ice chest upgrades?
wrap the outside in aluminum foil to reduces solar heating.
reduce wind, the air is moving the cold away so slowing that down should help.
>>2993377Depends on the ice chest. Old models often just used fiberglass insulation. Newer, cheaper ones often used Styrofoam. If you have an old chest and you can access the old insulation without destroying everything you can rip out the fiberglass and replace it with something that performs better. Styrofoam ones are often 'good enough' that you aren't going to be able to improve their performance enough to justify the cost and the labor vs getting something like a Yeti. Old lids were often hollow though, with no insulation at all. If you can get insulation in them you can bump the performance. Spray foam can work for this but you have to be careful you don't end up with voids or explode the thing. Putting in proper seals on the lids can also help. Try and make them air tight. If the inside is metal, try and line it with an insulating rubber, or plastic, or some such liner to create a thermal break. That way the metal doesn't transfer heat.>>2993378As this posted mentioned, light and heat reflecting covers also help.
>>2993395great idea, electrical tape on lid and base, mild seal>spray foami knocked my bathroom door out of alignment by torquing the hinge side, now it won't latch. i am still learning how "great stuff" works.>thermal break...different materials, specifically different than what i plan to use for sealing because that would be a thermal bridge?
>>2993400>great idea, electrical tape on lid and base, mild sealI would get actual rubber weather seal. It will hold up better, do the job better, and not leave a gummy mess if you need to replace it. >...different materials, specifically different than what i plan to use for sealing because that would be a thermal bridge?many old chests were made with aluminum because it is light and strong. It transfers heat very well. That is why it is used in cookware. Even steel transfers heat better than plastic or rubber. If the chest is metal on the side and the outside you can cover the inside with an insulating layer this will help stop the transfer. If your cooler is not made of metal you can ignore that advice.
>>2993377almost all common ice chests are exactly the same thin plastic with no insulation made as cheaply as possible. only the really expensive ones are better.
>>2993395>fiberglass insulation. Newer, cheaper ones often used Styrofoamhave you actually looked in to that. I found that they have just an open space with no insulation.
>>2993499I don't have that unit in particular but this one definitely has fiberglass insulation poking out the holes in the bottom of it. I have an old Igloo and that thing was full of cork.
>>2993377-LED thermometer that measures internal temperature-Mini Peltier module cooler to maintain internal temperature.
layers of foams and/or vacuum sealed voidsprevent convectionstop the transfer of heat
