On my recent trip to Fraser Island, it came to my attention that there are many differing opinions in how to best use your icebox, esky or chilly bin. This created a lengthy heated discussion, with everyone there adamant that their method was the best, no dispute. In the end we agreed to disagree and moved on.
This got me thinking though. If I don't know what the best way to load a icebox. How many of our customers that come in buying iceboxes know how to get the most out of their icebox? Depending on the size of your icebox (the larger the longer) manufacturers state the ice is good for up to 15 days!
I started making plans to run an experiment, planning how many ice boxes I would need and setting the control environment. I then realised, that all I really needed to do was ask the team at EvaKool, they've been making quality iceboxes since 1994 so they surely would know the best way to pack an icebox.
They did, this is what I learnt ranked in what I consider the most important to get the most out of your icebox:
- Use quality ice - party ice is not good, it has a high surface area often isn't deep frozen and isn't dense - thus it melts quick.
- Use block ice - you can make your own by freezing some milk containers or similar.
- The recommended ratio of ice to product is 1/3 ice to 2/3 product in volume.
- The day before loading your icebox to head away, load ice into it to cool down the box itself.
- Always be working towards reducing the amount of air space, air transfers heat quickly and really reduces the ice life.
- Try to only put frozen or cold goods into your icebox
- Organise the icebox in such a way that the lid doesn't have to be open any longer than necessary.
- Refasten the icebox lid after opening every time.
- Try to minimise how often you open it.
- Do not drain melted ice from your icebox at all, this reduces the remaining ice life significantly.
Some campers do also use dry ice, however in many cases this can damage your ice box and void your warranty.
Thanks for reading, I hope that you have found this information valuable.
Cheers,
Cheers,
Jon Burrell
1300 836 896
www.tentworld.com.au
5 comments:
Great write up. In a future edition, what about a guide to using Engel/Waeco fridges. Having just purchased a 60L Engel from you, we're really not sure how best to use it to minimise power usage and maximise chill..
cheers
Thanks very much Shane, it's great to get feedback. The writeup for minimising power usage in your Engel/Waeco is a great idea I have put it in my to do list so keep an eye out!
In the meantime alot of the suggestions (excluding the ice parts!) applies to fridges too.
Hi Shane,
Just thought i'd follow up and let you know that I have now written the article talking about how to minimise power usage for your portable camping fridge. Be it an Engel, Waeco or otherwise.
Check it out: http://blog.tentworld.com.au/2011/11/optimise-your-engel-or-waecos-fridge.html
We often take one large icebox and a smaller eski. The icebox has frozen items in it, usually including a spare bag of party ice - which are kept cold with the dry ice. Always keep your dry ice wrapped in the newspaper it should come in, and we always pad the bottom and side of the icebox with old towels as well, to protect the lining.
The eski has cold stuff in it, and we keep things cold using the party ice. It is good to defrost any frozen meat in this one as well. Using this second smaller eski prevents the larger icebox from being opened too often and helps keep things frozen longer.
@VicStar - That is a great tip thankyou. You are right on the money with running with two iceboxes one large and one small. Definitely one of the biggest reasons why ice life is destroyed is by regular openings.
Doing what you're doing - moving what you're about to use to the smaller icebox you're preserving the cool for the majority of your food and ice and dramatically reducing the open rate for the big icebox.
Thankyou!
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Let me know what you thought? Do you have anything extra to add? Anything you would like to know? Let me know I'll try and help! Cheers, Jon