$200 or more for a super chest cooler? Try this first

[jonp]

Had a cheap Igloo cooler that was ok but didn't keep stuff cold for as long as I wanted. The lid on these are hollow so I drilled a bunch of holes just big enough for the nozzle on a can of Minimum Expansion Foam to fit. Very important to use the minimum foam as the others will warp the top. Sprayed it full, let it set them scraped off the extra.
I then bought a roll of foam tape, Frost King brand, used to seal windows, and placed it around the contact surface between the lid and body.
Next I bought 2 snap hinges and put them on the front to snug down the lid.
I got almost a week of ice in the cheap cooler now during the summer if it's kept in the shade like under the deck in 80 degrees.
Cheap cooler plus $10 or so in parts and I have a week of ice

[Buzz Krumhunger]

[daengmei]

That is certainly worth a try, those new fangled coolers are just too expensive for normal use. Everyday, away from supply I might need one but will try this first. Just to keep the beer cold and that beer won't last long anyway.

[MT Gianni]

Walmart type super coolers are around $50, keep ice nearly as long as a yeti and don't have a lot of political garbage with their donations.

[Recycled bullet]

I found that gently tightening a ratchet strap around my cooler keeps the ice longer and keeps the raccoons out.

[jonp]

That is certainly worth a try, those new fangled coolers are just too expensive for normal use. Everyday, away from supply I might need one but will try this first. Just to keep the beer cold and that beer won't last long anyway.

The only thing about those bear proof coolers is that they are tough and you can use them as a seat. If you use one for normal camping, go to the beach stuff save your money.
We bought a Lifetime cooler at Walmart and it is sturdy for sure so if you need that go for it but it does not keep ice as long as my homemade one does. Testing them right now side by side

[pworley1]

Filling the lid is a really good way to sturdy up the cooler and improve the r-value. Thanks for the ideal.

[Half Dog]

I saw a video a while back where someone cut a Yeti cooler and an Igloo cooler in half using a large band saw. The test was to see what the differences were. I believe the only difference found was that the Yeti cooler had an insulated lid and the Igloo did not.
Congratulations on the success of your improvements.

[trebor44]

There are lots of "tricks" to keeping things 'cool' in the summer. The foam in the lid in the cooler is genius. But, don't forget to keep the cooler 'full', add some newspaper on top (inside) of the content, use ice "bottles" (re-purposed milk or pop containers), a solid block of ice lasts longer than cubes or chips. Things that need to be kept 'frozen' for more than a day, can be 'insulated' in several layers of newspaper.

[Finster101]

That is a great hack. I have no use for a cooler that will keep ice for a week or is bear resistant, but I can see where spending that much on a cooler makes sense if you have a real need for it.

[akajun]

The yeti type coolers are rotomolded and there's a vacuum in the walls, not just air. They are also pretty damn durable and will last a few summers on a professional guides bay boat where other coolers get beat to hell. The big advantage to "keeping ice" is the cooler being in the direct sun. The vacuum keeps the radiant heat from the sun from getting inside, foam is ok and I used to use foam filled lid igloo super cools but they don't work as well. Igloos don't hold up as well either. pretty much any decent cooler can keep ice in the shade for days

Side note, when I was a kid in the 90's we used to charter snapper trips a lot. The guide we used had a build in fiberglass cooler on his boat, it was hollow walled and had an air fitting on it that he would periodically hook a vacuum pump to before he left. This thing was enormous and would hold well over 1000lbs of fish, ice, etc we never filled it up and caught a ton

[MaryB]

My old steel Coleman cooler kept ice for a week+... it was heavy but tough! Doubled as a boat seat going up river, as a spare deck chair... some lowlife stole it from the campsite when we were camping on the river. I knew who did it and got it back but the jerk had wrecked it by drilling holes to turn it into a beer cold plate cooler. Jerk also got a lesson on how stealing has consequences... he had trouble moving for a week!

[abunaitoo]

I put the thinnest foam window seal along the edge of the cover.
Fill the cooler with large block of ice.
Cubes work, but don't last as long.
Wet towel over everything inside.
Keep it out of the sun, in the open.
Seems to last a long time for me.

[jonp]

There are lots of "tricks" to keeping things 'cool' in the summer. The foam in the lid in the cooler is genius. But, don't forget to keep the cooler 'full', add some newspaper on top (inside) of the content, use ice "bottles" (re-purposed milk or pop containers), a solid block of ice lasts longer than cubes or chips. Things that need to be kept 'frozen' for more than a day, can be 'insulated' in several layers of newspaper.

Keep a roll of that foil air pocket insulation in the cooler big enough to go around it. Glue a couple of pieces of Velcro or buy the ones already set up like that onto it. Fill with ice and your stuff and when you get where your going wrap the cooler either around or if in the sun, over the top to reflect the sun. Alternative is get a cheap roll of tin foil and keep it in the truck. When you stop just rip off a sheet and put it on top. Reflects all the sun

[facetious]

Space Blankets . They look like a tarp and have one side reflective and the other a color. Got mine from Walmart years ago. Work great for covering a cooler.

Years ago I new a guy who was did stuff with the boy scouts. Told me thy made coolers from plywood and lined them with Styrofoam, said thy worked great .

[fiberoptik]

Re-enactors do that so they don’t show up in camp. Pegged together instead of nails. Or make a wood box to hide Igloos.


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[waksupi]

Stuff the free space with crumpled newspaper, ice lasts lots longer.

[firefly1957]

My coolers are stored in unheated garage in the winter after so many years the foam in the walls absorb water (likely condensation from cold inside) in use then expand and crack the casing.