Best type of Icebox/Esky?

[darren]

A bloke i used to know had made a few like this. He even cut fridge freezers in half and sheeted in the end. They did a lot of fishing trips and this was to bring it all home.

[Ray-C]

i have a 100ltr techni ice ,mate has a 120ltr techni ice and 2 other mates have ice cool they are all prety well on par. block ice always makes them work awesome!!

we have a 60lt techni ice box that works well     

[Symon]

doesn't the salt lower the freezing point of water?

Yep it does.  When Daniel Fahrenheit was setting up the 0 degrees reference for his temperature scale, he used the freezing point of water mixed with salt.  Whereas when the Celsius scale was set up Anders Celsius used pure water.  This is why 0 deg F is lower than 0 deg C.

I'm sure you all wanted to know that.

Anyways, I have the good old Coleman esky which is usually good for about 2 days with party ice.  Never tried it with block ice.  When I pick up the Tropical Esky from Bill I'll give it a go. 

[SteveandViv]

doesn't the salt lower the freezing point of water? Perhaps the salt slightly metled the ice without increasing its temperature, thus increasing the surface area in contact with the cans, and causing them to cool quicker...

[campgirls]

Thanks everyone for all your advice!

Wow- so many choices!

I like the prices of the Techniice compared to the EvaKool!

Would this be a good deal???

80 + 40 + 12 LTR TECHNIICE = $264

http://www.techniice.com/2011/iceboxes/index_iceboxes_classic.asp

[NewcastleKnight]

Thanks everyone for all your advice!

Wow- so many choices!

I like the prices of the Techniice compared to the EvaKool!

Would this be a good deal???

80 + 40 + 12 LTR TECHNIICE = $264

http://www.techniice.com/2011/iceboxes/index_iceboxes_classic.asp

Look pretty good.  Do you need all of them?

[Disco EMU]

I remember seeing a magazine test all the known brands ... I think it was CamperTrailer Australia and the ice box that won was the Coleman Extreme.

and yes i was surprised too. It out did ALL the Fibreglass iceboxes.

having said that ... what eva you buy make sure you have block ice that's been frozen for longer than 24hrs.

Cheers

Craig

[maca76]

we have a 60 litre techni ice for drinks works much better with block ice as mentioned, also we used this esky when touring the cape, it contained all our meat that was cryavaced(spelling) we just toped up the block ice when needed.

cheers Ryan

[ozynorts]

Thanks everyone for all your advice!

Wow- so many choices!

I like the prices of the Techniice compared to the EvaKool!

Would this be a good deal???

80 + 40 + 12 LTR TECHNIICE = $264

http://www.techniice.com/2011/iceboxes/index_iceboxes_classic.asp

yep it is a good deal. i bought the 80lt and kicked myself later for not getting the package with the 3 sizes.

[Jon]

Tips for using ANY esky.
1. Use deep frozen 1 month + old ice. Block ice with minimum 2 litre volume. Old milk containers are a treat for this. Saves carting extra fresh water also.
2. Keep the esky drained of water. Water is ice that is warm.
3. Keep it out of the sun at all costs. We had 3x 40deg + days last year and kept our eskies covered in wet towels as the evaporation kept the esky outsides cool.
4. Keep them closed and make sure the seal is ok. One of our tropicals needs a new seal as the lid is warped for some reason.
5. Take heavy frozen items as these are also ice blocks ie meat, pre-cooked meals etc

If the techni-ice check out on wall/lid thickness then yes they are cheap.

[campgirls]

Look pretty good.  Do you need all of them?

Well *need* is a very subjective word!      .... but perhaps we could use the biggest one for everything, the middle sized one full of ice (like has been suggested) and the baby sized one for.... um... maybe if we go for a picnic???

[ntpryce]

Have you checked out the "downunder" icebox for sale in the 'General Classifieds' area.   

[tonyw]

I have a 60litre techni ice, i dont use their long life ice blocks its leaves film of crap over my food.

My 1st trip out with it i went into the Vic high country, i bought a solid block of ice at Bairnsdale and covered it with a wet tea towel. I spent 3 days in 40c temp in and out of the ice box for beer of course then traveled home to Melbourne poured off a bit of water from the melt then went up to the Grampians for 5 days. Still had ice left on the return trip home.

Not a bad piece of kit.

[shorties178]

Tips for using ANY esky.
1. Use deep frozen 1 month + old ice. Block ice with minimum 2 litre volume. Old milk containers are a treat for this. Saves carting extra fresh water also.
2. Keep the esky drained of water. Water is ice that is warm.
3. Keep it out of the sun at all costs. We had 3x 40deg + days last year and kept our eskies covered in wet towels as the evaporation kept the esky outsides cool.
4. Keep them closed and make sure the seal is ok. One of our tropicals needs a new seal as the lid is warped for some reason.
5. Take heavy frozen items as these are also ice blocks ie meat, pre-cooked meals etc

If the techni-ice check out on wall/lid thickness then yes they are cheap.

I have an issue with point 2 of your tips Jon...
I'm no scientist but I believe water & ice can co-exist at the same temperature. A little thing called "Latent Heat"(sometimes called "Hidden Heat") is responsible for the change in state from solid to liquid & vice versa, although no change in temperature is evident.
I therefore never drain the water out of my esky until I absolutely have to. That water is the same temperature as the ice until every last bit of ice has melted! Even after that it will keep things cold for ages. Draining the water is just throwing away cold mass & therefore cooling potential.
The water also has the added benefit of 100% surface contact with the items in the esky you want to cool or keep cool.
Sure there's a downside...you can get water in everything if you dont have your tucker sealed in plastic containers & the labels come off everything, but I know what a bottle of VB looks like(I've seen heaps of 'em). I dont have an expensive esky but I can usually count on losing the last of the ice (that's party ice) on the 4th day of camping. Thats restocking with beer & cans of soft drink every day too. I've now got an 80l Waeco too so all the tucker goes in that & a few drinks to "pre-chill" for the esky. That'll save the ice even further I hope. Even with the ice gone drinks will still stay cool for a couple of days swimming in the water.

[darren]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_transition
http://zonalandeducation.com/mstm/physics/mechanics/energy/heatAndTemperature/changesOfPhase/changeOfState.html

[shorties178]

Thanks Darren....you just saved me from upending the spare room looking for my old high school books!

[Jon]

Ah yes, a nice theoretical discussion on energy transfer.

The point about change of state is very true, this does occur with no temp change. Change of state from ice to water absorbs 75 times the energy used to raise the water temp 1 deg.(based on mass)
My point is if you get a block of long term ice from a deep freeze, it is at approx -20degC. A change of state will NOT occur in pure fresh water until 0deg in perfect circumstances. Surely if the ice bulk is -20 and the water is 0 then removing the ice from the water will slow the thaw.

You point about thermal contact is also true. That is why party ice does not last because the huge surface area versus relatively small mass enables quick heat transfer and therefore melting of the ice. Ideally if you could freeze a sphere of water in space, due to the minimal surface area vs greatest mass, it would stay frozen for longer than equivalent mass of ice in any other shape.

In refrigeration, ice is actually an insulator to heat transfer from cooling coils and needs to be removed by automatic means. When the automation fails or cant keep up, water is used to thaw the ice because of the heat transfer through contact.

Back to the esky situation, if possible, a large sphere of ice suspended above the melt water is the perfect solution

I still stick by the removal of melt water from the esky if you have still frozen foodstuffs in there.

[wartim]

I have heard mythbusters did show on this and proved the ice will last longer if drained?

Cheers

[Ynot]

I have a Icytech, a Evakool and a Waeco icebox.
The Evakool is ten years old, the Icytek about four years and the Waeco is new.
They all hold ice really well and the difference is minimal except that I would say the Evakool is slightly better.
After ten years the hinges have only just broke on the Evakool so I reckon I got my moneys worth out of it.
I usually throw the Iceytek in the boat as it appears the most rugged of the three.

[darren]

As ice is ice from 0 to -273 c it is difficult to know what your ice supplier has his fridge set at (probably not 0 kelvin)..  True about phase change being partly theoretical as if you had a 10kg block of ice you could direct an oxy torch at one spot and probably get localized boiling….
 As the main aim is thermal mass perhaps a piece of granite or steel cooled to -20 instead of frozen water. Bit heavy though.
 Or do what I do. Use an Engel

[NewcastleKnight]

Use an Engel

Must be hard freezing the Engle and getting it into the esky.....  

[Jon]

Must be hard freezing the Engle and getting it into the esky.....  

Boom tish!

[Tommo66]

gday all,

wondering if anyone has bought/seen/used the ice boxes from the Factory 2nds store seen here Evakool Ice Boxes, the prices seem reasonable compared to prices i looked at in Bundy BCF yesterday.

cheers

Tommo

[Campfire]

I picked up a Waeco Cool Ice 68 Litre Esky brand new for $140 on clearance at a camping show this year, I checked the price a few weeks later at another camping store where the same Esky in 68 Litres were going for $280, so keep an eye out for specials.

I have the smaller 25 litre square version also for day trips or work. I've found these eskys to be good with no complaints.

I use the gel ice packs for day trips and have used 2 litre milk containers filled will saltwater and frozen into large blocks.

Cheers

Campfire

[NomadPhil]

Tommo, I have a 60l Evakool icebox from the 2nds website.
Cannot find any fault with it, still not sure why it was a second.
Keeps drinks colder longer than any other Esky i've owned.