Man
Member
I've had the Colman Xtreme5 from Sportsmans for about two years of full-time overlanding. I had changed my diet back then from vegetarian to be a meat eater and I was overlanding w/out a cooler for at least 3 years. Initially after getting the cooler and experimenting with ice usage, ice was lasting about 4 days where the last day there were a hand full of ice cubes left. I just had eggs and steak in there. The goal was is to only go to town once a week.
The first mod I made to the cooler to increase efficiency was a blanket setup. Last year I bought a roll of R13 insulation (in plastic), a clear plastic sheet, duct tape and blade to make a custom fitting blanket. It is actually one blanket that wraps the wide side, a top and a bottom. The wrapped blanket was made too wide and too tall so that the top piece is inset and the blanket wraps past itself. Then two straps I already had were used to fasten the blanket. With that setup and another change to remove the eggs to add more ice, it will last 7 days. Last week the heat was anywhere from 85-92F as a high and 55-65F for the lows. There was still enough ice to cover the remaining meat. But since it was hot I was wrapping additional blankets over it because of the extra heat so early this year.
Getting the most out of the cooler is becoming a hobby. I heard on Reddit about a cooler mod to inject foam. After doing searches I found the cheaper coolers aren't even insulated. No wonder the ice melted so fast, lol. I don't think mine is insulated. I've never done the mod and I'm pretty sure I can ******** this up, the foam could bust out the sides and I'll have to spend another $60 for a new cooler and I don't have that extra money right now. On the other hand, if the mod is done correctly it could increase the efficiency of the cooler so I can stay 8-9 days before going to town. So I bought a drill for $16 at Harbor Freight, a 5/16 drill bit and foam. There were several foam options at Lowes, but the only real difference was the color of the can and the price. The text on the can was all about how to use it and precautions. Then prices varied from $3.50 to $9.00 for 10 oz. Since there wasn't any clarity on what we get for that extra money, I bought the cheapest and it was red, lol. Red is good. One difference among the cans was the Red one indicates it can fill gaps up to one inch. Each foam can at the store said on the back not to use the foam for my use case, lol. It says "Not to be used for filling closed cavities or voids."
I'm planning to drill maybe 5-7 holes on each of the wide sides at the very top. Then drill 2 or 3 on the narrow sides at the top. Then start injecting and this is where I'm looking for help. I'm not sure when to let off the foam release trigger. Too much in there and it will ooze out but it may also crack open the cooler during expansion I think, or will it? Has anyone completed the foam insulating mod? How many cans did the cooler take and what size cooler was it? Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
The first mod I made to the cooler to increase efficiency was a blanket setup. Last year I bought a roll of R13 insulation (in plastic), a clear plastic sheet, duct tape and blade to make a custom fitting blanket. It is actually one blanket that wraps the wide side, a top and a bottom. The wrapped blanket was made too wide and too tall so that the top piece is inset and the blanket wraps past itself. Then two straps I already had were used to fasten the blanket. With that setup and another change to remove the eggs to add more ice, it will last 7 days. Last week the heat was anywhere from 85-92F as a high and 55-65F for the lows. There was still enough ice to cover the remaining meat. But since it was hot I was wrapping additional blankets over it because of the extra heat so early this year.
Getting the most out of the cooler is becoming a hobby. I heard on Reddit about a cooler mod to inject foam. After doing searches I found the cheaper coolers aren't even insulated. No wonder the ice melted so fast, lol. I don't think mine is insulated. I've never done the mod and I'm pretty sure I can ******** this up, the foam could bust out the sides and I'll have to spend another $60 for a new cooler and I don't have that extra money right now. On the other hand, if the mod is done correctly it could increase the efficiency of the cooler so I can stay 8-9 days before going to town. So I bought a drill for $16 at Harbor Freight, a 5/16 drill bit and foam. There were several foam options at Lowes, but the only real difference was the color of the can and the price. The text on the can was all about how to use it and precautions. Then prices varied from $3.50 to $9.00 for 10 oz. Since there wasn't any clarity on what we get for that extra money, I bought the cheapest and it was red, lol. Red is good. One difference among the cans was the Red one indicates it can fill gaps up to one inch. Each foam can at the store said on the back not to use the foam for my use case, lol. It says "Not to be used for filling closed cavities or voids."
I'm planning to drill maybe 5-7 holes on each of the wide sides at the very top. Then drill 2 or 3 on the narrow sides at the top. Then start injecting and this is where I'm looking for help. I'm not sure when to let off the foam release trigger. Too much in there and it will ooze out but it may also crack open the cooler during expansion I think, or will it? Has anyone completed the foam insulating mod? How many cans did the cooler take and what size cooler was it? Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.