Cold Packs?

[Jerrell]

I was wondering if anyone that uses an ice chest have tried using those cold packs that are used to ship medical stuff like insulin.

I have a bunch of them from my parents that I used in the past for camping, but I was able to throw them in the freezer until I needed them.
They do seem to stay cold longer than just a ziplock of ice. Also, I've been experimenting by leaving them in the foam box they came in and just leaving the lid on for a few days at a time. I think I'm going to try throwing some frozen ones in the foam box and duct tape around the lid/box seam and see how they hold up in the sun for a week. If they hold up and are at least still partially frozen, I'm considering sacrificing the space to bring some of the packs along to line the bottom of my ice chest and then backup ones in a duct taped foam box to swap out when needed. I know I won't always be able to find places to stop and freeze the things, but when I can it will help keep food and condiments cool.

Am I crazy and not thinking it through enough or does this sound at least halfass solid?

 

[Preacher]

I, basically, gave up on having anything "refrigerated" while rubber tramping. I tried to have ice when I could, but it costs. Plus it always ruins the butter, didn't keep the milk cold enough, blah, blah blah. Dry ice just froze everything solid. Ice packs? Unless you're going to put them in a separate cooler with dry ice and then put them in your cooler, where are you going to freeze them?

When we could buy perishable stuff we either bought what we would use up REALLY quickly, skipped it or knew we'd be tossing some of whatever. Ice/cold food was something we just learned to mostly do without.

EDIT: Dry ice is expensive and not that common where there isn't a lot of camping. At least when I was trying to give it a shot. Ice is still something I appreciate now that I'm housed-up. Always make sure the ice bin is full.

 

[Wild Ty Laserbeam]

I've been living out of my cooler for a year now. No problems. Ice can get kind of pricey but I've started just paying for bag and grabbing 2 or 3. That helps. Also I keep my food in a plastic tub to keep it dry and out of the ice.

For me, I've packs would be wasted space since I wouldn't get to use them much. When I do stay with friends/near a freezer. I like to grab some bottles out of the trash, fill em with water, and throw those in the freezer. Instant ice packs with no wasted space. Toss em when they thaw.

I don't know about the medical ice packs but I'm sure it's basically just an ice pack. The real secret it's a good cooler. Also, buy block ice whenever you can. Lasts way longer. And always keep your cooler full. Put some more beers in every time you take something out

 

[mouse]

Frozen packs work well and are less messy than ice.

Prices are starting to come down on 12v compressor fridges. There was a 15L on sale @Amazon for $219 this weekend. I picked up one and will report back. They were also reported to be a Aldi for $200 (this year? last year?)

Power consumption is reported to be very good: 0.5A at refrigerator temps and 1.5A when used as a freezer (down to -4F).

 

[Wild Ty Laserbeam]

Frozen packs work well and are less messy than ice.

Prices are starting to come down on 12v compressor fridges. There was a 15L on sale @Amazon for $219 this weekend. I picked up one and will report back. They were also reported to be a Aldi for $200 (this year? last year?)

Power consumption is reported to be very good: 0.5A at refrigerator temps and 1.5A when used as a freezer (down to -4F).

Damn. That's cheaper than I thought. Feel like I've probably spent $200 on ice over the last year

 

[happythoughts123]

A lot of the world goes without refrigeration. Just go shopping every few days for perishables and you should be fine.