There are a few different ways that you can keep a cooler cold without ice. Assuming you do not have an iceless plug in cooler available with you, multiple tips and tricks can be employed to ensure that your drinks stay cold in a traditional cooler without the use of ice. We will also review the ways we can keep things colder for longest with Ice.
Some of these methods include using Insulated shipping/delivery bags to store your cold drinks and Food, another way is to keep the cooler in a shady spot and out of the direct sun , packing the cooler with food that is already cold, or if it is possible, placing ice packs on the bottom of the cooler.
By employing one or more of these methods, you can easily keep a cooler cold without the use of ice. Here are the tips.
Best Way to Keep Cooler Contents Cold Without Ice
One of the best ways to keep your cooler contents cold without using ice is to use insulated shipping bags. You can pre-chill your food and drinks and pack them in these bags before placing them in the cooler, simply name the bags for easy identification. This will help keep everything organized and make it easier to find what you need.
Best size insulated bags for food and drinks will be of 8″x11″. These bags are designed to keep things cold or hot. The bag should be big enough to fit a container of food or drink, but not so big that it is bulky or difficult to carry.
- 8" x 11" / 50 Pack
- Holds temperature for Several Hours
- Reusable Bags
50 Bags at
- 20 Pack/ 11 In x 15 In
- Holds temperature for Several Hours
- Also Fits Food Containers
20 Bags at
Follow these steps:
- Pre-chill Food and Drinks
- Pack it in the Food Containers or Ziplock Bags
- Pack it in the Insulated Bags – Use different bags for different Items
- Name each bag
- Pack the cooler with minimal empty space.
If Insulated shipping bags are not available at this moment, you can also use an aluminium foil to store contents in the cooler. Wrap the food in an aluminium foil and place it inside a Ziplock bag. This will help keep your food fresh for longest periods of time and this is the best way to keep a cooler cold without ice.
TIPS to keep cooler and contents cold
1. Use of Rock Salt to lower the Melting Point Of Ice/ Chilled Water
When you run out of Ice, using a rock salt is another way to keep a cooler cold without ice. Rock salt can be used to lower the melting temperature of ice or chilled water. This can be helpful if you need to hold ice without a fridge, or if you want to lower the melting temperature of water by a few degrees fahrenheit.
How and when to add Rock salt inside the Cooler?
Rock salt can be added to a cooler at any time. It is not necessary to wait until the cooler is full of ice before adding rock salt.
The science behind adding rock salt to a cooler in order to keep things cold is based on the fact that salt lowers the freezing point of water. When the salt is added to the water, it creates a solution that has a lower freezing point than pure water. This means that the water in the cooler will remain cold liquid for a longer period of time, which will in turn have the bigger cold mass and keep your drinks or food cold for a longer period of time.
Adding a Rock salt also works best with the Ice cubes to prevent melting the ice. The ice cubes will last longer and the drink will stay cold for a longer period of time.
How much Rock salt is needed for a 45 Quart Hard Cooler?
For 45-60 quart coolers, you will need 2-3 pounds of rock salt. This will ensure that your cooler works properly and keeps your food and drinks cold for longest.
2. Pre-Chill or Freeze Your Food/Drink
One way to ensure that your food and drinks stay cold during your picnic is to pre-chill or freeze them. This will help to maintain the temperature and keep things as cold as possible. A cooler is an insulator, so it will help to prevent the temperature loss and keep things cold.
It means, a cooler will help to keep things cold by insulating them and preventing heat from entering.
Heat transfer will be slow if your food is already cold, so it will stay colder longer.
If food and drinks are not pre-chilled, the initial cold will be consumed to make the contents cold, which can lead to a loss of precious cold.
So, if it is possible, you must Pre-chill or Freeze your food and drinks before you packit in the Cooler.
3. Pre-Chill Your Cooler for Longer cold retention
If you’re planning on taking a camping trip and want to make sure your food stays fresh longer, pre-chill your cooler. This means filling it with Ice or frozen water bottles overnight. Doing this will help maintain the insulation cold inside the cooler so that when added, your food will not lose any temperature to the Cooler Body materials.
The insulation in the cooler will help keep the cold air in, and the pre-chilled items will help keep everything else cold. This is an important step if you need your cooler to perform better than before, and specially you when you want to keep a cooler cold without ice.
Pre-chilling a cooler is beneficial because it helps keep food and drinks cold for a longest period of time. By pre-chilling the cooler, you are essentially giving the contents inside a head start in terms of staying cold. This is especially useful if you are going to be storing perishable items in the cooler or if you will be transporting the cooler in hot weather.
4. Keep The Cooler In The Shade and Out of The Heat
In order to keep your cooler cold, avoid placing it in direct sunlight. Instead, try to keep it in the shade and out of the heat. You can also cover the top of your cooler with a wet towel or blanket to help keep the cooler stay cold.
This is especially important when the weather is hot. The temperature difference between the shade and direct sunlight can be significant, and keeping your cooler in the shade will help keep your food and drinks cool.
If a tree or roof shade is not available for your cooler, a beach umbrella or Car shadow can also be used. These items will help keep your cooler out of direct sunlight and therefore, cooler temperatures. It is the simplest method that will help to keep lower temperatures inside your cooler.
5. Bury Your Cooler underground to insulate your cooler
Another unique method to keep the cooler cold is to Bury it underground. Yes, burying the cooler underground will help to keep a cooler cold without ice.
Steps to Bury your cooler underground:
1. Choose a location for your cooler. It should be in an area that is not too wet and not too dry.
2. Dig a hole that is large enough to fit your cooler. The hole should be about 2 feet deep.
3. Place your cooler in the hole and cover it with a cardboard or blanket. Place under the table will be best, you will not need to walk to the cooler everytime you need something.
4. Water the area around the cooler to help keep the ground moist.
Bury your cooler in the ground and insulate the whole cooler. By doing this, the cooler will be colder for a longer period of time and will help maintain the temperature inside for a longer period. The underground provides a great source of insulation from Mother Earth and will keep your cooler colder for an extended period.
6. Use of Aluminum Foil as a Liner, and Wrap the food in the Aluminium Foil
Line the inside of your ice cooler with aluminum foil to keep your cooler cold and your foods and drinks wrapped in an aluminium foil. This is a great way to keep your cooler cold and prevent your food from spoiling. With Aluminium Foil we are just adding an additional layer of insulation inside a cooler.
The aluminum foil will help to keep the inside of the cooler cold by reflection and by not allowing heat to penetrate through the walls of the cooler to some extent.
Again, this is a simple way to insulate your food contents and trying to maintain temperature inside your cooler cold as long as possible.
7. Wrap Your Cooler in a Wet Towel or a Wet Cloth Sheet
To keep your cooler cold, wrap it in a wet towel. The wet towel will help keep the cooler cool, as the evaporating water will have a refrigerating effect. You should also keep the cooler in the wind if possible, as this will help lower the temperature around the cooler.
The air and wet towel will lower the temperature around the cooler, keeping it colder longer. How does the refrigerating effect is generated using a Wet towel or blanket around a cooler?
Science Behind this Trick –
The evaporative cooling effect is generated using a Wet towel or blanket around a cooler. The water in the towel or blanket evaporates, absorbing heat from the air around the cooler. This cooled air then circulates around the cooler, and helps to keep a cooler cold without ice.
We must say, this is the coolest way to without using ice to keep things cold inside of your cooler.
8. Use Dry Ice as Well with Ice Cubes
For more advanced cooling methods, you can add dry ice to your Rotomolded Cooler. Dry ice is the best way to keep your food fresh for longer periods of time. It is however important to handle dry ice with care as it can be dangerous if not used correctly. Make sure that you wear gloves when handling dry ice and do not put it directly on top of the food as this may cause the food to become soggy.
Dry Ice is -109°F and will decrease the temperature of your cooler rapidly by absorbing the heat that would be used to maintain the cold longer and maintain temperature of your cooler. As a rule of thumb, we recommend adding one 10-pound block of dry ice per every 10 cubic feet of interior space in your Cooler. Also use a newspaper to insulate the dry ice from the sides and bottom of your cooler for added insulation.
Use a small hammer or mallet to break the dry ice into smaller pieces for easier handling.
Make sure that the cooler you are using is a Dry Ice Compatible Cooler.
HOW TO STORE DRY ICE:
Dry ice can be stored in a well-ventilated area, just not too close to the ceiling fan, or any other moving air that could cause it to evaporate quickly. If you have a basement, or cool room, this is an ideal place to store your dry ice. If you don’t have access to these areas of your house, simply open the door and window of your kitchen when you’re storing dry ice. Be sure not to seal up the room completely while storing dry ice!
9. Don’t open the cooler too frequently
If you want to keep your food and drinks cold inside a cooler, don’t open it frequently. Every time you open the cooler, cold air escapes and hot air enters, making it harder to keep things cold. So, try to stay cool and only open your cooler when you need to. Science behind this behavior is simple, it is the exchange of temperature between Cold and Hot Airs. When opening the cooler, you are exposing the cool air inside to the hot air outside.
But how not to open the lid of your cooler frequently?
Prepare Food Beforehand – Prepare all the food and beverages you’ll need before heading out on your trip. If you can prep them ahead of time and just heat them up once at camp, that’s even better!
This way, you won’t have to open the cooler lid as much to get what you need.
10. Organize Your Cooler so that there is a less empty space
If you’re looking to keep your cooler as efficient as possible, one key step is to fill any empty space with ice or Ice cold Food and Drink items. Every time you open and close the lid, warm air rushes in and melts some of the ice, causing the contents of your cooler to warm up faster. By keeping the cooler full, you minimize the amount of air that can circulate and help keep things cool or colder for longer.
How to Organize and fill the Cooler?
- When packing a cooler, start with ice or frozen gel packs and then layer in your food.
- Be sure to pack items that won’t need to be kept cold in insulated bags or containers.
- Raw meat should always be placed on the bottom of the cooler so that it doesn’t come into contact with other food.
- Then Fill up all the Packaged food and Drinks.
- Use wet and Cold towel to cover the things
- Importantly, remember the order and place where you have put certain things inside the cooler.
- If you have a lot of things in your cooler, it may be helpful to put them in in a specific order so that you can easily find what you are looking for.
For example, you could put all of the meat on one shelf, all of the fruits and vegetables on another, and all of the drinks on another.
If you don’t remember the steps, you’ll have to get everything out to get just one bottle of orange juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does aluminum foil keep food cold?
Yes, aluminum foil can keep food cold. It is an excellent insulator and helps to keep food cold by reflecting heat and keeping it from escaping.
How Long Is Food Good In A Cooler Without Ice?
A cooler without ice will keep food cold for a shorter period of time than a cooler with ice. Depending on the type of food, it will stay fresh for 2 to 4 hours (once the Food content reaches a room temperature).
This means that perishable foods should not be left out of a refrigerator or freezer or cooler for more than two hours.
Perishable foods, including meat, should not be left at room temperature for longer than two hours, according to the current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. This is known as the “2-hour rule.”
Should you drain water out of a cooler?
No, you should not drain water out of a cooler. Water inside a cooler is melted ice and melted water. Draining water will just bring the outside air in and it will not be good for the already trapped cold in your cooler.
How to keep Food Items Cold without a Cooler?
Using ice packs or frozen water bottles:
If you do not have a cooler, then you can use ice packs to keep your food chilled. You can use any type of container, such as a glass jar, to fill with water and freeze it overnight. This will act as an ice pack and will help keep your food fresh for longer periods of time. If you are using this method, make sure that you do not put the frozen water bottle directly on top of the food as this may cause the food to become soggy.