Alternate for ICE

[jebsvitals]

I haven't done this yet but I am going to work on it this weekend just wanted to throw the idea out there and see if anyone has tried this or if anyone can help with something better. Anyway my wife has gotten a ton of those ice packs that have a gel or whatever inside of them from her work. What I am thinking about doing is getting a piece of PVC pipe and filling it with the gel and then freezing it. The idea behind it is it will be more of the gel in one are so it should stay frozen longer. Kinda like filling up a milk jug with water and then freezing it. I dont know if a few small ones would be better or one big one would work best. Any input would be appreciated and I will upload pics as soon as I get started on it.

[OUTDOORSMANEVERETT]

Interested. Following.

I too get alot of these with our heat sensitive shipments

[TxGiant]

Interested as well, I have a freezer full of these things from medication shipments

[scott.str]

Any time you use a cooler you A: need to chill it down first. Gets the insulation cold. ( insulation keeps hot things hot and cold things cold so getting rid of the heat is key)

B: the bigger the ice blocks the better and also taking up all the air space you can with Ice helps a ton. It's how coolers are tested.

Finally make sure your food/ beer is cold going in. All this will maximize your cooling efforts.

[Ætheling]

I'd say leave room for ice expansion as frozen pvc is very brittle.

[Texas276]

Koolergel the ice extender is a product I use, it works great and just put it in 1 liter water bottles.

[jebsvitals]

Koolergel the ice extender is a product I use, it works great and just put it in 1 liter water bottles.

So if I ordered some of that stuff and put it in something like a PVC pipe would that work? Going to try a few different options to see what works the best.

[RAGUIRREJR]

So if I ordered some of that stuff and put it in something like a PVC pipe would that work? Going to try a few different options to see what works the best.

I would look for something like soda or water bottles instead of the PVC pipes. I think the wall thickness of the pipe would be too thick. Just my 2 cents

[jebsvitals]

I would look for something like soda or water bottles instead of the PVC pipes. I think the wall thickness of the pipe would be too thick. Just my 2 cents

You think it just wouldnt freeze or what? What I am thinking is making a few small ones and maybe I could make a rectangle one that goes on the bottom of the cooler around the perimeter. I dont know just throwing out idea. Soda and water bottles are too easy. LOL

[BigFoot]

You think it just wouldnt freeze or what? What I am thinking is making a few small ones and maybe I could make a rectangle one that goes on the bottom of the cooler around the perimeter. I dont know just throwing out idea. Soda and water bottles are too easy. LOL

I think you would want the least amount of insulation between the ice and the stuff you're trying to cool. I don't think you would get very efficient cooling power out of a frozen pvc pipe.

[TallTexan]

Any time you use a cooler you A: need to chill it down first. Gets the insulation cold. ( insulation keeps hot things hot and cold things cold so getting rid of the heat is key)

B: the bigger the ice blocks the better and also taking up all the air space you can with Ice helps a ton. It's how coolers are tested.

Finally make sure your food/ beer is cold going in. All this will maximize your cooling efforts.

Yep

[RAGUIRREJR]

You think it just wouldnt freeze or what? What I am thinking is making a few small ones and maybe I could make a rectangle one that goes on the bottom of the cooler around the perimeter. I dont know just throwing out idea. Soda and water bottles are too easy. LOL

I see what you're saying. Could possibly work to keep ice longer

I think you would want the least amount of insulation between the ice and the stuff you're trying to cool. I don't think you would get very efficient cooling power out of a frozen pvc pipe.

This is what I was thinking ^^^

[jebsvitals]

I think you would want the least amount of insulation between the ice and the stuff you're trying to cool. I don't think you would get very efficient cooling power out of a frozen pvc pipe.

I understand that but also kinda look at it the other way as well. With it having a thicker wall it will keep cooler longer inside thus keeping the outside cooler longer?

[BigFoot]

I understand that but also kinda look at it the other way as well. With it having a thicker wall it will keep cooler longer inside thus keeping the outside cooler longer?

Heat transfers, so if the block stays colder longer inside that pipe, its merely because the coldness isn't getting transferred to whatever is inside the ice chest. You basically have an ice chest inside of an ice chest, which wouldn't be very effective for chilling. My brute 20qt full of ice, wouldn't cool down a 150 qt yeti very well if it was set inside.

Do you see what point I'm trying to get across?

[jebsvitals]

^^^^^

Yes I do.