I am new to this forum and a relatively new camper, with only 3 small trips in total here in the uk.
We are very keen to go more this year with the children being older. I have the tent sorted and want to get a fridge/coolbox to use when it gets hot and keep food fresh.
We would like to go to the new forest and the sites I am looking at don't have power to use an electric fridge/coolbox.
This is where I need advice, any suggestions on how to keep food cool during a stay of a couple of days?
hi. put the food in a bowl. then cover it with a damp cloth . a good old fashioned ceramic bowl is best . even keep the bowl in a washing up bowl with a bit of water in it. evaporation causes coldness. you could buy coolboxes using this system ,they were called easy cool. last i knew they were out of production. shame they worked really well.i used to sell them when they were made in devon.but time moves on.originally they were made from a kind of chalk box but later became a plastic box with a kind of foam inside.
most electric cool boxes will work like non powered cool boxes too when not plugged in. All you need is some frozen ice packs or just freeze some pop bottles/water bottles and use those. That will work for a couple of days and you will have a nice cold drink too!
I used to freeze a pack of bacon for a couple of days into the camp and that would work as an ice block and be ready for use by the 2nd/3rd morning. You can do this with many foods and still be safe.
We don't have EHU and use good cool bags with freezer blocks and frozen bottles of water to keep food fresh. We also freeze meals beforehand and eat when defrosted-they work as cool blocks in the meantime.
I agree with 'andcow': most electric cool boxes will work like non powered cool boxes too when not plugged in.
We have an electric coolbox which is pre-cooled and plugged into the car during the journey to the campsite. We do not have EHU (electrical hook-up).
The first day, everything is nice and cool as long as you keep the lid on. What we do next is buy a 'bag of ice' from the freezer section in the local supermarket - they all sell them (even petrol stations!), for about a quid. Put in coolbox, food stays fresh and you have ice for your evening drinks!! The next day they will gradually melt, water on bottom of coolbox, so make sure that you put your food in food bags!
Go out for the day, buy another (£1) bag of ice, empty water and put new bag of ice in coolbox.
Food still cold and still have ice for evening drinks!
We are a family of 4 and have done this successfully for a full weeks camping, many times, in the middle of summer - it works!
OK - it will cost you £1 each day but that's probably cheaper than EHU!
We have an electric coolbox which is pre-cooled and plugged into the car during the journey to the campsite. We do not have EHU (electrical hook-up).
The first day, everything is nice and cool as long as you keep the lid on. What we do next is buy a 'bag of ice' from the freezer section in the local supermarket - they all sell them (even petrol stations!), for about a quid. Put in coolbox, food stays fresh and you have ice for your evening drinks!! The next day they will gradually melt, water on bottom of coolbox, so make sure that you put your food in food bags!
Go out for the day, buy another (£1) bag of ice, empty water and put new bag of ice in coolbox.
Food still cold and still have ice for evening drinks!
we do this too, in our non electric cool box - usually containing beer, wine and tonic!!
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If your'll only going for a couple of day, may I suggest freezing some of your meals to go. I very often take a frozen chilli or SpagBol, frozen milk, frozen sausages etc with me. They work as ice blocks and I don't have to worry about getting something for dinner the next day or so. Make sure you've frozen them really well before hand so they are as cold and frozen as possible.
Good luck and welcome to the forum. Happy camping.
------------- Why yearn for tomorrow when you can have chocolate today.
most sites will refreeze marked ice packs in a spare freezer. We only take a cool box with ice packs. have as much frozen food in at as possible for the first day. Then we try to buy fresh meat but cheese, eggs, butter and salad stuff are fine in the coolbox.
If the site has a freezer you can buy frozen food and place it in a marked carrier bag til you need it.
we use a cool bag as it's easier to squeeze into the car. we also freeze bacon and burgers and allow to defrost. and yes we also just buy bags of ice cubes when we go shopping (again be careful to seal food so water doesn't get in)...usually put beer and cider cans on the bottom and they are always lovely and chilled
Quote: Originally posted by mrneillees on 11/4/2011
we use a cool bag as it's easier to squeeze into the car. we also freeze bacon and burgers and allow to defrost. and yes we also just buy bags of ice cubes when we go shopping (again be careful to seal food so water doesn't get in)...usually put beer and cider cans on the bottom and they are always lovely and chilled
Same...except for the cider bit ...reminds me of being 15/16 and VERY sick after cider...!
------------- It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.
Quote: I agree with 'andcow': most electric cool boxes will work like non powered cool boxes too when not plugged in.
Sadly, I don't. I never found them any subsitute for a decent coolbox unless they had power. (side note: the 12v peltier ones? Simply no subsitute for a decent coolbox).
Lessons I have learnt about the coolbox:
They need ice. You can't just empty your fidge into the coolbox and expect it to stay cold without some form of thermal mass in there to help out. I use a smallish box (20L ish) and find that a 2L pop bottle filled with water & frozen works nicely as an icepack (should still have ice at the end of a bank holiday weekend). I have also found that ice works better for me than coolpacks. Other tricks include pre-freezing a curry/some milk as others have mentioned.
Bigger is better. A bigger coolbox has a lower surface area/unit volume & has more thermal mass to start with so keeps ice longer. This is assuming you use the volume of the larger coolbox...
Keep it shut. If someone doesn't put the lid on properly, expect it to defrost.
Food <> drink. This is an extension of the above. If you want cold beers/wine, bring a seperate coolbox for them to save you constantly opening the food box. For the drinks box, remember the first point as well: Don't put your newly purchased sun-warmed beers into the coolbox to chill and then be surprised when everything in the coolbox defrosts.
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A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Keeping food fresh
