The vitally important question... of cold beer
Discussion
This year there's only a couple of us going, and we're going in a motorhome. It'll be a ballache to go out of the campsite to get ice, and we probably won't have an electric hookup.
SO...
Anyone thought of any cunning beer chilling solutions that get your beer genuinely cold and don't involve a) electricity or b) buying ice? Is there some sort of Co2 based solution???
SO...
Anyone thought of any cunning beer chilling solutions that get your beer genuinely cold and don't involve a) electricity or b) buying ice? Is there some sort of Co2 based solution???
OK, just to add a bit more info...
We have done this before in various different guises (chest freezer, fridge, coolbox, individual cool bags, even a pit dug in the ground with a bin sunk into it - which worked quite well incidentally) so I'm looking for new ideas we haven't tried before really. This is our fifth time going but in past years we've had more than one vehicle and it hasn't been a problem to go out for ice or genny fuel.
A generator isn't an ideal solution either - for one thing they make a racket unless you have an expensive one (I don't, my 2 stroke genny is loud as you like), and for another, you need enough fuel to keep it going, or you have to go out with a gerry can regularly to keep getting fuel. This goes back to my point about not wanting to take the motorhome out of the car park any more than we have to.
So, back to the original question - does anyone have any novel ideas for ways of cooling the beer that don't involve ice or electricity...?
We have done this before in various different guises (chest freezer, fridge, coolbox, individual cool bags, even a pit dug in the ground with a bin sunk into it - which worked quite well incidentally) so I'm looking for new ideas we haven't tried before really. This is our fifth time going but in past years we've had more than one vehicle and it hasn't been a problem to go out for ice or genny fuel.
A generator isn't an ideal solution either - for one thing they make a racket unless you have an expensive one (I don't, my 2 stroke genny is loud as you like), and for another, you need enough fuel to keep it going, or you have to go out with a gerry can regularly to keep getting fuel. This goes back to my point about not wanting to take the motorhome out of the car park any more than we have to.
So, back to the original question - does anyone have any novel ideas for ways of cooling the beer that don't involve ice or electricity...?
The other issue with generators is that a domestic fridge doesn't draw a constant amount of power, it cycles as the compressor cuts in and out. Unless you are also running lots of other items (not just a couple of lights and a phone charger) then the gennie will be just ticking over and will often stall when the compressor cuts in as it can't rev up quick enough.
The only non-power solution is to buy a very good coolbox. We got an american Igloo box from Costco that is huge and claims to keep ice frozen for 5-days (if you don't open the lid). Then you can pre-freeze loads of ice using ice cream tubs etc. You can also freeze cartons of juice which can then be drunk after a few days once they've thawed out. One year I even made a giant block of ice using a couple of bin liners inside a cardboard box and adding a small amount of water everyday for a couple of weeks.
The only non-power solution is to buy a very good coolbox. We got an american Igloo box from Costco that is huge and claims to keep ice frozen for 5-days (if you don't open the lid). Then you can pre-freeze loads of ice using ice cream tubs etc. You can also freeze cartons of juice which can then be drunk after a few days once they've thawed out. One year I even made a giant block of ice using a couple of bin liners inside a cardboard box and adding a small amount of water everyday for a couple of weeks.
-Lummox- said:
So, back to the original question - does anyone have any novel ideas for ways of cooling the beer that don't involve ice or electricity...?
I'll try again...http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p471...
Nick M said:
Ditto above.Drive down 12V hookup keeps cool, on site gas bottle. They do struggle on very hot days and can produce ice on cool nights.
dan5oclocksmith said:
So what if there's no hookup - take a small generator to run your fridge.
We looked into all sorts of options, but the only one that has worked is to take a generator
Agreed, rocket-science it 'aint We looked into all sorts of options, but the only one that has worked is to take a generator
small genny will plug into you motorhome unless its a real crock
-Lummox- said:
So, back to the original question - does anyone have any novel ideas for ways of cooling the beer that don't involve ice or electricity...?
Apologies for the ice based chunter but I was distracted by the mere mention of fermented beverages.I still think the best solution is pre-made ice and a decent coolbox. The camper should have plenty of storage space and as long as you've got more than a ice-drawer in a fridge at home then job's a good 'un.
Went with the Gulp Gang last year and they had a Costco drag along cool box on wheels, the beer was kept in the fridge powered off a genny, but the cunning part was a Costco ice machine. 10 minutes and it would start to fill the cool box, and you had freezing beer for the rest of the day.
lost in espace said:
Went with the Gulp Gang last year and they had a Costco drag along cool box on wheels, the beer was kept in the fridge powered off a genny, but the cunning part was a Costco ice machine. 10 minutes and it would start to fill the cool box, and you had freezing beer for the rest of the day.
As in, a machine that makes ice?Genius.
Why have I never seen one in Costco?!
We've taken an ice maker which I got on eBay for buttons a few years back. No good to the OP of course but we always have ice for the G&T's !!!! Along with a fridge and a couple of igloo boxes we're never short of cold beverages
Amazing what you can barter for some ice half way through the weekend as well...
Amazing what you can barter for some ice half way through the weekend as well...
We've looked at the options a few times in the motorhome. When running on gas the dual fridge and little ice compartment can't keep up with opening and shutting the door every 5 mins especially when it's really hot! We ended up with gone off steak which was a real ******! The year before last we managed to hook up to electric which kept are beer at about the right temperature, not perfect but cold! Last year we were on Houx Annexe and knew we wouldn't be able to hook up so we froze large coke bottles, ice cream tubs, butter tubs, freezer bags etc at home then packed them tightly into a coolbox, then took another coolbox with more ice in that we added the beer to. Each time the beer stopped cooling we'd throw in a new block of ice from the ice only coolbox. That way the lid wasn't being taken off every 5 minutes so the ice stayed frozen. Went Wednesday night and still had drinkable cool beer on the Sunday night! Takes a bit of planning though. By the way if your running a cheap generator and plugging it into your motorhome make sure the 12 volt tranformer is turned off else you'll probably fry it like we did last year!
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