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 Topic: Cool Boxes
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14/5/2024 at 6:58pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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bridgeywidge knows her stuff, VERY good advice!
Beyond a 'proper' fridge of the 3-way (gas/mains/12v type) or a compressor fridge (12v and/or 240v mains type - but they have their restrictions in their own ways!), a top end coolbox with pre-chilled/frozen contents and icepacks/iceblocks is the way to go!
Electric 'coolboxes' of the thermoelectric/peltier (calling them a fridge should be a criminal offence!!!!) type generally fail miserably, firstly because the insulation is never great, secondly because they are VERY power inefficient and flatten 12v supply batteries in a few hours so can't run for long, and thirdly they only 'chill' (use that term loosely!) to around 18C below ambient, so not good for perishable foods!
One of the secrets of good (read that as also quite expensive! - Icytek, Igloo, Coleman top end! etc.) coolboxes, to get good life out of the cooling, is chill/freeze everything first, open as little as possible (many of the larger ones have a hatch to save opening the entire lid!) in use, and NEVER place anything not pre-chilled in it once in use! You really can get days of use out of them, IF you play by the rules! We've packed ours with frozen 2 litre ice cream tubs full of water to great effect, when they thaw, the tubs stack to minimise the space they take up. Always worth remembering, there always seems to be a layer of water at the bottom! - make sure nothing that is not in a TOTALLY waterproof container/wrapping loiters at the very bottom!
Always worth remembering too, most supermarkets and many off-licences sell bags of ice which can be a Godsend! Many camp sites also have a 'iceblock' freezing service!
Slight deviation from the concept of trying to keep fresh food fresh! Use tinned, packet and dried food! Even with a caravan and inbuilt fridge, I still take tinned/dried foods that don't require any special storage! It may require a bit of a rethink on everyday eating habits, but there is quite a lot of stuff that will keep you going for a few days without too much hardship, so not EVERYTHING has to be chilled! .... and plan your menu, so perishables get use within shelf life, and more durable items finish your stay!
Enjoy your trip, it's a great way of life once you've learnt a few tricks.
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15/5/2024 at 7:11pm
Location: Devizes Wiltshire
Outfit: MWB VW Crafter PVC
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Since the coolbox question had been addressed, I shall echo Monty's advice about food that do not require refrigeration.
I carry a tin of Spam and a tin of concentrated creamy soup all the time.
The soup doubles up as a sauce, and Spam is great when sliced or chopped up then pan-fried until crispy, on their own or as an ingredient in all sorts of dishes including fried rice and pasta salad.
I have heard of good things about pouched curry by Kohinoor (available from Asda) and other brands, however, I have not tried them myself.
Tinned tuna is also very handy, as is tinned hotdog sausages.
Indeed not everything needs to be frozen or chilled.
Enjoy your trip!
DK 
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16/5/2024 at 12:29pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Quote: Originally posted by taafe75 on 16/5/2024
Get a gas fridge. Shell Island is great until you need to do a big shop
Can't argue that gas fridges (3-way fridges) are great for off grid use, I've got one and it serves us well from time to time, and has done for decades, but not the solution in all cases!
It's a gas appliance with a naked flame - it CANNOT be used in a sealed tent space, you WILL poison yourself with deadly Carbon Monoxide fumes! It can't be left outside unsheltered either as not weatherproof and needs the flame sheltering from wind (risk of it blowing out, and no self re-ignition!), so needs to be in something like a well ventilated porch area (no SIG, or open sided etc.), but isolated from main tent space. You also need to keep it off the grass and away from tent walls because of the heat from the flame. You'd likely need something like a larger family tent for that layout/space.
They don't come cheap either! Around £250 upwards these days!
They are also quite large AND heavy (around 14Kg empty!), read big and unwieldy for some! - you will need to run it at home from the mains to get it to chill down properly first, it takes 8 hours or so, then pack it with pre-chilled/frozen food, which will bring it's weight up considerably, maybe 20Kg! And preferably run it on 12v in the car on journey to keep it chilled (you CAN'T run it on 12v from the car unless the engine is running, it would flatten the battery in a few hours, AND most modern cars turn off all electrics when the ignition turned off - so no power available!). You can't run it on gas in the car either! Apart from filling the car with toxic fumes, it'd probably use all the oxygen up and the flame would go out in such a tightly sealed space, AND the heat from the flame needs to escape somewhere.
I wouldn't be without my gas (3-way) fridge, but it does have it's limitations on use, and for OP's current needs, the quality coolbox would appear to be the most economic and versatile solution.
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via mobile 13/5/2024 at 9:10pm
The Coleman Extreme will earn its keep as it'll be useful for home BBQs or even Christmas for drinks or food. 
