Who doesn’t love the fact that frozen food has made eating anything anytime without even cooking possible, right?
You can take frozen food along with you on trips and camping. Using a cooler, you can even keep the frozen item frozen for a longer period of time.
That being said, you might wonder how long frozen food stays frozen in a cooler. So let’s find the answers to all your queries regarding keeping frozen food in a cooler one by one.
How long will frozen food stay frozen in a cooler?
The amount of time frozen food will stay frozen in a cooler varies from cooler to cooler and on how it is stored. Frozen food stays frozen for three to four days in a cooler on average. However, by using dry ice or ice inside the cooler, you can keep your frozen food frozen for even longer.
Different coolers keep frozen food frozen cold and frozen for different periods of time. It varies depending on various factors like build quality, the cooling agent used, and air seal.
Let’s find out how long frozen food will stay frozen in various types of coolers.
Yeti cooler:
Yeti cooler is one of the best coolers available in the market. In normal conditions, this cooler will keep frozen food in its usual condition for two to four days.
Most of the Yeti coolers are made using a cold lock gasket and permafrost solution. These features will keep the stored frozen food for a longer time by keeping cool air inside and the warm air outside.
That being said, a Yeti cooler can keep the frozen food chilled for around 7 to 10 days if stored with ice.
The amount of ice should be of the right amount to get the best result possible. You can also preserve the frozen food with dry ice to extend the freezing time.
Styrofoam cooler:
Styrofoam coolers can keep the frozen food frozen comparatively for a smaller period of time. In general, frozen food will remain chilled inside a styrofoam cooler for around 18 to 24 hours.
How long frozen food will remain frozen inside a styrofoam cooler depends on the amount of ice you will use and the size of the cooler itself. You can, however, increase the time period by putting dry ice.
You can also keep the frozen food frozen for a long time inside a styrofoam cooler by filling it completely with ice.
Igloo cooler:
Igloo coolers can preserve frozen food for a long time. The frozen food will remain frozen for up to five days in an Igloo cooler. This cooler can keep the food frozen for four to five in 90 degrees Fahrenheit temperature.
The Igloo cooler also comes with high-quality construction along with a reinforced base for additional strength. So, you can take the frozen foods stored in an Igloo cooler along with you on tours and camping.
Cooler bag:
The freezing capacity of the Cooler bag is quite low compared to other types of coolers.
The cooler bag can keep the frozen food cold for approximately two to two and a half hours. However, with ice, a cooler bag can keep the frozen food chilled for up to four hours.
How long does a cooler keep meat frozen?
The meat will remain frozen in a cooler for a day or two without any additional items. Meat is a perishable food item. So, you shouldn’t keep it in a cooler without taking any additional measures for more than two days.
However, a cooler can keep the meat frozen for a much longer time if you use dry ice. This is due to the fact that the meat will remain frozen as long as you can maintain 32 degrees Fahrenheit temperature inside the cooler.
The temperature of the dry ice is much lower than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, by using dry ice in the cooler, you can keep the meat frozen for a longer time than usual.
However, dry ice lasts for 24 to 48 hours. Once the dry ice starts melting, you should immediately fill up the cooler with fresh ice to prevent the meat from thawing. You can keep the meat frozen as long as you refill the dry ice in the cooler.
How to keep food frozen in a cooler?
Keeping frozen in a cooler is not as complicated as it may seem. You will just have to follow a few methods to preserve the frozen food in the cooler for a long period of time.
Let’s take a look at how you can keep food frozen in a cooler.
Store frozen food at the bottom of the cooler:
The closer you will keep the item to the door, the faster it will melt. This is due to the fact that when you open the cooler, heat will directly hit the item in the front.
So, by storing the frozen food at the bottom of the cooler, you can keep them chilled for a long period of time.
Use Ice:
By using Ice, you can maintain the freezing temperature inside the cooler for an extended time period. You should use both small and large chunks of Ice as the small ice chunks will reach in between every packet of your frozen food.
Use dry ice:
Dry ice doesn’t melt like normal ice, so it won’t create a mess in your cooler. It also doesn’t thaw for up to two days. As a result, by using dry ice, you can prevent your frozen food from thawing prematurely.
Use frozen water bottles:
Frozen water bottles stay frozen for a long time because of the cover above the ice. As the frozen water bottle will thaw slowly, it will keep the frozen food frozen in a cooler longer than usual.
In addition to that, when the frozen water bottle will melt, you can drink chilled water, utilizing the space efficiently.
Reduce empty space in the cooler:
The empty space in the cooler makes the frozen food thaw faster. The empty space will store the hot air, which will make the frozen food and ice melt faster. As a result, by minimizing the empty space, you can keep the food frozen for much longer.
To minimize the empty space in the cooler, you can use towels or paper. You can also use a layer of foam on top of the frozen food to prevent it from thawing rapidly.
How does dry ice keep food frozen in a cooler?
Dry ice is made from carbon dioxide, and its temperature is very low. As a result of its very low temperature, it melts everything that comes in contact with it.
When you place dry ice inside a cooler, it will make the temperature of the cooler very low. The frozen food, on the other hand, usually remains frozen when you store it in the cooler.
As a result of the low temperature in the cooler due to dry ice, the frozen food also stays frozen.
Dry ice can keep the frozen food frozen for a significant period of time. This is possible because dry ice lasts for almost two days and you can refill the dry ice once it starts to thaw.
In addition, dry ice won’t melt by creating a mess in your cooler. This is due to the fact that dry ice goes through a sublimation process during melting.
How long does a block of ice last in a cooler? How long does dry ice stay good in a cooler?
The amount of time that ice or dry ice will last on a cooler depends on the size of the cooler and the environment it is kept in. The type of cooler also has a huge impact on it.
A block of ice usually lasts for 12 to 24 hours in a cooler. However, if the cooler is properly sealed and there is a minimum amount of empty space in the cooler, it might last even longer.
That being said, a Styrofoam cooler can keep the block of ice for up to 6 hours as they have very low insulating capabilities.
In a regular 25-quart cooler, dry ice will last for approximately 24 hours. For larger capacity coolers and with better insulation, dry ice can last up to 48 hours.
Once the dry ice starts to thaw, you can replace it to keep the food frozen without any issues.
Final Thoughts
In general, you can preserve your frozen food in a cooler for three to four days. The time frame can differ depending on the type of the cooler and its insulation. However, you can keep your food frozen for a long time using dry ice and by reducing the air space inside the cooler.