Small Cabin

Small Cabin Forum
 - Forums - Register/Sign Up - Reply - Search - Statistics -

Small Cabin Forum / General Forum / Rotomolded cooler vs propane refrigerator
Author Message
xtolekbananx
Member
# Posted: 14 Jun 2018 21:18
Reply 


Which would be better - rotomolded cooler or propane refrigerator. I do not spend more than 5 days at the cabin, unless it is hunting season but by then its cold. Those propane refrigerators are pricy and used ones are hard to find here. Plus they require propane. As for the coolers they just need ice. Which option is better? Does anyone here use rotomolded coolers? How do they perform? I see ones on Amazon for less than $200 for 45 Qt. I just don know if I can keep milk and meat in them for a few days in 80-90 degree weather. Any input will be appreciated.

Nate R
Member
# Posted: 14 Jun 2018 21:36
Reply 


If you can refill the ice once in a 5 day period, you'll PROBABLY be fine, in my experience with cheaper coolers. I'd go with the cooler. (Can you get ice within a reasonable drive?)

ICC
Member
# Posted: 14 Jun 2018 23:34
Reply 


If you can carry a second cooler with dry ice in it that can keep extra ice frozen for several days and then that ice can be used in the other cooler with the food to extend the time away.

Or ifyou have 12 volt power a fridge / cooler like an ARB can be used to make ice and you can stay in the boonies as long as there is 12 volt power.

xtolekbananx
Member
# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 00:10
Reply 


I looked at ARB freezer/refrigerator, $800 and up... I would rather go with used propane rv fridge, but thinking about the rotomolded cooler, just don't know how they perform in real life. I watched youtube video tests but I would rather hear from people here who have it. I was looking at something like this:

URL

razmichael
Member
# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 07:47
Reply 


As Nate asks - "can you get ice within a reasonable drive?".
We use a cooler - use cooler packs on the way up and stop about 20 minutes before to buy a couple of ice blocks (blocks work far better for cooling). I'd say, under normal conditions, good for 4 days or so, but we are only 10 minutes away from a store to replenish (and need cubes by then for the drinks anyway). I have an old RV propane fridge but have not really had a need to install it. The longest stays we do are 8-9 days but much more often just 3 days.
Cooler quality is paramount - Yeti makes some fantastic stuff but very expensive (not what I bought). Our cooler is also inside, in a cabinet with added insulation. I'd love to use dry ice but do not have any easy source.
Likely stating the obvious but get plastic containers that fit the ice blocks to limit the water leaking throughout.
Cooler
Cooler


Nate R
Member
# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 10:49
Reply 


We've also experimented a bit with freezing our own. Cat litter jugs filled with water make a good ice block to bring from home. No leaks, reusable.

We use a smaller cooler to transport things up, and move it into this cooler at our place: https://www.amazon.com/Igloo-Cube-Maxcold-Roller-70-Quart/dp/B000F6UJ5K/

It's not the best cooler, but not horrible.


Let me put it this way: I intend to keep doing it the way razmichael is when I build my permanent cabin, vs putting in an electric (solar) fridge or LP. It's worked out well enough so far. But, like him, ice is <10 minutes away for me.

Wilbour
Member
# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 16:44
Reply 


I would seriously look into solar if you have a sunny spot well before going with a propane fridge.

My solar setup cost me less than $1500 and never needs fuel. The fridge was less than $100.

Aside from the panel, my whole solar setup fits in a plastic rolling bin. 55lbs in all. You could take this home with you if you are worried about theft

Oh and this is CAD$

cspot
Member
# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 21:13
Reply 


Look into Artic Ice packs. They use some type of vegetable oil that freezes at lower temps. The one freezes at 5 deg Fahrenheit. It is also not dangerous like dry ice and you can reuse. We use 2 coolers. 1 that we use for milk, eggs, meat, etc since you are opening is sparingly. Then we have another cooler that we use for drinks. Worse case if the cooler with drinks runs low on ice, the drink just get a little warmer. We aren't far from a couple of locations that sell ice, so it isn't a major deal. It is nice to use the packs in the cooler with the meat and stuff so it doesn't get waterlogged.

I would like a propane fridge, but with our recreational use, I just can't justify the cost especially since like you during hunting season we typically just set stuff outside.

Here is a link to the packs.

https://arctic-ice.com/products/tundra-series

If you look on their site they have other packs that have higher freezing points. The Tundra's can actually keep stuff frozen.

Something else that helps tremendously with coolers is pre cooling the stuff. If you put warm drinks in ice, it will melt a good bit of the ice to get it cold. If the drinks are already cold when you put them in the ice will last a long time. For ice I like to use a combo of frozen bottles or jugs along with bought ice. The chunks of ice help maintain longevity of the ice.

FishHog
Member
# Posted: 16 Jun 2018 09:43
Reply 


cspot has the right idea if using coolers. Freezing jugs of salt water in your deepfreeze will also give you colder ice.

and dont forget to pre cool your cooler as well. I put ice in mine the night before I pack, let the cooler itself get cold as that takes a lot of ice as well, then fill with cold items and ice from the deepfreeze as they are usually much colder than your fridge freezer. Pre made/packaged Frozen food helps as well if you for your later in the week meals.

xtolekbananx
Member
# Posted: 16 Jun 2018 11:36
Reply 


Thanks for responses. I will look into Artic ice packs and will go with rotomolded cooler. Those artic pack have some good reviews amd ahould last a few days. I have ice abailable about 8 miles away which is not bad.

moneypitfeeder
Member
# Posted: 10 Aug 2018 17:53
Reply 


We had good luck with a slightly cheaper cooler, the Coleman 50-qt marine performance cooler. The biggest issue that we found when using it (as backup when our propane fridge was out of commission) is that for optimal cooling/length of cooling, according to their instructions you have to almost fill the cooler with ice, leaving you very little room for the "stuff" you actually want to keep cool. We didn't use all that was suggested for the length of time we needed it cooled, because there just wasn't room. You also have to not dive into all that often, the more you open them, the more they melt! However, even with issues aside, we were able to keep some ice and very cold (melted ice) water, in that cooler with our groceries in ziplocks inside for 5 days or so without having to get replacement ice. We kept a smaller generic cooler for stuff that was less temp critical/often opened for, and kept the main critical stuff in the marine cooler. I think the cabin ambient temps at the time were in the upper 80s, but I could be mistaken.

Davidsmith011
Member
# Posted: 24 Jan 2019 01:48
Reply 


If we are talking about rotomolded cooler then how we forget Yeti Tundra series. They are the best in the hard-sided cooler. If you want to more information then visit on:
https://topcoolers.reviews/yeti-coolers-review/
https://www.yeti.com/en_US/hard-coolers

sparky30_06
Member
# Posted: 24 Jan 2019 08:30
Reply 


I pulled the trigger and bough Pelican Ice Chests. lets just say my hunting buddies is getting rid of their Yeti ice chests and buying Pelicans. I had run the Coleman ice chests but they only last about one year and then the hinges and latches break. In the summer when its 100+ the most i spend at camp is 3 days but in the fall & winter during hunting season I will spend 4 or 5 days out there and haven't had a problem with keeping stuff cold. Couple of tips and trick I have learned. I load up the ice chest with drinks a few days before we leave and ice them down. Get the ice chest and drinks nice and cold. Most of the food I freeze before hand. When I get ready to leave I drain the water out, refill with ice and place the frozen food on top. When I'm at camp I never drain the water out of the ice chest. I usually just use my 70 qt but during hunting season I will also bring my 150 qt along and toss 80 lbs of ice in there to ice meat down.

Princelake
Member
# Posted: 25 Jan 2019 07:42
Reply 


I used coolers for years and I found them annoying beyond using them for an over nighter. When I head up to camp I freeze what I can to keep everything else cool for my 3hr drive then I fire up my rv propane fridge. I can make my own ice. Fish caught fish gets froze. If the boys come up we will have a cooler or a few for beers cause they wont all fit in the fridge but the food will.

Wilbour
Member
# Posted: 25 Jan 2019 11:19
Reply 


I'm with Princelake on this. I'm just one of those guys who hates coolers for long term stays. I always get water in stuff I don't want.

My little fridge on solar chills what I need and even can make ice for drinks. I started freezing half filled bottles of water and would top up with stored water for a refreshing drink during a heat wave.

For just cans coolers are great. Keeping meat cold for 4 days? Nope, hate it.

silverwaterlady
Member
# Posted: 25 Jan 2019 12:12
Reply 


If you are only there for five days I would just go with two ice chests.
One for beverages and a 150 quart size for everything else.
You will need the space for the two 2 1/2 gallon cubes of water.
This is what we used until they melted.Depending upon the tempature they lasted 4-6 days. They never leaked and than we used the water for drinking. After that we had to start using block ice.
Awful because of the melting and having to keep food elevated and draining that heavy thing.
I could never cook large pots of anything because the cooling process would melt the ice.

Now we are spending a lot of time at our cabin because we are retired. After 32 years of using ice at camp we finally bought a propane refridgerator. It is life changing!
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg


Your reply
Bold Style  Italic Style  Underlined Style  Thumbnail Image Link  Large Image Link  URL Link           :) ;) :-( :confused: More smilies...

» Username  » Password 
Only registered users can post here. Please enter your login/password details before posting a message, or register here first.