COOLers

flinchlock,

We also have the 3 way refrigerator and it has worked great. The only challenge is to keep it from freezing food when running on gas in colder outside temps. That's part of the learning curve we're still climbing. Ours is only a frig. and we're working on the best way to preserve ice in various cooler set ups. If you're looking at a Hawk or Granby they come with a frig./freezer combo that looks real nice. Pricey but worth it I think.
 
I too live out of coolers for long periods of time and hate the floating food problem. Our attempts at solving that have not worked.Brian

Here's what I did when I replaced a broken reefer with a large cooler in a travel trailer.

First thing was to connect the drain valve to a tube going overboard; water, even cold water, in the cooler creates a heat-conductive path between all surfaces, esp the ice, and the walls/floor of the cooler, so the ice will last longer if the water is removed.

Second thing was to get some of the lattice plastic trays that plants come in (Wally), cut one end off two of them, overlap to fit the bottom of cooler, fasten together and flip over. Keeps your stuf out of what water is left.

When you buy ice (block has less surface area, so it lasts longer; cube has more and crushed has way too much), don't break it up if possible, cut a drain hole or two in the bottom and leave it in the plastic bag. When the ice has melted, just take the bag out.

As someone said on another thread, rest the cooler on some Reflectix and make a Reflectix hood to cover the top and sides, esp if the cooler is outside.

However, most of the above should be reversed if you want to cool drinks quickly and cold; crush the ice into tiny chunks and let the ice water build up (even helps to add more water at first). That will get the conduction working at full bore to transfer BTUs out of the cans into melting the ice.
 
I have used it often in 90 degree plus heat. I usually restock it with beer in the morning and by afternoon they are refreshingly cool.

About how cool is cool? If it is "90 degree plus", is the beer temp 40 degrees less = 50 degrees? Or, worded another way, does the refrig only lower the temp 40 degrees less than the outside temp?

It will also keep your food out of the melted ice water.

As I already mentioned, we are vegetarians, and we have been camping for many years, and have not ever carried a cooler with us until this year. We would not have a water problem anyway.

The only challenge is to keep it from freezing food when running on gas in colder outside temps.

Does the refrig only lower the temp 40 degrees less than the outside temp? So, it is is 50 degrees outside, the cooler would 10 degrees?

What brand of refrig is in ATC or FWC? Dometic? Norcold?

Sorry for soooo many questions,
Mike
 
My FWC is a Norcold. When I picked it up I turned it on just after crossing into AZ on the 10 and by the time I got to Tucson its temp was a whopping 75F inside. It was 110 out side but it really means nothing when you need refrigeration. Some here say that on propane it will be much cooler but I havent tried it yet. I've had a Dometic in the past and had the same bad results. I'll try this thing one more time on gas and if still sux Hello Ebay.
 
We are still working on options for our future ATC or FWC camper. The more posts I read, the more confused I get about what options we want!

First of all, we are frugal, but we have no problem spending money for quality products.

Second of all, we are lacto-ovo vegetarians… no meat, but eggs and dairy are OK.

We have been camping for many years, and have not ever carried a cooler with us until this year. We bought a 13 can “Vector VEC-212” cooler just to have a cold dark beer before bed… the Vector cooler sucks.

After reading all the posts about coolers, we will probably get a Coleman 36 Quart Xtreme 5-Day cooler. The Coleman site says…

2" insulation provides maximum cold retention
Interior dimensions: 19-3/4″ length x 7-3/4″ width x 10″ height

So, is the cooler exterior size: 23-3/4″ length x 11-3/4″ width x 14″ height ?

Also, if I do not want the standard ice box in the ATC or FWC...

About how big is the space where the ice box would of been?

Would the Coleman 36 Quart Xtreme cooler fit in the ice box space?

Mike
The space with the ice box removed is approximately 20"x20"x20"
 

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don't mean to high jack this thread, but i was wondering how and where does everyone carry your coolers? i was at sams club last week and they had a 150 quart cooler there for about 50 bucks, so i bought it in anticipation of using it for my hunting trips, but now for the life of me cannot figuire out a place to put it without it being in the way.thanks. Paul
 
On the floor. Ice chest comes out shortly after I arrive and hopefully gets put in the shade.
 
I always forget a thermometer

About how cool is cool? If it is "90 degree plus", is the beer temp 40 degrees less = 50 degrees? Or, worded another way, does the refrig only lower the temp 40 degrees less than the outside temp?



As I already mentioned, we are vegetarians, and we have been camping for many years, and have not ever carried a cooler with us until this year. We would not have a water problem anyway.



Does the refrig only lower the temp 40 degrees less than the outside temp? So, it is is 50 degrees outside, the cooler would 10 degrees?
What brand of refrig is in ATC or FWC? Dometic? Norcold?

Sorry for soooo many questions,
Mike

Just about every trip, I think about taking a thermometer to answer exactly what you ask, but have always forgotten to take one, and my driveway is tilted enough that I don't think the refrigerator will work at that angle. If I was smart, I would pack one in the camper tonight, but I've never been accused of being smart. It's a Dometic brand and the insulation is very good, so there is frost on the cooling fins all day long when the peak temperature is in the 90's and the evening temperature gets down to the 70's.

Another thing I tried once was to put a layer of rock salt in the cooler with the ice cubes. It quickly melted the ice, but the temperature of the brine was so cold that eggs, cheese, even beer froze in it 5 days later. If you're just looking for a way to cool off beer, then that may be the way to go. However, don't dump the brine on the ground as nothing will grow there for quite a while.
 
EdoHart, thank you very much for all that info! :D
However, don't dump the brine on the ground as nothing will grow there for quite a while.
What about yellow brine? ;) :eek:

Mike
 
I like the one that is also a seat.

I've been thinking about putting a bench in the front of the camper, under the front sliding window, and I have a cooler that is almost the right size that I have placed there to explore storage options. If I didn't have the 3 way refrigerator I could really see one of the 3 smaller models as the answer.

On a side note, I was smart enough to put a thermometer in the truck the other night, so the next trip I take I will record inside and outside temperatures through out the day and see how well the gas refrigerator works. Unfortunately, I'm on call this weekend so it will be at least another week before I can test.
 
I took a short trip this weekend and noted the following for my Dometic brand...
- At 4 PM and 92 F outside running on 12 V for about 4-5 hours the refrigerator was 40 F inside.
- At 7 AM and 70 F outside running on gas for 15 hours the refrigerator was 25 F inside.
- All temperatures measured with the same thermometer.
- I didn't have the opportunity the run the refrigerator all day on gas and forgot to check the temperature after the return leg on 12 V, but a few hours after shutting it down, the beer "felt" cold.
 
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