Block Ice vs Ice Water

[delmarrey]

Well, I did it. Went out a bought a portable 12V frig.

I'm going to follow Paul's lead except I'll be freezing rectangular bottles so they fit closer together closing up that air gap. And if I can manage to freeze a whole bottle once in a while in the new frig. I'll have have the best of both worlds. A chip off the ole block

I bought the floor model because I have a spot that it'll fit into perfectly and can be secured without loosing precious space.

[witzgall]

Drain the water, out of your icebox, and your body. One common misconception is when you outside and cold, you should keep the warm pee in your body, retaining it's heat. It takes more energy to keep it warm then what you lose buy _issing it out.

Just a sidebar....

[LtBrett]

The mythbusters or some other tv show tested the drain water vs. leave it in question. The clear winner was the cooler with the ice and water. Think about it in terms of the overall cold mass being reduced by draining out the water. Obviously, you want more cold mass than less.

Brett

[anotherT34C]

Originally Posted by LtBrett

The mythbusters or some other tv show tested the drain water vs. leave it in question. The clear winner was the cooler with the ice and water. Think about it in terms of the overall cold mass being reduced by draining out the water. Obviously, you want more cold mass than less.

Brett

^correct. Water is a liquid. It will both heat up and cool down slower than air (a gas). The melted ice in your cooler will be warmer than the unmelted ice, but cooler than the surrounding air. Long story short -leave the water.

As for urine... your surrounding body is mostly liquid (er.. some gas, I suppose). I'm not an MD, but I doubt emptying your urine filled bladder will leave you with a gas filled one... just a collapsed empty one, surrounded by mostly body temperature water. But... the urine will add some liquid mass to you, and it should hold heat. I would imagine the effect is minimal, though. I weigh 170lbs, and piss at most a pint at a time.

[john540]

Originally Posted by LtBrett

The mythbusters or some other tv show tested the drain water vs. leave it in question. The clear winner was the cooler with the ice and water. Think about it in terms of the overall cold mass being reduced by draining out the water. Obviously, you want more cold mass than less.

Brett

Can you provide a link? Every experiment I've ever seen shows the opposite!

[sailorboy1]

Water freezes and melts at 32 degress F. All it is is a phase change (lots of energy). Any difference is just going to be due to heat transfer flux across the container. But it isn't going to be much. I was sure smeone would say that basic therodymanics doesn't apply. The reason your ice cube in a glass has a difference is that the air is a better insulator than the water. But it would be false to drain the water and lose all that thermal mass of the cold water.

[Pblais]

The mythbusters or some other tv show tested the drain water vs. leave it in question.

Short term it is true but long term it becomes yet another mass to keep cold. Ice is colder than ice water at least in terms of cooling power. The phase change is the bigger boost. When you add ice would be a good time to drain the water. The water absorbs the energy just as easily as all the food and conducts the outside heat from the interiors walls of the ice box.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

I'm going to follow Paul's lead except I'll be freezing rectangular bottles so they fit closer together closing up that air gap.

Before putting together a solar/wind charging array, I used to use gallon milk cartons to get through a week-long cruise to the hot.

Now we just let the freezer and fridge run their little hearts out. Takes about 80 amps a day to keep them happy in the hot, but we've got amps to spare at this point.

[LtBrett]

Originally Posted by john540

Can you provide a link? Every experiment I've ever seen shows the opposite!

I took a quick look, but couldn't find the episode. But I did find a neat explanation. Physics still apply to beer coolers.

Re: SHOULD YOU DRAIN THE WATER FROM A COOLER TO KEEP FOOD FRESHER OR LEAVE IN?

Brett

[cantxsailor]

ENGEL. The only word in small 12vdc/110vac fridge/freezers. Mine sips power(2.5amps) and keeps my beer at 29F even when the cabin is over 100f (no A/C). I power it with an 85watt solar panel and my(noisy?) Airx 400watt(when theres enough wind) turbine. I have 2 160aH batteries and have never seen them get anywhere near low. The ENGEL is expensive but IMHO worth every cent when not having to worry about ice and the space it takes up. More space= more beer=more happy me..............m

[sandy daugherty]

Practical Sailor Magazine just published a factual evaluation of three refrigeration systems.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by sandy daugherty

Practical Sailor Magazine just published a factual evaluation of three refrigeration systems.

The report I saw was for Coolers*, not refrigeration.

Practical Sailor’s “Ice Chest*” Test Results:
➥ http://www.engel-usa.com/PS0908_BigC...nt0808_WEB.pdf