To drain or not to drain? Another ice chest question.

DutchmenSport wrote:
I don't drain. No need. We have an electric cooler. Runs on 12 volt DC. Plug into cigarette adapter.

I hear that..... I also use 2 electric refrigerator/freezers. No wet food, precise temp control from 40 to -10 and lots more room since there is no ice wasting space. Just need 12 volts either truck, extra battery, solar, 110, etc.

be carefull with salt or you will quickly have frozen drinks. After making ice cream one day, I decided to teach the grandkids about how salt lowers the water temp. had them put their warm plastic water bottles in the remaining ice water all water, no ice left. It only took about 15 minutes to turn the bottle into completely frozen drinks. Course they were scratching their heads since the "ice" water was liquid, but the bottles were froze solid.

Neat science experiment for them.

Saturated salt water will be at 0F. That's the OF reference for the F scale, with 100F being human body temp. course they were off a little with body temp.

I drain the cooler when it's storing fresh meats, some cheeses (semi to hard) and produce; I don't drain the cooler when it's storing frozen foods and beverages for the most part.

I travel with at least 3 coolers when tent camping on a long term basis: one that functions as a freezer; one that's a fridge, and one that stores beverages. Each has it's own protocol.

I'll use the same thinking when RVing.

Myth busters did a show on this, definitely keep the water in, surface contact with ice or ice water helps, also no air spaces

Sometimes I drain,, depending on if I have food products I don't want to get soaked. Other than that I do not drain!! Nothing better than reaching in the cooler a few days after we have been home and finding a nice cold beer!!!

Having been an expedition whitewater rafter for the last 17+ years, trips often take anywhere from 5 to 23 days with no resupply, this is one of the most debated questions we continually discuss. We actually have a rafter in Minnesota, a scientist, who built a test room with temperature controls and multiple point sensors and ran an experiment over the course of two years on whether ice lasts longer by draining or not draining the cooler. The conclusion is that ice will last nominally longer by not draining the cooler. While that may be significant to some, it is not to me. I drain to ensure that food in the cooler is not contaminated by the water sloshing around. Even though we vac bag all of our food it is important to keep in mind that vac bags lose their seal, and people with dirty hands get into the cooler to get things out, and when that happens the outside of the other bags can become contaminated and transfer that contamination to one's hands during the prep and cooking process. On a 23 day Grand Canyon rafting trip that contamination can spread a virus through a group of campers faster than anyone could imagine. If the cooler is drinks only the issue is somewhat less critical although without good personal hygiene the water can become contaminated by using dirty hands to fish out a cold beverage.

My method is to use nothing but block ice in coolers whenever possible. It cools more efficiently and lasts much longer. I also drain daily, mostly in the morning when the outside air is cooler. We have even gone so far as to put 6"-8" of water in a large cooler, 105 quarts or larger, and freeze it solid in a commercial freezer to make one large block of ice in the bottom of the cooler. One of the best things that can be done is to get a piece of the foil covered Styrofoam insulation and cut it to fit inside the cooler and let it sit on top of the food. This essentially reduces the size of the cooler as the contents are used and sit lower in the cooler. Another good practice is to keep the cooler in the shade a have a wet towel over to keep it cooler on the outside. One can also put in a quantity of dry ice on top of the food and wrapped in newspaper to keep the ice from melting on the way to the campsite. Beware of frostbite when handling dry ice. Anyway, this is my experience.
RichH

I normally drain mine since we seem to move it around a lot and it gets a bit heavy.

Adding salt lowers the temp and freezing point so adding drops the temp but melts it faster.

They wouldn't put salt on roads if it made it be ice longer.

It depends what is in the cooler; if a lot of stuff that would be damaged by water; sandwiches, etc I drain more often. Cans I leave the water in and when I add more ice I drain some.

Leaving the water in the cooler gives the entire cooler a greater mass and therefore it will change temperature more slowly. Which is what you want.

Water has a pretty high heat capacity---takes a fair amount of heat input to change the temperature of a large quantity of water by even 1 degree. So leaving the water in place will let the cooler absorb more heat before it changes temperature.

The best thing to do is start with your ice frozen in containers---anything from a Rubbermaid food container (of any size) or water bottles---whatever fits your cooler. That gives you large chunks of ice which melt more slowly, and contains the water so you don't have waterlogged food.

If you are buying ice, put it in some closed containers with a good seal. Double ziploc bags work well. That will keep the water contained.

When they start to package beer in cardboard containers, I'll drain the water.
Until then, the water stays as long as it's cold.