pelican cooler....idea

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spencertron

spencertron

10 Year
Joined
Oct 27, 2011
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Tustin, CA
hey folks. first time wondering over from 80 series tech but i have a question. i found an old metal coleman cooler in really good shape at Deseret Industries the other day for $5 (along with an old pump-lantern for another $5 :cool: ) I took it to zion this week from tuesday to thursday and it didn't quite have the ice retention i was hoping for. I also found a pelican 1660 case on craigslist for $70. The coleman fits inside the case perfectly with about 3 to 4 inches all around it. My question is, if I filled that 3-4 inch gap with foam and put the coleman in there, would the foam do a good job insulating it? I was thinking of just using the cheap foam you'd get at a fabric store, but maybe memory foam or something would work? My first thought was some sort of high r-value rigid foam, but i think it might be kinda tricky to get it to all fit snug.

anyway, if anyone could chime in on this cheap idea that would be great. I know it wont work as well as an actual high-end cooler, and I'm not looking for this to turn in to a "which cooler is best" debate or "use this ice not that" thread, just wondering if a few inches of nice, snug foam on all sides of the cooler in a sealed box will keep ice a couple extra days.

thanks a ton!
 
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What if you bought one of those cheap styrofoam coolers, break into peices, wedge them in between the coolers then hit it all with the Home Depot foam above?

...OR...just go get an ARB or Engle fridge and call it good! :)
 
I suspect the difference between various foams is probably negligible in the grand scheme of things. It's the bubbles or spaces that do the job. Closed cells is probably a bit better though. So, just pile away the stuff. But really, there is no need to put a pelican box inside unless you're worried about water. Just put some rigid foam boards inside on all the walls. The mo' the betta'. And if it's anything like our classic SS coleman cooler that we haven't used in 10 years, you can likely find outside sleeves for it too.
 
Thanks for the responses. My original thought was to use the spray foam, but I still want to be able to take the cooler out and use the pelican case or just take the small cooler for the day if I want. I also plan on eventually selling both of them so I'd like to not get it all sticky. So you guys think it would help? As long as I keep it in the shade the black case isn't going to just cook the cooler in there?
 
spencertron said:
Thanks for the responses. My original thought was to use the spray foam, but I still want to be able to take the cooler out and use the pelican case or just take the small cooler for the day if I want. I also plan on eventually selling both of them so I'd like to not get it all sticky. So you guys think it would help? As long as I keep it in the shade the black case isn't going to just cook the cooler in there?
Click to expand...

told you what I'd do.
But what black case is that you're talking about? The Pelican inside or an outside fabric cover?
 
e9999 said:
told you what I'd do.
But what black case is that you're talking about? The Pelican inside or an outside fabric cover?
Click to expand...

sorry, i was talking about the pelican case. I tried searching for those sleeves you were talking about. any chance you'd have a link to them? thanks.
 
e9999 said:
told you what I'd do.
But what black case is that you're talking about? The Pelican inside or an outside fabric cover?
Click to expand...

also, the pelican case is going on the OUTSIDE, not the inside. So there will be a big pelican case, 3 inches of foam all around, and then the cooler inside. I'll have to open the pelican case and then open the cooler every time i get something out, but oh well.
 
sorry, I pictured something different. My metal Coleman cooler is huge and big Pelicans smaller. So I automatically thought Pelican inside. My mistake.
And yes, a black outside is not a good idea.

But either way, I think you are spinning overcomplicated wheels... (Kinda like what I usually do... :) )
 
I know you didn't want a cooler recommendation, but for less than your mods you can get an excellent cooler.

Check out the Coleman Xtreme 6 coolers. You can pick them up at Home Depot (or get them delivered for free to a Hope Depot). They are much, much better insulators than the Coleman metal coolers. They rival the best $400 coolers out there and run about $80. There are many review videos on it.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202021...ping-_-googleads-_-pla-_-202021621&ci_gpa=pla

Anyway, might be an option, would cost less and be easier to use than a cooler inside a pelican case with added insulation. It would be a much better use of space.
 
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X2 on the Coleman Extreme. Note there are different day numbers available. Some are 3 day, some 5 day, etc...

For a non permanent insulation. Look at the bubble foil insulation. Layer upon layer of it.

On the spray foams. Great stuff can end up anywhere from R3 to R5 per inch with R4 most typical. Handi-Foam is the best radially available that will get above R5 consistently.
 
I'd use rigid foam, less chance it would compress and lose it's insulating value. If you scout around you could probably find some that was used for packing material. If not it looks like you can pick up a sheet at HD for $8
http://www.homedepot.com/p/R-Tech-3-4-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Foam-Insulation-310873/202530470#.UdGwcKyDmtg

I generally keep a moving blanket over my coolers. I get them cheap at Harbor freight.
http://www.harborfreight.com/materi...s/40-inch-x-72-inch-movers-blanket-47262.html

It is amazing how much this helps keep ice.
 
thanks for the input, guys. I'm doing a test right now. I found a big bag of foam (like furniture foam i guess) that i cut to fit snugly on all side and wrapped it in duct tape. It's been sitting in 100% shade all day for the last couple days with 2 10lb bags of ice in there. I haven't opened it yet cuz i want to compare the results to this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-TE4RnqT0U.

so on day four i'll open it up and see where we stand. it's been 100 or over for the last few days so we'll see!
 
The spray foam is an excellent insulator and can be contained my wrapping whatever you want to keep clean with plastic. IE a garbage bag. Did it all the time in the shipping department at work.
 
Volcanic Iceberg said:
The spray foam is an excellent insulator and can be contained my wrapping whatever you want to keep clean with plastic. IE a garbage bag. Did it all the time in the shipping department at work.
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This is a great idea, there are Pack and Ship places that would probably spray it in for a small fee. The packing foam isn't as rigid as the foam from the building store so it would be easier to get out.
 
How about the top, what extra insulation do you have for the inside top of the pelican case? Seems that you would want something you could attach to the upper lid so that you didn't have to fumble with the foam every time you opened it.

Also, you'd want a foam that won't get moldy and funky after getting wet over and over. How about cleaning?

How do you drain your cooler system? Did you rig up a hose to port through the Pelican case?
 
Good ideas. I've been watching the ytube vids of people using the hard blue foam inside of older coolers.
I've been thinking about getting two small to mid sized coolers and building a larger insulated box for them to sit in side-by-side. This way I can keep one for drinks and one for perishables and limit how much the perishable lid is opened.
Box in box construction.
 
hey sorry guys, i never updated this. So, like I said, the test was done in the middle of a heat wave. I don't know what the temperature was in the shade (where the cooler was the entire time) but it was around 100+ every day of the test. The ice was all melted about exactly 4 days after the start. Not too bad, but not what i was hoping for. The foam insulation around the old cooler didn't seem to work as well as a five or six day coleman extreme. The plastic bags and the spray insulation may have very well worked wonders, but I don't think it'll be worth the extra space and effort in the end.Thanks for all the input!
 
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