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Ice cooler boxes are convenient to use on multiple occasions, whether they happen day-to-day or rarely.
However, many people are unaware of how to use these boxes to their full potential and end up missing out.
So, in this section, we will go over all the factors that go into how effectively an ice cooler box does its job and how to boost its performance further!

How Long Do Ice Cooler Boxes In Singapore Keep Ice Cold?

The amount of time your ice cooler box can keep your ice-cold depends on the type of ice you use and the type of cooler you have.

Type Of Ice

Typically, dry ice lasts much longer than water ice, sometimes also doubling the time it takes to melt.

Thus when choosing ice, go with dry ice.

Types Of Coolers

• Styrofoam Ice Cooler Box

These coolers do not have the best types of insulation and let the ice melt the fastest among all the other coolers.

The amount of time they can retain coolness depends directly on the type and amount of ice placed in them.

Bigger styrofoam ice coolers can help retain ice for longer periods (sometimes even as much as a day), but they must be kept in the shade.

Typically, a styrofoam ice cooler can retain dry ice for about 18 to 24 hours and water ice for at least 12 to about 24 hours.

• Soft Ice Cooler Box

Soft ice cooler boxes typically have better insulation than styrofoam ones, but they are also more expensive.

These boxes have an inch thick isolation cell wall that can keep your items cold for as long as three days!

They can even bear up against extreme weather conditions and are easily portable, which adds to their usability.

• Hard Ice Cooler Box 

With hard ice cooler boxes, there come two categories.
The less expensive ones will usually last about two days at max.

Steel belted coolers are generally the best choice in this category for keeping the ice cool longer.

These coolers are ideal for weekend trips.
The other category is for when you need the cooler to maintain the temperature for longer. The high-end hard ice cooler boxes can preserve the inside temperature for as long as even four and a half days! However, they come with a pricier tag as a result and may not always be the most affordable option out there.

Tips On Keeping Ice Cold Longer In An Ice Cooler Box

There are many ways in which you can maximize the efficiency of your ice cooler box in order to keep your food cold for longer. So let’s take a quick overview of some of these ways.

Pre-Cool The Box

In case you need to be out for a long time and will need your ice cooler box to keep your stuff cool for more than 24 to 48 hours, it is highly recommended that you cool the box in advance so that it can keep your things cooler for longer.

You can do this by keeping frozen bottles of water and milk inside the cooler a night before you plan to use it, and then on the day of usage, you can replace the frozen water bottles with ice and gel packs.

Do Not Open The Box Frequently

This is an important one. The more frequently you open the box and expose it to the outside air, the quicker your ice will melt. When it is closed, the inner temperature is not disturbed by the outside temperature, and it is not exposed to the heat outside. This helps to maintain the temperature on the inside longer.

Keep The Box Out Of Direct Sunlight

Even though your box is well insulated, it is still recommended that you keep it out of direct sunlight. This is due to the reason that exposure to direct sunlight for long periods means your box will heat up, and even if it is insulated well, a portion of the heat will slowly continue to seep in and melt your ice quicker.

This is why it is better to keep the box in the shade or in a cool area.

Use Block Ice

This one has to do with science. If you’re really worried about traveling a long distance and don’t want to take any risks, then a pro tip is to use block ice in the ice cooler box as opposed to ice cubes.

This is because ice cubes are smaller, and being smaller insinuates that they have a larger surface area. This means that more of the ice cube surface is exposed to the outside.

As opposed to these, a large block of ice has less surface area, which means comparatively, less ice surface is exposed to the outside.

How this helps is that a smaller surface area can cause the ice to melt slower as opposed to a larger surface area which will melt much more quickly.

The ice temperature also matters, so use colder ice for better results.

Do Not Drain Water

This is a pretty common mistake that many people make. Many people think that frequently draining water in the ice cooler box from the ice that has now melted is helpful in keeping ice-cold and isolated. However, this achieves the opposite effect.

The ice water can help keep the ice-cold for an extended time. Thus, you should avoid taking out the water in the cooler box if you can.

Use Frozen Foods

Another thing you can do is to put frozen foods in your ice cooler box in Singapore. This will keep them cold and fresh for as long as possible.

Conclusion

Hence, now you can use these tips and make the most out of your ice cooler box on trips and getaways!