Block Ice

[Canoetripper]

I have always heard or been told that block ice lasts so much longer, but have never actually found it until recently at my local beer distributor in Manheim, PA(Zern's).

20 lb. blocks.

I have four coolers, three of them are at least 20 years old like my 50 and 60 quart Gotts and my 80 quart Rubbermaid. My 45 quart Yeti is relatively new.

I have to admit that I am very impressed with block ice. So much so that I never let my coolers get to room temperature. One of those blocks will keep a cooler cold for well over a week. Two works even better.

I don't use all of them all of the time, but when I need them, they are very cold and ready to perform.

The Yeti is my beer cooler and stays the coldest. As old as the Gotts are, they stay more than cold enough for a 4 day weekend in the summer.

 

[Millsertime]

Growing up in south dakota, we always bough block ice for long weekends camping on the Missouri.

I don't know if I've ever seen it in the Poconos although I typically don't buy ice and if I do; I grab it at Wawa.

When I go camping now, I just fill some milk jugs with water and freeze them a few days prior but yes, I agree block ice is the way to go if your cooler is big enough to have room for a block and the items you're looking to keep cold.

 

[UncleShorty]

Nothin' keeps a keg of barley pop ice cold better than a solid 10 lb block of dihydrogen monoxide settin' on top of it...

For camping/traveling I've been very pleased with my dry cooler method. I use Glad 2 liter rectangular food storage containers. I fill each with a liter and a half of water; each makes 3.1 lbs of ice. I make 5 for a total of 16.5 lbs.

I precool the cooler, a cheap Coleman 48 quart, (They don't make 'em like they used to...), using two 2 liter frozen soda bottles I keep in the deep freeze, overnight.

I put all the food that will fit into 4 or 5 more Glad containers. Then I load the cooler, distributing my food and ice at either end of the cooler and putting stuff that doesn't fit in containers in the middle space.

In the 4Runner I set the cooler on a blanket and cover it with a second. The whole she-bang strapped down, of course.

I've kept milk, meat, veggies and their accoutrements fresh for 4 days with out overhauling - CO, highs in mid-70's

I like that I have a supply of pure drinking water as the ice melts. I also don't have to deal with my chow floating around in a sloppy mess.

It works for me. Your mileage may vary...

 

[gulfgreyhound]

I use gallon milk jugs of frozen water in my coolers. It lasts longer here in the Florida heat. GG

 

[dryflyguy]

Pretty hard for me to find block ice anymore.
So, I started making my own in our chest freezer.

My cooler has a tray that measures 12 X 12 x 4 inches deep.
I've been filling it to make nice size blocks, that perfectly match the width of the cooler.

One block will last 3-4 days.
Two will last a week.

Beats getting a bag of ice of everyday, which I would be doing in hot weather.

 

[Canoetripper]

I am going to guess that the 20 lb. blocks that I buy are 12"X12"X6." I have never measured them at the point of purchase.

I could be wrong about that though. I do know that water weighs 8.33 lbs./gallon. Because of that Juniata College knowledge, I drain coolers frequently. From many years of canoe trips, I do know that it is very important to get rid of excess water in a canoe ASAP.

I don't know if there is a difference between frozen or liquid.

I have noticed that my larger Rubbermaid 80 qt and Gott 60 qt. keep ice longer than my smaller Gott 50 qt. That said, my 45 qt. Yeti is better, but it should be since it was the more expensive of the above three.

 

[tomgamber]

Yep, nothing like block ice...