View Full Version : Coolbox
Thinking on last years Moot, and trying to keep things I would normally keep in the fridge, cold.
A bucket filled with water and a wet teatowel over the top works fine for bottles and tins, but not so good with things like my tofu or opened packs of cheese or meat.
The coolbags I normally use are fine for a day or so but not a week.
Anyone got good recommendations for decent coolboxes ? Preferably not dayglo red or orange.
cheers,
Toddy
Could you put your foodstuffs in a metal box, a billy with a lid for instance, and then put that in a bucket of water with a cloth over the top?
drewdunnrespect
19-04-2010, 20:10
hiya mary
now then in regards to cool boxes if you go to your local GO OUTDOORS and have a look in the camping section there should be some deceant cool boxes in there.
but the best idea i have herd is to use norwegian food containers from militery surpless shops because there cheap and cheer full but bomproof and if you put a ice pack in there keep for weeks now thats what i call a good idea cheers martin K9
phill_ue
19-04-2010, 20:12
Coolboxes are excellent, if you can freeze some produce (easy if you're a meat eater!) then it will last even longer and if you dig the coolbox into the ground and keep it out of the sun then again your coolbox will stay cool longer. I used a coolbox at a long meet and the last day saw the remaining food thawed out yet still cold. I had no issues with any of the meat I took, such as sausages, rabbit and bacon. Hmmmmmmmm, bacon!
phill_ue
19-04-2010, 20:13
hiya mary
now then in regards to cool boxes if you go to your local GO OUTDOORS and have a look in the camping section there should be some deceant cool boxes in there.
but the best idea i have herd is to use norwegian food containers from militery surpless shops because there cheap and cheer full but bomproof and if you put a ice pack in there keep for weeks now thats what i call a good idea cheers martin K9
I think weeks might be a bit optimistic!
:lmao::lmao::lmao:
drewdunnrespect
19-04-2010, 20:14
well yes okay but longer than your avarage cool box
jungle_re
19-04-2010, 20:17
Marry depending on if you would get use it may be worthwile investing in one of the camping fridges powered from gas cartridges (same as the little stoves take). Failing that cost co have a good one in at the moment that the old boy uses for chucking fish in when sea fishing and he swares by it.
We got one of those which you plug into the cig lighter of a car last year, claimed to do all sorts of stuff but it was the biggest waste of £60 I've spent in a long time. The only thing that kept it going at a decent temp was if we filled it with ice cubes/blocks whenever we could.
It's an age old problem trying to keep fresh food fresh isn't it ? Water or the ground seems to be as good as it gets I think.
The Coleman boxes are very good but I'm most impressed with the norgie cold/hot box. I've used the one Nigel owns and its really good, two bottles of frozen water in to keep the temp down and they were still iced up after three days.
Coleman do some big ones, heavy duty, expensive but ideal for family/group use IMO. An American I know worked over here for two years and bought one camping (all his kit/car/motor bike were flown in courtesy of the USAF), built like a tank.
Do you mean this one Rik ?
http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shop/army-surplus/military-equipment/army-13-litre-food-container-357739.html
Shewie thanks for the advice, I admit I was wondering about one of the ones that plugs into the car.
Cheers for the help folks :)
Toddy
godfather
19-04-2010, 21:19
If money is no object then look at the icey Tek range http://www.icey-tek.co.uk/ they are simply fantastic. I have the smallest 25l one and it is great. Else costco do igloo maxicold series 40l approx (on wheels) and will keep stuff iced for 5 days, which I use for game storage and family camping.
Gailainne
19-04-2010, 21:29
I must admit I bought a 25ltr coolbox from halfords that uses a cars 12v system, it works to a certain extent, if what you put in it is frozen to start with, its not bad at keeping it that way for a day or two, chilling stuff down, forget it, its useless.
Didn't the Romans use straw (insulation) and salted water (colder than fresh water) with evaporation to chill and keep things cool ? they made both icecream and fortified wine that way (chill the wine and throw away the ice)
As part of my work we have to ship samples by courier to labs around the country. The temperature they arrive at can be critical. Last year we did a series of tests with different coolboxes/iceblocks etc.
The key finding was that the most important factor was the temperature the samples were at when they went in the box - you can't expect a cool box to chill anything.
All "picnic" style coolboxes (eskies, if you're reading this upside down) failed our tests badly being unable to keep the samples above 5 degrees for the required 12 hours. The best performers were those used by the meat/fish trade - just thick-walled polystyrene boxes. You can get various types of these - some very rugged but they are usually only sold in large quantities. (you could try asking a fishmonger).
Some strategies we worked out were to cram the boxes full of frozen iceblocks with only a few samples ( you need loadds of ice-blocks and coolboxes) and for staff taking samples at remote locations to take along coolboxes just filled with ice-blocks - those in the middle stayed frozen so could be used to replace those which had started to melt.
My favourite tip is that if you can't get hold of iceblocks - use nappies! Wet them (with water :eek:) put them in a sandwich bag and then freeze them hard - these performed just as well as commercially available iceblocks.
Hope this helps and remember the coolbox is for beer first and tofu second :p
Z
Toddy thats the old type of army Norwegian container the later model is a lot better,
Martins is in this thread mid way down page two,
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53548&page=2
If its been used the best way to clean them is strip all the lid down and remove the rubber seal on the lid and use a overnight soak in milton fluid thay come up like new :cool:
Twodogs
My normal solution is, and this has worked really well for the last couple of moots and several car camping trips, buy and freeze 6 x 2 litre bottle of water (more if you have the space) also buy an Aldi bag (they’re a kind of plastic woven canvas, and can carry a heck of a lot,) freeze all the meat that you intend to take, or enough for 4 days of you intend to stay longer. Line the bottom of the bag with a couple of Sunday papers (nice and thick) three bottle of frozen water (taken out of freezer just afore you set off) then your frozen food, then a layer of paper, then the foods that need to be chilled, more newspaper then top off with three remaining bottles of frozen water. I have found if you keep the whole lot in the shade, and covered with a damp towel, the food stays chilled for three or more days and the frozen meat will be defrosted and ready to cook on the fourth day. And you will have six bottle of fresh chilled water.
Tesco sell bagged ice that can be used to chill the food for the rest of the moot.
Be really careful on how you pack the food, cooked meat on top, uncooked meat and food on the bottom that way you don’t cross contaminate cooked food with the uncooked juices, just as you would in a fridge
MartinK9
20-04-2010, 09:52
Do you mean this one Rik ?
http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shop/army-surplus/military-equipment/army-13-litre-food-container-357739.html
Shewie thanks for the advice, I admit I was wondering about one of the ones that plugs into the car.
Cheers for the help folks :)
Toddy
Toddy thats the old type of army Norwegian container the later model is a lot better,
Martins is in this thread mid way down page two,
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53548&page=2
If its been used the best way to clean them is strip all the lid down and remove the rubber seal on the lid and use a overnight soak in milton fluid thay come up like new :cool:
Twodogs
Toddy,
As Cliff says, this is the one I have:
http://www.cadetdirect.com/order1.php?pg=122
And the Milton tip works really well :)
HTH
whats the difference between the oval one and the squarer one in terms of performance/size/value for money etc etc?
and what should you get with them?
The older ones are dated , smaller and the lids a pain as when you open it it needs to be removed .
The later ones come with two inserts with lids plus a lifter to remove hot containers and a ladel ,
most surplus ones will be empty ( thay will of been used for tea ) .
To be honest when I use mine I dont use the inserts as they take up to much room.
hope it helps
Twodogs
MartinK9
20-04-2010, 11:00
whats the difference between the oval one and the squarer one in terms of performance/size/value for money etc etc?
and what should you get with them?
Oval one is 13 Litres, Square one is 18 Litres
Cant say much on performance on the older oval Model for bushcrafting, but when I was in; the tea and food (when used as a hot box) was definately warmer from the newer square versions.:)
Should come with:
Ladle - in lid of container
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7921/mycookset002.jpg
2 storage containers and lids
2 Container Lifters
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5340/mycookset008.jpg
Toddy, the British Army "Norwegian" hot/cold box is well worth the money. These things are built like a battleship. They will keep frozen food frozen for 3 to 5 days and cool and fresh for at least a week. Good for keeping beer cold, or just filling with ice. They make a good camp stool too.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i273/Martyn_s30v/stove/partner_stove_018.jpg
They are also heat proof, they can be used for keeping hot things hot for a long time. That's more useful than it sounds. They have a big spring clamp on the lid which keeps em water/air tight and are designed to also carry and dispense boiling liquids. The British Army use em to fill with soup, tea and coffee and then transport it in bulk out to the lads. The lids of the Norwegian even have a tap for this purpose.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i273/Martyn_s30v/stove/partner_stove_020.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i273/Martyn_s30v/stove/partner_stove_021.jpg
You can pick em up for £15 to £20 in used condition. But beware, the inside of the box is cream coloured and the used ones have almost all got very heavy staining from British Army teabags and Army issue curry powder. :D
It's rare to see em for sale in unissued condition and if you do see em, they are usually quite a bit more expensive.
This is typical of the issued ones...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRITISH-ARMY-NORWEGIAN-HOT-COOL-BOX-4-LIQUIDS_W0QQitemZ350340933666Q QcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectab les_Militaria_LE?hash=item5191 f26822
The recess in the lid is for a ladle, which is often missing on the surplus boxes. They are also issued with 2 matching 10 litre tupperware inserts per box, which are also often missing or in poor condition.
If you're interested and plan to use it for food, then TBH I'd pony up for one like this...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-BRITISH-ARMY-NORWEGIAN-THERMAL-HOT-COOL-BOX_W0QQitemZ250603511623QQcmd ZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_ Militaria_LE?hash=item3a59221f 47
The only caution I would give is that they are pretty heavy even empty and if stuffed with ice, drinks and frozen stuff then they become a serious lump to carry.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NORWEGIAN-THERMAL-FOOD-DRINKS-CONTAINER-EX-BRITISH-ARMY_W0QQitemZ370366765293QQcm dZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables _Militaria_LE?hash=item563b945 8ed
There you go
Twodogs
MartinK9
20-04-2010, 11:06
Looks like we all have good things to say about them :lmao:
Jasper at Strikforce had these at the Wilderness Gathering last year, un issued with all the gubbins and ladle, I think I paid £15, might be worth giving them a shout.
marcusleftthesite
20-04-2010, 12:28
Thanks for the link Twodogs,ordered one :)
I've got an Engel 45 litre fridge, brilliant, it hardly uses any power, 12v or mains and you can freeze stuff, down to -18 or thereabouts. Not cheap but reliable, and well built, used a lot in expedition vehicles.
I wanted something for car camping and travelling and after seeing friends with their 12v car cool boxes with crap performance and battery drain I decided that wasn't the way to go. It's also gets used in the house during christmas as a wine/beer cooler and an extra seat, when the power went out over the winter we just put the freezer food in the Engel and ran it on 12v.
I think this is the uk site if anyone's interested.
http://www.engelfridges.co.uk/
The Norgi boxes are good, used them for years but I have found, reallistically, in the summer it can be hard to keep anything refrigerated for long periods without power or constant cold water.
I've got an Engel 45 litre fridge, brilliant,
They are supposed to be fantastic. I would love one, but a bit too spendy for me at the moment.
The difference between the Engel's and other electric coolers, is that the Engel's run on a compressor like a regular fridge, while the Halfrauds type use a Peltier device (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect) or thermo electric cooler (TEC) - a clever little device which does make things cold, but is very weak and really isn't much more than a "helper". If it's got a compressor in it like an Engel, it'll no doubt work just as well as a normal fridge, but it'll be a lot more expensive too.
i picked up one of the norwegian boxes today, about not as good as the mint one martyn posted, but no where near as used as the other ebay one he posted. i got one complete with both liners, lids, ladle, boh lifters and all the taps working etc for £30 inc UPS next day delivery, thought that was a reasonable price as the liner sets go for a tenner by themselves on ebay, and boxes a fifteen quid upwards for (ab)used ones on the bay, and 25+ wuid from surplus shops and UPS is around a tenner plus so i thought i did ok.
washing up liquid and milton and its come up like new, even the seals are white/grey again. It had a label stuck on the side which said 'squash only' so it wasnt heavily stained.
quite pleased, gonna fill it with ice and beers at the weekend and test it lol
I have to admit I'm tempted but......Son1 gave me a used only once when he flitted, huge great Thermos cool box. He said it kept the contents of their freezer frozen for three days while the new flat had the electricity etc., connected. It's got to be better than I managed last time so I thought I'd give it a try before I buy any other one.
Thanks for all the information though, at least I know what I do want if this one doesn't work out.
cheers,
M
forestwalker
10-06-2010, 05:41
One trick I've used is to store things inside waterproof containers, wrapping them in a wet towel/rags and suspending them in the shade (I have a jute sack that is lined with an old towel, and a bunch of rags. As long as one actually keep it wet, and preferably if there is a bit of wind, things will stay surprisingly cool (judging by the consistancy of the butter around 10-12 C in the summer is achievable).
For a high tech solution the good cool boxes and dry ice is the way to go. Does tofu freeze well?
ScotchDave
10-06-2010, 08:25
Here (http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/solutions/faq/why-salt-cools-icewater.shtml) is an explanation of how adding salt to water cools it down.
Apparently rock salt and water mixtures can get very cold.
So take all your stuff you want to freeze, put it in zip loc bags and push out the air as it's a thermal insulator. Buy a PLASTIC container (something non-thermally conductive) and place the bags in the salt+water solution. You'll need to add more salt+fresh water as the water gets saturated with salt, to keep the reaction going.
The only problem is disposing of the salt water, I'd suggest onto fires to put them out myself.
I'm also not sure of quantities, but some pre-moot experiments will sort that out for you.
Dave
Just had another gander, it appears that to get below zero celsius you need to have ice to start with... Sorry.
Sounds pretty much like our bucket and wet towel evaporation to keep things cool. Hadn't thought of doing it that way though :cool:
Tofu does freeze well, though it changes its texture and becomes firmer and more chewy.
I normally make mine from scratch but I didn't fancy doing that down at the Moot.
cheers,
M
Graham_S
10-06-2010, 09:37
I've had a norgie flask keep stuff frozen in the jordanian desert in summer.
good pieces of kit.
(I was in the RAF, we needed ice for our gin and tonic ;))
TinkyPete
10-06-2010, 18:22
I have a Norgie container too and they're GREAT!!!
Works to keep things chilled for 3 days with a bag of ice cubes in it and the stuff doesn't need to be frozen I have found
ScotchDave
10-06-2010, 18:25
Been toying with the salt idea for a while. I'm not sure, but if ice was bought at a supermarket and set up with the water and salt crystals and properly insulated, I wonder if one might get by on one bag a day... Someone needs to do some experimenting, but I don't have a coolbox or the space. Anyone up for it?
Dave
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=6297-721&categoryid=8581&brand=
Take a look at the Coleman coolers. Any one that can keep ice for 6 days and hold 129 cans sounds good to me.
Tofu? If you're a veggie isn't there something better than tofu to eat? Never could keep it down. Remember a meal cooked for me by a Japanese lass where she served a tofu based dish. I was ok until I got to the tofu dish. Gagging on tofu is not a good look and it does kind of offend even if it was an involutary response to tofu.
I have found a nice cool mountain stream with whatever I want to keep cool inside a bag then fixed in the water works well for a bit. There's a campsite in Buttermere with a stream runing around it and you can just walk along the stream in summer collecting beer cooling in it. Of course you then have to move somewhere else to get away with your foraging. Not nice with a bunch of Geordies trying to get their booze back.
I got a Norwegian coolbox / food container after reading through this thread and have to say it is fantastic. Much better than other coolboxes we have used in the past. The bacon and chicken were still chilled to the touch all weekend despite being outside in the Lakes last weekend in hot sun (shaded partly by the car).
An excellent bit of kit. £14.99 on ebay
Snozz
MartinK9
24-06-2010, 13:14
Food? Food in this weather? Are you insane? :lmao:
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/676/cider.jpg
20, yes; 20 ice cold Ammo tins ready for the pin to be pulled:1244:
Roll on tomorrow :)
MartinK9
24-06-2010, 13:15
Bad man .............
Moi? :rolleyes:
I suppose another option if you cant get a decent box, is to buy a cheap supermarket one and improve it, look for one with lots of polystyrene rather than hollow walls, stick a freezer bag inside it and you should be ok. Also take a decent map with all the local pubs marked and then when you have finished all the beer in the cool-box, you know where to go.
Outdoor_Guy
28-07-2010, 13:28
Wow, thats what I call a setup.. Interesting article regarding adding salt to water to cool it down :-)
John Fenna
28-07-2010, 14:07
My plan is to use canvas bags which I can soak, hang them in the shade and use them to hold items that need keeping cool.
I will buy my perishables on the way to the Moot and use coolboxes with icepacks until the icepacks fail...then use the bags (by which time I should be down to only keeping the booze cool).
The Yeti range of coolboxes are the best that I've ever used - not cheap but keep yer stuff cold for 5-7days if packed properly. You can use them to sit on too.....cushions & everything if you want!!!!!!
Whittler Kev
28-07-2010, 19:44
When I used to do Bike rallies with a stall, I used to put the cans in a new (well it was when I satrted doing it) plastic dustbin full of water. Bacon and other perishibles I used to seal in a snap top (tupperware type) box and float that in it as well. Everything kept as cold as the cans. May not be fridge temp, but you never held your hand in it too long while fishing out a can, even on the hottest days as it gave your the cold shivs