Mastering the art of properly packing your cooler

July 4, 2019: There is a method to packing your cooler the perfect way. We sent Austin Love to Meijer to get the expert advice on making sure the food in your cooler stays at a safe temperature.

[TombstoneHeart]

I'm an Aussie, which means like all of us blokes here in the Great Southern Land, I don't waste space in my cooler with superfluous things like food, at the expense of room for my beer. And on the topic of beer, here's a tip I got from a refrigeration mechanic years ago. He told me that putting warm bottles or cans of beer in a cooler and pouring crushed ice over them, then hoping they will be cold enough to drink by the time you get to your mate's house for the bbq is just wishful thinking. According to him and I have done this for years now myself, the quickest way to get that beer cold is to put the ice in over your beer and then add an equal amount of tap water. The water acts as a heat exchanger, taking the warmth from the beer and exchanging it for the cold of the ice and vice versa. As I said, I've done this for years and it works, mate! Give it a go - you won't regret it.

[dodoboodrough]

This is already a bad set up. Never use crushed ice in your cooler because it melts away way to fast. Make flat rectangular solid ice blocks place them in the bottom, and if your cooler is big enough buy some dry ice. Dry ice will lower the temperature a lot, and keep those blocks of ice from melting away too fact. I used the dry ice method and my cooler stayed cold for three days without adding more ice. Also I lined my cooler with insulation product that has aluminum already clued to it which reduced coolness inside, and keeps heat out. Better yet buy one of the top of the line coolers that have insulation in them already if you don't want to build your own. I also took my Igloo cooler which has a hollow lid and body, drilled a few holes in the outer plastic, and shot insulation foam inside the void, works great! HAPPY CAMPING!!!