# Wooden Ice Chest-what is suitable thickness of styrofoam to use?



## Burnt_Blade (Dec 26, 2009)

I have been thinking of trying to make my own ice chest lately and one of the things been wondering was just how thick of styrofoam to use. Would 2" of the white type be fairly good? Or maybe go for thicker? Was thinking to be able to use frozen jugs of water in the bottom with a grate on top of them.

Has anyone tried to make their own ice chest? I have a big Coleman 7 day cooler which is awesome for what it is, but I have made a wooden grub box and was thinking of constructing a ice chest to look and operate along the same lines and be a matching pair. If it works out it should be a neat set up.


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## Fishbucket (Aug 18, 2010)

I'd think 2 inch of foam would be plenty. maybe even 1 1/2 inch. The wood is an insulator too. 

The bigger issue is the wood getting wet. are you going to line it with a galvinized box,plastic or epoxy?


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## Burnt_Blade (Dec 26, 2009)

Fishbucket said:


> I'd think 2 inch of foam would be plenty. maybe even 1 1/2 inch. The is an insulator too.
> 
> The bigger issue is the wood getting wet. are you going to line it with a galvinized box,plastic or epoxy?


I was thinking to make the liner from thin sheet aluminum and rivet and caulk the seams. The most water I would have to deal with would be condensate from the frozen jugs of water, so would either just dump it out or wipe it with paper towels etc., so wouldn't need to worry about installing some kind of drain.

Using 2" sure does cut down on the usable space inside when trying to keep the whole unit a manageable size though...


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

The facility that I work in receives items that must be kept cold in transit...

They arrive in cardboard boxes, containing decent sized 
(+/- 16"x24") styrofoam coolers, packed with "dry ice"...

We generally have fun with the nitrogen...:yes:

The coolers themselves have well-fitting lids on them, and would make excellent "insides" for a wooden box-type porch cooler...

I brought one home for just that project a while back, but left it in a bad place and the ol' lady crushed it with the car...:blink:

Anyway, ask or look around for anyplace that does vaccinations, ie. MD's office, vet, walmart, etc.

I'm certain that you'd have luck, and not have to worry too much about seepage...

My plan included a drain plug.

p


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

If I was making one I would stay away from the white Styrofoam. I like the Blue Styrofoam it's more dense then the white and it's available in 1 1/2" and 2" thickness in 2' x 8' sheets. It also can be cut on a band saw without tearing up. You should be able to get it at an insulation supplier. Either way you can't epoxy or glass over it because the foam will melt. Well with most things. You ban apply FRP over the foam and seal up the seams to make it water tight. Add a drain and your cooler will last a long time. If you use just the foam it may or may not last depending on how often and who uses it. The foam can be glued with Liquid nail (Construction adhesive).


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## Burnt_Blade (Dec 26, 2009)

rrbrown said:


> If I was making one I would stay away from the white Styrofoam. I like the Blue Styrofoam it's more dense then the white and it's available in 1 1/2" and 2" thickness in 2' x 8' sheets. It also can be cut on a band saw without tearing up. You should be able to get it at an insulation supplier. Either way you can't epoxy or glass over it because the foam will melt. Well with most things. You ban apply FRP over the foam and seal up the seams to make it water tight. Add a drain and your cooler will last a long time. If you use just the foam it may or may not last depending on how often and who uses it. The foam can be glued with Liquid nail (Construction adhesive).


Thanks for the FRP idea, I think that would be even better than the aluminum! Also, never considered that the blue foam was less messy to work with than the white stuff, but makes sense, for it is alot denser. If I can get away with 1.5" foam, that would be much better too, giving me a little more interior room.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Burnt_Blade said:


> Thanks for the FRP idea, I think that would be even better than the aluminum! Also, never considered that the blue foam was less messy to work with than the white stuff, but makes sense, for it is alot denser. If I can get away with 1.5" foam, that would be much better too, giving me a little more interior room.


I've cut all kinds of shapes out of the blue foam it can be sanded and shaped. The white stuff has to be cut with a heat knife so that it cuts and seals at the same time or you will have rough edges and white beads everywhere. Trust me, I've been there.:laughing:

1 1/2" blue foam should be plenty good enough. You also have the wood outside and the FRP that will help.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

The only problem, other than getting wet, with a wooden "ice chest" is the weight. Since you are wanting to match a grub box I assume that this will be used for camping.

George


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## Burnt_Blade (Dec 26, 2009)

GeorgeC said:


> The only problem, other than getting wet, with a wooden "ice chest" is the weight. Since you are wanting to match a grub box I assume that this will be used for camping.
> 
> George


Yep, I am hoping that the weight will not be too outrageous if I can keep the box to a manageable size.


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## Fishbucket (Aug 18, 2010)

The Blue foam, being denser, may not insulate as well as the air-filled styro. Check the R values


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## Improv (Aug 13, 2008)

Burnt_Blade said:


> I was thinking to make the liner from thin sheet aluminum and rivet and caulk the seams. The most water I would have to deal with would be condensate from the frozen jugs of water, so would either just dump it out or wipe it with paper towels etc., so wouldn't need to worry about installing some kind of drain.
> 
> Using 2" sure does cut down on the usable space inside when trying to keep the whole unit a manageable size though...


I pretty much did that exact thing to make a keg-box for a 4th of July weekend party. I think I used 1/2" beaded foam with Good Stuff to patch the gaps. I would use the extruded polystyrene sheet (pink and blue are just corporate ID colors). To drain it, I just installed a siphon tube, so when the water level rose too high it drain automatically.


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## Burnt_Blade (Dec 26, 2009)

Fishbucket said:


> The Blue foam, being denser, may not insulate as well as the air-filled styro. Check the R values


What a pain to find comparison R values for this stuff...:furious: Found r values for the blue stuff on the DOW site, but no luck with the plain jane white bead

The white expanded foam board is 3.6 to 4.0 R-value per inch.
The pink or blue stuff is 4.5 to 5.0 per inch
Polyiso is the best stuff at 7 to 8 R-value per inch (most expensive of course)


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## CaptRandy (Jan 27, 2011)

Burntblade,
Line with PVC board and sandwich insulation board between. Caulk the seams and it will las. Have done it in fishboxes on boat and keep tuna and other fish for the whole trip(24-36 hrs). Engine exhausts run past the fish boxes.


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## mjdtexan (Dec 13, 2008)

I have a friend down the road who makes those very same ice chest and he sells them. He uses actual coolers though. You can get them every where. He sometimes even uses the cheap white styro ones you can buy at the gas stations. I wanna see what you come up with though when you build yours.


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## Burnt_Blade (Dec 26, 2009)

mjdtexan said:


> I have a friend down the road who makes those very same ice chest and he sells them. He uses actual coolers though. You can get them every where. He sometimes even uses the cheap white styro ones you can buy at the gas stations. I wanna see what you come up with though when you build yours.


So he builds a wooden casing around an existing cooler? Only issue I have with most existing coolers is that they are not very good at keeping your ice for very long. Except for our super dooper Coleman 7 day (which has some seriously thick walls) all of our other coolers don't keep ice that well.

When I build mine, I want to make sure to address that problem as best I can.


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## Burnt_Blade (Dec 26, 2009)

txpaulie said:


> The facility that I work in receives items that must be kept cold in transit...
> 
> They arrive in cardboard boxes, containing decent sized
> (+/- 16"x24") styrofoam coolers, packed with "dry ice"...
> ...


I like this idea and there is a transport company down the road that transports frozen and refrigerated food, so if there was anyone that knew where to lay your hands on those type of cooler liners, they would be it. If they don't have some themselves...worth asking anyways!


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## c_mccann (Mar 17, 2011)

2 part pour foam is the way the boat builders insulate refrigerated holds and bait coolers in boats. Google 2-part foam and there are a few mfg's that make it. It is basically heavily catalized polyurathane. You mix part A with Part B, mix and pour into the void. It expands, dries and viola. You trim off the excess with a knife or power planer. I have used home made coolers with this foam and have kept 50lbs of ice cold for over 3 days- the cooler had 2-3" of foam on all sides. Amazing R value.
Figure any place that has air pockets in it will let the cold out.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Burnt_Blade said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *txpaulie*
> _The facility that I work in receives items that must be kept cold in transit...
> 
> ...


It don't take much for dry ice. After Katrina we were going back to work on houses for the week and my brother in law was in charge of getting the dry ice to keep our food and drinks cold. I didn't know he bought $40 worth which really isn't that much but he left it in the bag on top of the food and drinks. We didn't think anything about it. We stopped about 4 hrs later and went to get something to eat. Everything in the top 1/2 of the the cooler was frozen. Cokes exploded the sliced ham shattered it was a big mess. the other 1/2 of the cooler was almost frozen. 

All I can say is, lesson learned.:laughing:


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