Ice for my cooler

[scoobeb]

Ok,maybe I posted in the wrong spot but here goes. I am going to start fishing 4 to 5 days a week in the gulf Coast here in fl,I have 2 coolers I need to pack with ice and buying 40lbs of ice 4 to 5 days a week will get I mean expensive. I need a way to keep my fish fresh for many hrs,anyone have a way to make ice packs or like some type of ice system they use ? I'm thinking of getting a ice maker now since I just bought the ice chest,It will run me near $16 a week times a yr,forget it,I will go broke,lol. I just bought some small tuber ware that are 4oz squares,my plan is to fill a bunch of them up and have like oversized ice cubes to use,I just hope the plastic holds up. Any suggestions?

 

[Al U Minium]

Build your own coolers, ask for information about ice and fish storage from the Florida Department of Agriculture. Use temperature monitoring device(s).

 

[richg99]

Hope you are that successful. Would a big live well keep them alive and fresh long enough?

I'm a catch and release kind of guy. Just started fishing in a very small local tournament (5 hours). Keeping the live well going, filled and freshened is a PIA. richg99

 

[JMichael]

Whether camping or fishing, we find it very useful to gather up a lot of empty 2 liter soda bottles. Wash them out, fill them with water (leaving a small amount of air in the top to allow for expansion), then toss them in the freezer. Of course this requires a fair amount of usable freezer space. When we get ready to go camping or fishing, we line the bottom of the chest with these frozen bottles and add a bag or two of regular ice on top of that. Now you can add all the food or fish they will hold and it will keep the contents cold for a few days. The bottles work similar to block ice and they keep the cube ice from melting as fast.

Edit: forgot to add, the reason we wash the bottles out is that the ice becomes cold clean water for drinking, cooking, or other needs as they melt, so we don't have to take along as much drinking water as we might have otherwise.

 

[Pappy]

Start freezing gallon milk jugs that are close to full of water. Allow for some expansion. Get enough jugs to allow you to stay ahead.

 

[mrdrh99]

Pretty much the same as last post, I keep long flat Tupperware containers with the lid on, freeze them. At the end of the day, just a quick rinse and then back into the freezer every night. Takes up very little room. And always freeze a couple bottles of water to drink later in the day.

 

[oakchas]

Freeze 2 liter pop bottles rinsed and filled with water. One liter bottles work too.

Leave room for expansion.

Once, when I was poor, our fridge quit. My chest freezer did have about 10 2 liter bottles of water in it. Used the fridge as an ice box for a couple of paychecks, rotating bottles.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

 

[scoobeb]

I just went with a ice maker,makes to much sense to me. It was a 48lb a day ice maker I found brand new on ebay for $175. That will pay for itself 1000 times over compared to buying ice everyday and it takes up 0% space in my freezer except for my clean 5 gallon pal I have on the bottom of it filled with ice. I need roughly 40lbs a day,especially in this fl heat,ice does not last long so I went the ice maker route.

 

[richg99]

Sounds like a reasonably priced solution.

Good for you. richg99

 

[KMixson]

My sister who lives on a lake says the icemaker is one of the best investments they made living on the lake.

 

[howl]

I'd still put a frozen gallon jug in. Block ice lasts much longer. If I put one gallon jug in a Coleman 6-day the night before and fill it with rock fish the next morning, those fish will still be cold after lunch.

Also, since you have ready access to so much ice, it'd be a good idea to put ice in the night before to pre-chill the coolers. You can drain and top off before you head out. The ice will last longer since it doesn't have to cool the cooler insulation. Just things learned backwoods camping with no access to more ice.

 

[sonny.barile]

I watched one of those fishing shows on tv and I saw them stuffing the fish with ice cubes when they put it in the ice chest. Seems logical as it would cool the fish faster if the ice is inside and out.

 

[Kismet]

And..........

if you take some of the most-often-spoken-of blue board used for flotation and put together an insulation niche for the cooler, the ambient temperature will have a much more difficult time getting to the cooler and warming the ice. Don't even need to make it rigid; duct tape binding should work until you find if it is working.

Might be the first time in the forum's history when insulation is used to insulate something, instead of making it "floaty."

Best wishes. Be safe.

 

[Kismet]

duplicate post

 

[jethro]

I watched one of those fishing shows on tv and I saw them stuffing the fish with ice cubes when they put it in the ice chest. Seems logical as it would cool the fish faster if the ice is inside and out.

Well that's what the pros do with tuna. Pack them inside and out with ice. I seen it on Wicked Tuna!

I don't drink my tap water since I live in kinda an industrial area, so I buy gallon jugs of water. I drink them at home then when empty freeze them with the tap water. Then I cut it open with a razor knife and use an ice pick to break it up into big chunks. Some places are $3 a bag for ice! Not happening.

 

[sonny.barile]

I watched one of those fishing shows on tv and I saw them stuffing the fish with ice cubes when they put it in the ice chest. Seems logical as it would cool the fish faster if the ice is inside and out.

Well that's what the pros do with tuna. Pack them inside and out with ice. I seen it on Wicked Tuna!

I don't drink my tap water since I live in kinda an industrial area, so I buy gallon jugs of water. I drink them at home then when empty freeze them with the tap water. Then I cut it open with a razor knife and use an ice pick to break it up into big chunks. Some places are $3 a bag for ice! Not happening.

Yup.....thats the show I saw it on.
My water is from a reservoir and it is ok I guess. I put an under the sink filter to make it a little better. Tastes good but it lowers the pressure enough to be annoying. The only way I would pay $3 for ice is if it were made of beer. :beer:

 

[scoobeb]

Good idea to put ice in my cooler ahead of time, then I can have more made so I'm always ahead. I don't think I will ever have any issues with an ice maker that makes 50lbs a day.

 

[Holatim]

If you can break down and a yeti cooler the biggest one you can you will have too fork over some $$ but it will safe you in the long run i fish a lot in the Ga heat and I can keep ice for 2/3 days if you dont open and close it a lot

 

[scoobeb]

I like the yeti coolers but imo $300+ for a piece of plastic is rediculous. The coolers themselves are big on the outside but really small on the inside because the walls are 10ft thick,my 70qt marine igloo does just fine for $50. The ice maker I got is insane and makes 2lbs of ice per hr so ice will never be a problem again. I made near 100lbs in less than 2days,that is killer. Plus I put filtered water in it for regular home ice and it's clean ice cubes instead of tap water. Best $187 I Ever spent. It will pay for itself in months.