36qt Techniice today. Thought I would get one for now and see how the size works, as well as how the cooler works. I will report back here when I get it ...