Like the idea! I found salt water ( 1 gallon water, 1cup salt ) seems to work just as well and no chemicals to deal with. Plus I put the tubes all the way across the bottom and cut holes in my divider so I don’t need two different sizes. Works very well I kept an elk in mine 5 days and never went over 38 DEGREES in that time! So 3 days hunting and two days driving I have cheep fridge thermometers from target I used to keep tabs on temp! Now I only opened my cooler three times to check temp after I put elk in it. Great hack keep up the good work!
Thanks and I love hearing that feedback. I almost went the salt route and can’t remember why I did this way instead lol… but sounds like yours is working like a charm!
When I made mine I put them in a sash clamp. The sash clamp also helped to close them. I just used plain water and 10% salt. Freezing solid is a good thing as you get the latent heat of melting before the temperature starts to rise. 10% salt gives you a freezing temperature of -6C which is good. My version was much cheaper, there was no need for fancy chemicals as the fluid is just sitting in a solid tube.
Not really sure what you mean. I keep them in my freezer permanently until I’m ready to use them. Last hunt I did, they kept 4 hogs cold for 2 days after sitting in the ice chest for 3 days.
So far so good! It still makes a big difference if the cooler is packed full to the brim for ice retention, so for the longer trips I’ll still use frozen milk jugs to hold the ice longer and then pull those and just use these to keep the meat cool once there’s a harvest.
Hard to say, because I’ve never tried a blue ice block this big. I’m sure these stay frozen longer than the small blue blocks you can buy at the store, but ounce per ounce is a mystery to me.
The divider is a cool idea! Make an air-tight lid for the meat section that you barely need access to. That way when you open the cooler's lid to get at the drink section you won't introduce much heat to the main compartment. How are the ice tubes holding up? Because that was the main complaint about freezing water bottles, right?
That’s a fantastic idea! I’ll be making an internal lid for sure. They’ve been holding up really well. I still notice that if I have a full cooler of frozen water jugs, they hold the freeze longer, but that’s likely due to more volume total. I may do a combo of both for long trips, and then just use the tubes once there’s a load of meat in there.
@@Wallymakesstuff I believe the surface area to volume matters to how fast things melt. So a cubic foot of ice would melt slower than 8 six inch cubes under the same conditions.
They make this wonderful tool called clamps that you can use to clamp things together if you don't want them to separate or be held together without expanding. Just a thought I am no expert in the field, but I am sure I have used clamps to do something similar. But you do what you thinknis best most guys don't like the feeling of some longbhatlrd and cylindrical up their butt
The "real" way to assemble those is to drill a tiny pressure relief hole in the lid, fill and seal it, then glue in a plug to seal the pressure relief hole.
Good for about 4 days in 90 degree weather on a hog hunt this spring. Hoping to get a week with them during elk season this fall. Did a great job keeping the meat off the bottom while not making it wet from condensation also. Takes very little space relative to frozen jugs.
Consider adding sodium sulfate to raise the freezing temp, I saw a video about using it to make a solution that freezes at 68° f, it also stays colder longer than regular ice...
Like the idea! I found salt water ( 1 gallon water, 1cup salt ) seems to work just as well and no chemicals to deal with. Plus I put the tubes all the way across the bottom and cut holes in my divider so I don’t need two different sizes. Works very well I kept an elk in mine 5 days and never went over 38 DEGREES in that time! So 3 days hunting and two days driving I have cheep fridge thermometers from target I used to keep tabs on temp! Now I only opened my cooler three times to check temp after I put elk in it. Great hack keep up the good work!
Thanks and I love hearing that feedback. I almost went the salt route and can’t remember why I did this way instead lol… but sounds like yours is working like a charm!
When I made mine I put them in a sash clamp. The sash clamp also helped to close them. I just used plain water and 10% salt. Freezing solid is a good thing as you get the latent heat of melting before the temperature starts to rise. 10% salt gives you a freezing temperature of -6C which is good. My version was much cheaper, there was no need for fancy chemicals as the fluid is just sitting in a solid tube.
Cool build!
I also would like to know about the end result of cooling particularly. Did they cool well for 2 full days?
Not really sure what you mean. I keep them in my freezer permanently until I’m ready to use them. Last hunt I did, they kept 4 hogs cold for 2 days after sitting in the ice chest for 3 days.
Drill very small vent hole. Install end cap. Plug small hole and cement.
How are they holding up?
So far so good! It still makes a big difference if the cooler is packed full to the brim for ice retention, so for the longer trips I’ll still use frozen milk jugs to hold the ice longer and then pull those and just use these to keep the meat cool once there’s a harvest.
Great idea, do they last longer than the blue ice blocks?
Hard to say, because I’ve never tried a blue ice block this big. I’m sure these stay frozen longer than the small blue blocks you can buy at the store, but ounce per ounce is a mystery to me.
The divider is a cool idea!
Make an air-tight lid for the meat section that you barely need access to. That way when you open the cooler's lid to get at the drink section you won't introduce much heat to the main compartment.
How are the ice tubes holding up? Because that was the main complaint about freezing water bottles, right?
That’s a fantastic idea! I’ll be making an internal lid for sure.
They’ve been holding up really well. I still notice that if I have a full cooler of frozen water jugs, they hold the freeze longer, but that’s likely due to more volume total. I may do a combo of both for long trips, and then just use the tubes once there’s a load of meat in there.
@@Wallymakesstuff I believe the surface area to volume matters to how fast things melt. So a cubic foot of ice would melt slower than 8 six inch cubes under the same conditions.
@@fireinacanyep, makes sense. And total volume of ice in the cooler. I’ll try making that foam lid too and see how much that helps.
Wood working clamps. ?
Bar clamps to hold the pipe caps in place while the glue cures...
You have a striking resemblance to Scott Bakula. I feel like I'm watching an episode of Enterprise.
Thanks, I’ll take that!
They make this wonderful tool called clamps that you can use to clamp things together if you don't want them to separate or be held together without expanding. Just a thought I am no expert in the field, but I am sure I have used clamps to do something similar. But you do what you thinknis best most guys don't like the feeling of some longbhatlrd and cylindrical up their butt
That had me lol 😂 - yeah clamps were an afterthought
Instead of sitting on it I was thinking a tie down ratchet strap
I like that idea! Ratchet strap with some way to prevent it from slipping off
The "real" way to assemble those is to drill a tiny pressure relief hole in the lid, fill and seal it, then glue in a plug to seal the pressure relief hole.
Wish I thought of that before I made these!
Update ?
Good for about 4 days in 90 degree weather on a hog hunt this spring. Hoping to get a week with them during elk season this fall. Did a great job keeping the meat off the bottom while not making it wet from condensation also. Takes very little space relative to frozen jugs.
Consider adding sodium sulfate to raise the freezing temp, I saw a video about using it to make a solution that freezes at 68° f, it also stays colder longer than regular ice...
ua-cam.com/video/Nqxjfp4Gi0k/v-deo.htmlsi=RZxcxH53kqJV63PI
@@Thorin7.62man that sounds like an awesome idea! I wish I had done that. Maybe it’s worth a comparison video in the future.