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March 27, 2018 4 min read
In the quest to keep things cool on extended outings, a great debate arises from the ashes of the campfire: what to do with the ice melt water in the cooler? Keep it or drain it?
Evenphysics gurus argue about whether or not to drain the water. Here’s what everybody seems to be able to agree on:
Let’s break it down from there.
Reasons not to drain the water from your cooler
As long as there is still ice in the water, the contents in the water will stay as cold as the water. If you need the contents of your cooler to stay at or near frozen, this will be a problem. If, however, you only need the cooler to serve as a refrigerator, 40ish degrees works well to keep milk from spoiling, chocolate from melting, sodas from getting warm, and sandwich meat from cultivating bacteria. On hot days at the campsite, this is a victory.
Cold water stays cool longer than empty air within the cooler would. In other words, cold water surrounding the contents of your cooler is preferable to warm air surrounding them. Items not in the cold water will warm more quickly than items in it. The moral of the story? Keep the water as long as there is ice in it (and your food is sealed in containers that protect it from sogginess).
So if you’re nearing the end of your trip and the ice has begun to float in its own melt,don’t drain the cooler yet. The ice cold water will keep things cool better than a mostly empty (filled primarily with air) cooler with minimal ice.
Reasons to drain the water from your cooler
The arguments for draining the water from your cooler are also valid. There is a time for everything. Some of the times you definitely want to drain the water from your cooler are:
How to keep the contents in your cooler cold longer
The question you really want to know is how to keep the contents in your cooler cold for as long as possible. Right? We have five suggestions for you:
Now you know how to keep your cool when the “to drain or not to drain” debate comes up, and you can back your argument by citing this blog post.