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I recently stayed at a site where the freezer was stuffed full of other peoples ice packs and food. It actually was so full that it wasn't freezing properly. I squeezed a couple of ice packs in, but 24 hours later they were only half frozen. I was glad that I didn't have any food in there. I would rather pay 20p or so to use a freezer that was working properly.

Sarah

I use a bucket of cold water to keep the milk cold.  Learned that trick from my daughter who's a Girl Guide!  It works in all but the hottest weather.  Otherwise I just use tins or buy fresh if there's a shop nearby.  Can't be doin' with communal freezers! 

FoO

If you have a coolbox like mine the freezer packs don't stay frozen for longer than a few hours and nothing keeps particularly cool for long.

However, I have discovered that if I freeze a plastic milk bottle full of water it will stay frozen in my coolbox for very much longer. If I wrap the coolbox in a blanket (or any thick material like my anorak when I'm not wearing it) the water in the bottle will not totally thaw and will keep food cold for the entire weekend.

For a weekend trip I also take 2 x 1pint bottles of milk. I freeze one and keep the other for immediate use. After that has been used the frozen one has thawed enough to use on the second day.

Two of the campsites we've used where there is a freezer available 24/7 have had posters on the front of the freezer stating "freezer blocks only - no food items". The campers seemed to adhere to this (at least whilst we were there), and there was always space for our ice blocks. Much more hygenic too, as you can never be sure whether some people put food in there which has already started to go off due to them bringing it from home in a hot car for a 2-3 hour journey

Surfspud: I'm relieved to know that I'm not the only one who thinks about how many people have handled packets/cartons etc. in supermarkets. Hubby thinks I'm a bit strange

One of our favourite campsites provides iceblocks for a deposit and a small fee.  We were there in August during some quite hot weather and the process worked well. They only changed them in the morning and late afternoon, so the freezer was not being constantly opened. 

We also found that the coolbox was much more effective when we moved it to another part of the tent and then the iceblocks stayed more or less frozen and certainly kept everything cold.

Having said that, I am not sure we have the best coolbox.  It is only a Sainsbury's purchase.  Does anyone know of a better quality one so that I can replace it?  It has done a few years' good service and has earned retirement.

Quote: Originally posted by JK98 on 07/9/2009

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Surfspud: I'm relieved to know that I'm not the only one who thinks about how many people have handled packets/cartons etc. in supermarkets. Hubby thinks I'm a bit strange <IMG border=0 align=absMiddle src="https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/forum_images/smiley5.gif" alt=17>

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