How many coolers

There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding on the cooler size that is right for you. You will likely need to consider how many days you are camping, how many people you are camping with, how many perishable food items to bring, etc. We want you to enjoy your camping trip with as little stress as possible. Coolers that fall into the small category range from about quarts. On the smaller end, 8 quart coolers like the Yeti Hopper can carry 8 cans and 5 pounds of ice. An 8 quart cooler combines lightweight design and spacious interior make it a perfect cooler for short overnight or weekend trips on your own.

If you want a larger capacity cooler, maybe to store the fish you catch while camping, 20 quart coolers will do the job. The Driftsun 20 quart hard-sided cooler, for example, has the capacity to simultaneously hold 18 cans and 12 pounds of ice. Want to bring a bottle of champagne to celebrate your relationship, or have a romantic outdoorsy picnic? For outdoorsy couples, we recommend coolers between 20 and 40 quarts.

The sun continues to beat down on the remaining coolers. I've had this cooler for years and it proved its worth in this test. It held ice for 52 hours and 35 minutes 2 days 4 hours 35 minutes. The water temperature was a chilly Three coolers remain in the challenge. The Yeti, Orca and Pelican all had ice, but for the first time there was more water than ice. The Yeti and Orca had some small chunks floating with many more small pieces. The Pelican still had mostly large chunks of ice with a few small pieces floating around.

I took a quick peak inside all three coolers and found the hot afternoon temperatures had taken a toll. All three had lost significant amounts of ice in the past three hours. The Yeti Tundra 50 lost all ice just after sunset on day 3. It held ice for 80 hours 55 minutes 3 days 8 hours 55 minutes. The water temperature inside the cooler was 37deg. The Orca and Pelican coolers still had some ice left floating around on top.

The Orca's ice finally melted just after dark on day three. The Orca 40 held ice for 81 hours and 31 minutes 3 days 9 hours 31 minutes. The inside water temperature was the coldest measured in any cooler at The winner is The Pelican ProGear Elite 45 quart cooler. This cooler won our ice challenge by holding 20 pounds of ice for 82 hours 56 minutes 3 days 10 hours 56 minutes.

The inside water temperature was 37deg. Conclusions and Observations. If you only need to hold ice for a day or two, most any cooler will do the job. But, if you need ice for more than a couple days, the premium coolers can get the job done. The catch? Premium coolers are far more expensive, triple the price in some cases. The Pelican, Yeti and Orca all held 20 pounds of ice at least one more day than a standard cooler. Add 10 pounds more ice to the coolers and some would have held ice for 5 days.

My observations about the coolers tested. The Pelican and Orca have the tightest seals by far. Both required real effort once the ice melted. The seals created a vacuum that made it harder to open the lids. I had to open the lids to drain all three of the premium coolers because their seals lock air out so efficiently.

The Buckwaters 48 Soft Side cooler showed its worth in several categories. It was much lighter than all coolers but the styrofoam and can be flattened when not in use. The lifetime warranty on the liner is also a plus. The Orca offers the extra storage net included on the back of the cooler. It is a very useful feature. The rubber latch are also very robust. The Coleman Steel Belted 54 quart cooler is made of steel and has a very secure latch.

The clean lines and vintage look are appealing. The Pelican ProGear Elite 45 quart cooler is the heaviest of all the cooler tested but is the only one that offers wheels and a sturdy handle so it can be rolled around. It features a bottle opener and ruler on the lid, very useful for anglers. I prefer the patented latches on this cooler. An evaporative cooler should have at least two speeds and a vent-only option. During vent-only operation, the water pump does not operate and the outdoor air is not humidified.

This lets you use the evaporative cooler as a whole-house fan in a residential application during mild weather. Control the cooler's air movement through the house by adjusting window openings. Open the windows or vents on the leeward side of the house to provide 1 to 2 square feet of opening for each 1, cfm of cooling capacity.

Experiment to find the right windows to open and the correct amount to open them. If the windows are open too far, too much hot air will enter.

If the windows are not open far enough, humidity will build up in the home. You can regulate both temperature and humidity by opening windows in the areas you want to cool, and closing windows in unoccupied areas.

Where open windows create a security issue, install up-ducts in the ceiling. Up-ducts open to exhaust warm air into the attic as cooler air comes in from the evaporative cooler.

Evaporative coolers installed with up-ducts will need additional attic ventilation. Optional filters remove most of the dust from incoming air -- an attractive option for homeowners concerned about allergies.

Filters can also reduce the tendency of some coolers to pull water droplets from the pads into the blades of the fan. Most evaporative coolers do not have air filters as original equipment, but they can be fitted to the cooler during or after installation. Save yourself a lot of work and money by draining and cleaning your evaporative cooler regularly.

Build-up of sediment and minerals should be regularly removed. Evaporative coolers need a major cleaning every season, and may need routine maintenance several times during the cooling season. The more a cooler operates, the more maintenance it will need. In hot climates where the cooler operates much of the time, look at the pads, filters, reservoir, and pump at least once a month.