bertram31.com

I've been looking at options for a large ice chest for tuna fishing. They all seem to be very expensive. The brands I've looked at are Engle, SSI, Yeti and Frigid Rigid. Most that are in the 300 quart range go for between $600 and $1000. Due to the high prices, I have heard that some guys have even used high density foam and fiberglass and made their own. Any advise form the faithful for a good option for a large ice chest for the 31?

Thanks,

JR

Call SSI and ask if they have any returns. I bought one at Defender in the warehouse closeout and got very lucky. I always thought they were expensive, but I will tell you, it is the best cooler I ever have had.

Just an awesome box.

Dug

Jack,

If you try to build your own, use low density foam. Refrigeration foam is usually 1.5 - 3 lbs per cubic foot density. The lower the density, the better the thermal insulation will be.

Br,

Patrick

The Coonass way is to pick up (for free) a broken chest freezer and use it till it rusts up, then drop it overboard for a reef, and get another one. Put some rubber matting uder the feet to keep it from sliding around. Highly cost effective, and they keep block ice as long or longer than the fancy coolers.

UV

Thanks Dug and Capt. Patrick,

Is the low density foam the pink stuff that they sell at Home Depot for home insulation? Any problem with the resin or epoxy used with Fiberglass reacting with the low density foam? I was thinking I could cut the foam and use a heavy tape to make the box, then put several layers of glass over that.

Thanks,

JR

Have you thought of using a kill bag..
keep it clean &you can sleep on it like an air mattress other times.. or fold it up,&stow it..
Wayne

...and it worked GREAT. I made the box out of a wooden frame of 3/4 poplar. I used that light (less than 1/4") luan plywood on the outside and 1.5inch pink foam panels epoxied to the inside. I then used light glass on the outside and heavy roving / matt on the inside, especially the bottom (to absorb the impact of throwing ice blocks into the cooler). The wholething was faired out and painted. It worked great - i once had ice last for nearly 5 full summer days in there.

I've heard that some guys use thin fiberglass panels on the inside to imporve shock aborbsion and Capt Pat has said that epoxy is probably no the best resin to use to glue foam panels to wood...but that is what i did and got away with it.

Its a great winter project - and since you are making it form scratch, you can make it the EXACT size that you need, not forced to choose between something that is too big, or too small that what you need.

I think the West Sytem Epoxy website had a section for "projects" and they also had a few neat ideas. Lots of ways to skin this cat without writing big checks

Joe

The SSI 320 holds ice great, just don't drag them on the ground...there's no runners on the bottom and the plastic is real thin and you'll wear it down to the foam. Nowhere near as heavy duty as a Yetti.

Joef,

That's similar to what I had in mind, but was thinking of making the box out of the foam and holding it together with tape, then glassing over it. Not sure this would be strong enough. Do you remember what the cost of materials was for your box?

Bruce,

Thanks I have that on on my watch list.

Ironman,

Yes, I am still considering a kill bag as well. Great idea to use as a sleeping cushion.

Go Saints

JR

Jack,

That SSI Bruce posted on Ebay is a heck of a deal. You will love that cooler! The cushion alone is worth the price!

go buy that and don't look back!!!!!

But John is right. Don't drag it if you don't have to.

Seriously, go buy that SSI on Ebay!!!!!!!!!!

Dug

My Henriques had fishboxes that would hold ice fine for 36 hours..I asked Jack how they were built and he stated to me he cored them with 1/2 divincell. Worked very well...

JR - hard to estimate the true cost of that box because i used a lot of stuff that was sitting around my garage. The foam panels were cheap...20 bucks at home depot. The fiberglass might be another 20-30 bucks - I had the west system epoxy - but that stuff is 100 bucks a gallon (again though, probably no the best stuff for this job). Some stainless steel hinges for the lid and stainless handles. the paint was $50 bucks.

Now that you are making me put it all down on paper, it was probably more expensive than buying a high-end cooler... one the other hand it was a great project. The paintjob was top-notch - and that thing fit exactly into the avail space so i really maximized ice-carrying capacity. And techincally, it would keep ice for a week (in summer). I made a realy project out of the lip-seal on the lid...NASA had nothing on me!

I'm sure you could build the thing with foam panels without the frame - you'd need more glass to make it strong enough to suport a person sitting on it and to proteect it from the abuse of flying 10lb chunks of ice that your crew throws into it.

Joe

And don't forget to add wood inserts for hinges, latches, handles, tie downs, etc.

Like my hard hats and PFD's I pick up my ice chests on the side of the road. The ultimate recycling.
On the way to Hatteras from Manteo I passed a large 200 qt cooler on the side of the road. Went back and picked it up with a dozen nice dolphin and ice. Good eating and I still (twenty-five years later) have the cooler.

I dont know about where you live but here I know some baymen and after storms with high tides they will have some nice coolers to be had for 1 or 2 sixpacks.

Mikey,

Great story. I'll keep my eyes peeled on the way to Venice next week. Was planning on going out for Yellowfin on Thursday, but the WX man is calling for 6 to 8's. Talked to Capt. Will Wall today and he caught a 71# Wahoo and several more in the 40# range out of Venice this morning. He said it was very rough today, despite calm winds when he got back to the dock.

JR