Anyone using Polar Bear tubes?
I have been reading posts on Polar Bear Tubes and wondering how long the ice lasts. I expect they are 2" tubes. Any ideas?
Forum Discussion
Haven't used polar bear tubes yet but I suspect their cooling time length is in direct proportion to how much insulation your cooler has and the exterior temperature.
Currently, I use 1/2 gal rectangular juice bottles (takes up less space and has less air pockets than milk containers) and blue ice packs to keep the cooler contents cold and I generally get between 5-10 days use before they become just cold water. I use a Coleman 5 and 6 cooler as a freezer and fridge and a MaxiCold 5 day for beverages so this helps to explain the varying length of times. The beverage cooler I've come to find out could be just any old cooler since it's opened so frequently that a daily bag of ice is needed. The freezer cooler needs additional ice about every 3 days to keep the block ice frozen and the fridge cooler every 2 days. This works for beach weather. I expect it would be better in cooler temperatures with more trees.
Polar tubes and block ice in juice containers are pretty much the same idea in different shaped containers:). One caveat....get the biggest diameter PVC pipe you can find that'll fit in your cooler because the bigger the ice block the slower it'll melt.
We frequently camp for 2-3 weeks at a time but if you are going for say a 3 day weekend you'll prolly be going home w/ the block ice still solid. Oh and don't forget to put a sacrificial bag of ice in the cooler the night before you leave so the box is already cold when you put the food in.
Currently, I use 1/2 gal rectangular juice bottles (takes up less space and has less air pockets than milk containers) and blue ice packs to keep the cooler contents cold and I generally get between 5-10 days use before they become just cold water. I use a Coleman 5 and 6 cooler as a freezer and fridge and a MaxiCold 5 day for beverages so this helps to explain the varying length of times. The beverage cooler I've come to find out could be just any old cooler since it's opened so frequently that a daily bag of ice is needed. The freezer cooler needs additional ice about every 3 days to keep the block ice frozen and the fridge cooler every 2 days. This works for beach weather. I expect it would be better in cooler temperatures with more trees.
Polar tubes and block ice in juice containers are pretty much the same idea in different shaped containers:). One caveat....get the biggest diameter PVC pipe you can find that'll fit in your cooler because the bigger the ice block the slower it'll melt.
We frequently camp for 2-3 weeks at a time but if you are going for say a 3 day weekend you'll prolly be going home w/ the block ice still solid. Oh and don't forget to put a sacrificial bag of ice in the cooler the night before you leave so the box is already cold when you put the food in.
