Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Winter Camping and Activities :: Insulated Box
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Doughboy12 |
quote hubben: "I'm wondering if a small hamster running on a wheel inside an insulated Pelican box wouldn't generate enough body heat to keep things above freezing temperature? " Now that is "thinking" outside the box....? |
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IglooEd |
quote CrookedPaddler1: "When I ran sled dogs, I just used a plain old cooler.....although i called them "warmers" in the winter. High quality cooler, put a couple of hot water bottles in them if you want to keep the temperature a little warmer. " Ha, it probably would work. Myself, I made a cooler/warmer using 1/2 an ensolite foam pad. I cut the pad into the proper size squares and hot glued them into a box shape. The box was sized for a slip fit into a plastic milk crate. I also had a nylon stuff sack sewn so it fit between the box and the crate. The bag is more to keep the snow off the foam box than stop air leakage. The lid for the box was a square of the foam that fit snugly into the foam box. If I had less things to keep warm, I just pushed the lid down lower to minimize the dead air space/interior surface area. I used this for food as I bring fresh foods on my trips and also use a pulk. I take fresh greens for salads and precooked foods like roast beef... It takes some practice but the greens can be kept from freezing with the warm water bottle method as well as the mass of the contents in the insulated box. I take the cooler into my igloo at night but burying it in the snow would be just as effective. The milk crate keeps the foam box nice and square so the lid seals. The crate can be used as a camp chair. The lid probably wouldn't stay sealed in the soft sided pouch you are wanting to use.... ? Enter at your own risk :) |
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SteveElms73 |
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OldFingers57 |
quote SteveElms73: "So I tried the simple cooler idea and it didn't work. It was a smaller Coleman cooler (nothing fancy - maybe and 18 can capacity) and inside I placed my Nalgene with boiling water, and placed that bottle in a wool sock (not sure why, maybe habit lol). By morning the water and everything in the cooler was stone cold. Looks like I'm off to the pet store to pick me up a couple hamsters ;)" The larger the cooler the more heat you need in it. If you would have maybe used a smaller cooler and have it packed tightly with the gear and water bottle without the sock. Also how many hours was the hot water bottle in there? |
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SteveElms73 |
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OldFingers57 |
quote SteveElms73: "Ya the cooler wasn't one of the full sized ones it was the size down. It was pretty packed with my gear but there was a lot of dead space in there still. I can't say how many hours it was left in the cooler but it was overnight. I guess I was comparing how warm my Nalgene is after a cold night at the bottom of my sleeping bag but logically it makes sense that it would not stay nearly as insulated. I think I was more surprised that there was not one tiny bit of warmth left in it at all." Well your body heat is also keeping the Nalgene in your sleeping bag warm. plus it is not losing it as fast as there is not that big of a heat differential between you and the water bottle as there is between the water bottle and the gear in the cooler. |
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NotLight |
The $$$ coolers seem to benefit significantly from a very tight air seal. Maybe try the same cooler again but with some foam weather stripping? |
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Doughboy12 |
quote SteveElms73: "Thanks for the input so far guys....I'll have to do a test in regards to the moisture from the water bottle. I guess another option would be to use a cooler (it's already insulated right?). Hmmmm my mind is going now!" Heat rises so make sure the "cooler" you chose has a good lid. It is far more important for keeping it warm than it is for keeping things cold. Some of my coolers have sub-par lids. |
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WhiteWolf |
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SteveElms73 |
I have a spare Pelican Case (fairly large) that I would like to insulate somehow. I know the case is large but I'm not overly concerned about the size or weight as most of my trips are not that far from my truck. I would put a Nalgene filled with boiling water (in a sock) into the case (much like we do with a Nalgene in the bottom of a sleeping bag at night in order to have a source of heat inside the case. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could use to insulate the case? I'm thinking Reflectix, but I'm not sure that will be sufficient as that will not actually insulate. I have an Exped Downmat that is going into the trash as it is full of holes...I'm wondering if I could use the insulation from it somehow.... Any thoughts or suggestions on this idea? |
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Doughboy12 |
Trim to fit your needs. |
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Kawishiwashy |
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butthead |
Think of what condensation may do to any moisture sensitive gear, especially if you add a hot bottle of water. What happens to your camera, brought into a warm car after being out in the cold? Save the down from that downmat, that stuff isn't cheap! Good source for a DIY overstuffed down bag or quilt. butthead |
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SteveElms73 |
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awbrown |
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inspector13 |
Reflextix is really only good at being a radiant barrier. I use it on the south and western walls of my post frame building to keep the temperature down when the sun warms the metal walls in the summer. |
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hikenbike |
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schweady |
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SevenofNine |
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Mnpat |
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NotLight |
Anything you can power with energizer ultimate lithium batteries is good. They will carry their full charge down to almost -20F, supposedly. Regular alkaline batteries will only work until about 14F, if I remember correctly. I think the rechargeable lithium batteries will work at 32F with half capacity, and at 0F with very little capacity. The rechargeables have to be much warmer to safely recharge I believe, and so it may be a better bet to bring extra batteries in winter vs a recharger - unless it is a small charger that you can keep warm in your jacket. Some batteries lose charge after being frozen, but I don't remember which. Liquid crystal displays on cameras will slow down as they freeze - I don't remember the absolute low temperature range though. AMOLED displays from Samsung, like on their NX300M camera, do not use a liquid, and will work better below freezing than normal liquid crystal displays - assuming the rest of the camera functions. You can get Nikon/canon lens adapters for the NX300M and use a manual focus lens. But, you know way more about cameras. You can see where some kind of camera that took energizer ultimate lithium batteries in some form, was not dependent on an LED screen, had no moving parts in the body, and a manual focus lens might do better in cold weather. You could keep stuff warm inside your pelican box using some of the pink foamboard from home depot, and some hand warmers. Cut the foam to the shape of your box and duct tape the seams. You would probably want to keep the camera stuff in plastic bags inside the "cooler" though for condensation. Problem is, I think the hand warmers require some moisture? In that case you'd want a hot water bottle or hot chunk of rock or metal, etc. Another strategy is to try to keep the camera warm once it is out of your jacket. Even a thin foam or neoprene over the camera body and a seperate covering over the lens body will help a lot. It's not even so much the insulation, but that a covering will stop convective heat loss from any light breeze. It is also good to keep electronics close to your body, inside your jacket. I bought a Patagonia R1 shirt, based on a recommendation from this site, which has a small chest pocket. I also got one of these anoraks to try. I used one of these neck wallets last winter for my phone. It works well, but tends to get tangled with your camera if you are hanging a camera under your jacket with a neck strap. |
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SteveElms73 |
I'll report back after I try it out! |
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schweady |
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Cedarboy |
CB |
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SteveElms73 |
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hubben |
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mc2mens |
quote butthead: "Foam of many types will work to insulate a Pelican case. Awww geez...I wish I'd have thought about that 2 weeks ago when I threw out the old pad. |
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CrookedPaddler1 |
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