Wanting to insulate a cooler..

[Im Lon 2]

I have a Tahoe Q8i that recently purchased this spring. I have one cooler I take along with me, but I would also like to use the built in cooler, however they did not insulate this cooler very well at all. It only holds ice for an hour or so.

I was wanting to see if there was any type of thermal/insulated wrap that others may have used on theirs, that I can wrap the outside to help insulate the cooler.

Here are a few pictures.
Top


bottom side.


here you can see the drain.. I Need to replace this tube it is kinked and will not drain


It's has a lot more room inside than it looks. I really like that this is not under a seat, and that it is in a very easy to get location. It just needs to work a little better.

I would like to do the bottom first cut around the drain replum the drain, then wrap it around the sides and use a duck tape to seal everything together. for the lid I Like to cut a piece of the wrap to fit and use some type of adhesive to secure it to the underside and then put down a little rubber gasket so the lid can rest on that and seal off any extra air flow while moving.

Any thoughts?

 

[lncoop]

This stuff works pretty well and is cost effective. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Reflectix-16-in-x-25-ft-Staple-Tab-Insulation-ST16025/100012574

 

[midcarolina]

I agree Reflectix is a great choice........ you could also cut a piece to fit the inside of the lid and hold it there with velcro

 

[Im Lon 2]

Thanks for the idea. That is exactly what I was looking for. I gave it a shot. I added 2 layers to the bottom, and around the sides. I'm going to add a 2nd layer to the lid, then use silicone to secure it in place. I'll let you know how it works. Thanks again!

 

[smokeonthewater]

http://www.foambymail.com/NE/neoprene-foam-sheets.html

 

[fishrdan]

The stuff lncoop posted up looks like it should work, add more if needed.

I used a 1/2" thick blue exercise pad from Walmart to insulate my livewell's lid, 2 layers and it keeps ice and fish cold 24hrs in 80-100 degree heat. (1" foam closed cell foam on all other sides.)

 

[midcarolina]

That looks great........... I think you will notice a big difference in ice life.

 

[Scott Danforth]

my only issue with wrapping it is the condensation that forms between the insulation and the fiberglass. this eventually molds.

I have used the small 3.1# handi-foam kits to spray fiberglass before (http://www.fomo.com/handi-foam_two_component.aspx P10600) . Dad and I actually made a tin cooler back in the mid 80's. We used it until about 10 years ago when the tin rusted away.

here is the kit on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Fomo-Products-Inc-Component-Insulation/dp/B00901NGX8. do a google search and you can find it for about $30

 

[Triangleboater]

Yeah, maybe cut some small holes on the bottom of that wrapped insulation to let condensation out? Or take it off every so often and clean off the fugus that grows before it gets too bad.

 

[Gyrene]

Get Trim adhesive spray from an auto parts store to secure the foil.

 

[dingbat]

Spray foam is the only way. My fish boxes, live well and cold storage are foam liner No condensation and the R value is much higher. Make sure your seals are good . You can loose a lot of cold thru a bad seal

 

[Im Lon 2]

This product is suppose to be mold resistant. I will for sure keep an eye on it.

I did end up added a little foam seal around the lid to keep the cold air in better.

I went to the rive this past weekend, (had about 30 drinks and 1 bigger bag of ice) was out for about 6 hours. When I pulled the drinks out when I got home there was still ice in the cooler. Not a ton but probably a little less than 1/4 of the bag. I checked it the next morning and the water still felt pretty cool, but there was no ice. Temp was in the low 80's, so I will have to try it out and see how it does when its a lot hotter.

I should have loaded the cooler a little different.. I loaded the drinks in cooler when I left the house and added the ice on top of everything at the gas station on the way. It was a pain to get to the drinks and I think that probably helped melt the ice a little faster being on top, I could be wrong.

 

[lncoop]

Pre-chill the drinks and cooler if you're able. Put the drinks in the fridge the night before and fill the cooler with frozen coke or water bottles, milk jugs, whatever's handy a few hours ahead of time. That will slow down the ice melt considerably.

 

[no704]

A pound or two of dry ice thrown in the bottom will double your ice life!

 

[dingbat]

A pound or two of dry ice thrown in the bottom will double your ice life!

I made that mistake only once..... bought a pound to keep a 92 qt. cooler full of bait cold for a 3 day tournament. Came out the next morning and the cooler was a 2 x 3 foot block of solid ice. Chipping bait off a block of frozen bait isn't fun...

 

[midcarolina]

If you want your drinks to get very cold really fast...... take a small cooler add drinks, add ice, cover drinks with water then add salt, drinks will be very cold in 20 minutes............

 

[redneck joe]

Salt is the bomb.

 

[redneck joe]

Pre-chill the drinks and cooler if you're able. Put the drinks in the fridge the night before and fill the cooler with frozen coke or water bottles, milk jugs, whatever's handy a few hours ahead of time. That will slow down the ice melt considerably.

The frozen stuff can have to ice freeze to it so it forms a giant chunk of ice. But it works

 

[Im Lon 2]

I went out this past weekend and it was 99° with a 110° heat index. Put ice (3 little bags) in the cooler around 12 and still had ice in the cooler when we got home at 8. This time I put the first layer drinks spread out enough room for the ice around the cans. Then put enough ice around all the cans. Then added a 2nd row of cans on top of the 1st row and again filled in between with ice last row didn't have much left so I just threw them in and them dumped the rest of the ice in the cooler. Worked great. Ice use to only last about 2 hours, so this stuff was well worth the $16 and I have enough left to do the other side if I felt it was needed. Thanks again for everyone help!