The great esky debate

[shakey55]

Good job. You just about have it covered. You may find the temperature stays colder even longer when the esky is loaded, less air space inside. Would lining the esky with foil do anything. I don’t know, just thinking aloud.

I found that there was a short ice discussion on Ausfish in 2006. Here is the link if you are interested

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/arc...p/t-80411.html

Good luck and enjoy the trip


Sent from my iPad using Ausfish forums

[NAGG]

Good job. You just about have it covered. You may find the temperature stays colder even longer when the esky is loaded, less air space inside. Would lining the esky with foil do anything. I don’t know, just thinking aloud.

I found that there was a short ice discussion on Ausfish in 2006. Here is the link if you are interested

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/arc...p/t-80411.html

Good luck and enjoy the trip


Sent from my iPad using Ausfish forums

Yeh , I'll be pre chilling the esky & filling it with cold food for the trip .

I think I wont go to the length of using foil ...... & I certainly wont be burying the esky

The bulk frozen water packs (2 x 10lts ) are doing well & shortly I'll check the temp (7 days) then report back.

Chris

[NAGG]

Day 7 & still going @ 3.6 deg C

Day 7 (2).jpg

[Dignity]

Better drink that beer, perfect temp for it.

[NAGG]

Better drink that beer, perfect temp for it.

too warm ....

[NAGG]

Day 7 & still going @ 3.6 deg C

Day 7 (2).jpg

Pulled the pin this morning @ 5.4 deg C ...... 8 full days. There is still quite a bit of ice in the two containers which will probably last another couple of days .

From what I've read 4.4 deg is the tipping point for keeping bacteria growth down.

Anyhow - so f you want to keep your eskys cold for a week without having slushy water ...... it's worth going down the path of freezing bulk containers like these Ice.jpg Clearly the lower surface area is a big advantage in keeping the ice from melting ( compared to ice cubes or multiple bottles of frozen water.

There is the added advantage of these being easily accessed drinking water should the need arise (unlike ice cubes).

Chris

[NAGG]

Well the new esky arrived today . I've gone with the biggest esky I could fit in front of the console

158 lt Engel which pretty well fits like a glove

Engel 158lt.jpgEngel 158lt 2.jpg

Aside from good storage for fish , its excellent dry storage

Chris

[Mopheus]

The energy required for water to change phase from solid to liquid (with temperature remaining static at 0°C) is 334 J/g, while the energy required to change temperature of solid ice by 1 degree is just 2.108 J/g.

Thus melting -20° ice takes (2.108x20) + 334 = 376 J
Melting -10° ice takes (2.108x10) + 334 = 355 J

The -20°C ice is only 6% more efficient than the -10°C ice, because it's the phase change that requires the most energy.

By all means get your ice as cold as you can, but there's minimal benefit to colder ice temps. You'll get a much greater benefit from precooling before adding your ice.

Salt water ice can chill the esky to a slightly lower temperature but overall fresh water will keep esky temps below 4.4°C for longer. Also fresh water can be important for survival if something goes awry, so a no-brainer IMO.

[Volvo]

Interesting read , and needed this read as sold my Boat and the esky went with it so now i need a newy for the next Boat to take the place of the previouse one lol .
So its a toss up between an evecool or a Dometic in the 100 ltr RANGE??
110 ltr Dometic $309 at Anaconda at present and the Evercool 108 ltr for $299.
Read Chris's take re the Dometic although ive heard heaps of praise regarding these ice boxes though living up here in the hotter part of the Sunshine State and an open Boat i am wandering ??.
The Evercool looks plastic as was my previouse one and after three years of exposure to the Sun and Elements it was just starting to bubble a wee bit on the lid..
Will have to add some sort of shade or cover to the next one save it from going out of shape ey ??.
Previouse Big Boat had a solid Glass Esky that will or should outlive myself from last i seen of it lol..

[disorderly]

Volvo, you are probably going to be dissapointed going from a glass esky to a cheap poly one..

Dont look too close at the squareness and lid fit and finish etc.....Chris warned me before buying a $500 200l rotomoulded esky and i wasnt happy with it when it arrived..

I talked to the rep and he told me the reason why the lid wasnt square and it didnt seal properly was to allow air to escape when using dry ice..

I called bullsh!t and said yeah but nup and took up his offer of a return before I used it...

Arranged for the return and refund with the company and the courier who picked it up from our home..

2 weeks later the missus arrived at our front gate and found the esky dumped back there...

Rang the courier and they said the esky company didnt want too pay to get it back..

Seems we cant get rid of the bloody thing...

[Volvo]

Your luck lol. So how did the esky fare ??.

[NAGG]

Interesting read , and needed this read as sold my Boat and the esky went with it so now i need a newy for the next Boat to take the place of the previouse one lol .
So its a toss up between an evecool or a Dometic in the 100 ltr RANGE??
110 ltr Dometic $309 at Anaconda at present and the Evercool 108 ltr for $299.
Read Chris's take re the Dometic although ive heard heaps of praise regarding these ice boxes though living up here in the hotter part of the Sunshine State and an open Boat i am wandering ??.
The Evercool looks plastic as was my previouse one and after three years of exposure to the Sun and Elements it was just starting to bubble a wee bit on the lid..
Will have to add some sort of shade or cover to the next one save it from going out of shape ey ??.
Previouse Big Boat had a solid Glass Esky that will or should outlive myself from last i seen of it lol..

OK - here is the rub on Dometic eskies ...... do not buy one of those light grey speckled things . They have a very thin polyethylene skin which often delaminates & causes a bubble in the lid .... it's particularly bad in hot climates . Trust me on this .... I've owned / own 4 various sizes & both the larger ones have been thrown out.
Dometic do have a premium one "Patrol " range (dark grey) which look a lot better but more expensive ( Unfortunately they are only small & mid size)

Those blue Evakool are prone to warping lids / sealing issues ......

If you are looking at a 100 lt box & you want it to last ( hold ice well) ..... IceyTek make great boxes for the price & their range is pretty good incl long split lid boxes . I have a 70lt split lid one & it's quite impressive with it's ice holding ability ..... you certainly do get days out of it. They will cost you a bit more - but it's money well spent on these tough as nails boxes .
Techni-Ice have been around for ages & are another well worth considering - great ice retention , really heavy duty lid with proper sealing - My boat seat is based on a Techni-Ice 120lt esky & it's been flawless over the past 4 years . The only downside is that it is heavy .

Engel - I replaced my orange mackerel box with a big 158lt Engel not too long ago ...... it's a impressive box & very similar to the Yeti's (very heavy duty) . I'll be in a better position to comment on the performance after Christmas . . This is now part of my cast deck - I like how the lid is embossed for traction if standing on it.

Anyhow - that's my take on these polyethylene eskies ...... I'd hate to see you make the wrong choice as there are better choices than what you see at Anaconda (BCF carry Engel )

Cheers

Chris

[NAGG]

Volvo, you are probably going to be dissapointed going from a glass esky to a cheap poly one..

Dont look too close at the squareness and lid fit and finish etc.....Chris warned me before buying a $500 200l rotomoulded esky and i wasnt happy with it when it arrived..

I talked to the rep and he told me the reason why the lid wasnt square and it didnt seal properly was to allow air to escape when using dry ice..

I called bullsh!t and said yeah but nup and took up his offer of a return before I used it...

Arranged for the return and refund with the company and the courier who picked it up from our home..

2 weeks later the missus arrived at our front gate and found the esky dumped back there...

Rang the courier and they said the esky company didnt want too pay to get it back..

Seems we cant get rid of the bloody thing...

When it comes to poly eskies - you really need to do your homework & be prepared to spend a little more (specially if it's going to be used for days on end) .
I dislike the speckled Dometic ones - yet I bought another one a year or so ago as it fits perfectly on the back of my boat & is a cracker for holding bait when fishing (rather than have it sitting in the sun) Dometic 22lt.jpg

I think I paid $50 for the 22lt esky & it works a treat keeping my pillies in during the course of a days fishing ...... they are still semi frozen at the end of a day . As I wont be walking on it & it doesn't cop a flogging or need to hold ice for days - it was money well spent .

Actually - this esky is now a staple on a lot of Barcrushers due to the perfect fit in the walkway

Chris

[disorderly]

Chris, I have that same little esky for bait also..they are sh!t quality and dent easy but for the price they serve the purpose well..

Volvo, The 200l macky box was a Technie ice on special order as they dont stock them anymore...its not the Signature range which I think is better quality..

I was dissapointed because of a few things including the front wall being warped outward by 12mm in the middle..the lid was offset about 15mm towards one end which meant that the inside lip/seal on one end didnt actually quite reach the recess that it was meant to sit into.....the hinges are simply screwed into the esky with no reinforcing behind them so they often come loose and cant be tightened propery as there isnt much to grab onto...the hinges are also annoying because when its opened they sometimes flip over onto the inside of the lip so that when its opened and a fish dropped in and you drop the lid back down assuming its sealed its actually sitting slightly open on a latch or 2.....just sloppy finish really which wasnt any better then the $200 no brand 10 year old box it was replacing except the lip doesnt warp in the sun as the old one did......

Scott

[NAGG]

Pulled the pin this morning @ 5.4 deg C ...... 8 full days. There is still quite a bit of ice in the two containers which will probably last another couple of days .

From what I've read 4.4 deg is the tipping point for keeping bacteria growth down.

Anyhow - so f you want to keep your eskys cold for a week without having slushy water ...... it's worth going down the path of freezing bulk containers like these Ice.jpg Clearly the lower surface area is a big advantage in keeping the ice from melting ( compared to ice cubes or multiple bottles of frozen water.

There is the added advantage of these being easily accessed drinking water should the need arise (unlike ice cubes).

Chris

Everyone must read Ausfish ....... do you think I can buy these containers of water ? - nope haven't been on the shelf for weeks

Chris