Did I Get an RTIC "Dudd"?

EggObsessed

I received my RTIC 45 cooler a few weeks ago, and have used it twice.  The first time we used it (inside the house, by the way) we didn't think it held ice very well.  To test it out, my husband put a bag of ice in the cooler on Saturday, left it inside the house at 74 degrees, and never opened it for three days.  When we checked on it last night, it was 100% melted.  Is this "normal", or what should be expected?  We have other coolers that hold ice better than this.  Could something be wrong with it?  It's very disappointing.  Thanks in advance for any help!

YukonRon

That is not normal. I know others that have the RTIC 45 with much better success. 74F in three days 100% melt? What size bag of ice?

coomdaddy

Eek! Mine gets here tomorrow and it will be going back if that's the case.  Did someone mention they switched manufacturers for the latest batch?  Hope it is only an isolated incident.

EggObsessed

@YukonRon: It was a 10 lb. bag of ice.

Photo Egg

Hi Kelley
One of the draw backs to the high end coolers is the need to pre chill the cooler.
It will suck the cold out of the contents of the cooler if the cooler is not already cold. The thickness of the cooler takes a lot of energy to cool the cooler down.
Tossing in a single bag of ice into an empty cooler that is not pre chilled will give poor results. Also assuming it was a standard bag that is now only about 8 pounds of ice. 8-10 pounds of ice in an empty cooler will fail fast.
It's the mass of chilled items with the ice that give you longer chill times.
I now keep several of the Arctic Ice packs in my freezer. I drop these into my cooler the night before to chill the cooler. I will also put in my drinks the night before if they are not already chilled.
This is a little more work but I have had very good results with all 3 sizes of my RTIC coolers. They use far less ice than my other coolers.
See you Saturday...

Focker

Couple things.

Check the lid, it may be warped or a bad gasket seal, if it has one.  Had the same issue with my Pelican, but it warped after 2 years of use.  This has been a known issue with rotomolds.  Not sure if it's voids in the insulation during the manufacturing process.  Pelican replaced it with a new one.

I'm hoping it's just lack of a prechill, which is a good habit to extend ice life.  I use frozen 1 gal milk jugs the night before heading out.  Trust me, this added step makes a huge difference.  

To check the lid you can put a large flashlight,  or lantern, in your cooler with it turned on facing up.  Close lid.  If you see light around any section of the seal, you've got a leak.  This is what Pelican advised to do.  

buzd504

Yep, when I use my RTIC, and I put warm beer and ice in it, the beer cools down, but ice melts pretty quickly and the water stays cool.  The second bag that I put on top of that will stay frozen for days.

jtcBoynton

Amount and starting temp of the ice are important factors to consider. The ice does need to cool off the air in the cooler and cool the plastic of the cooler.  If the ice was not very cold and not a lot of it, the cooling of the air and plastic could have caused what you experienced.  Pre-cooling helps.  And though it was melted, what was the temp of the water?

Although not likely, it is possible that the cooler was not properly made.  Put it on a bathroom scale.  It should weigh 25 pounds.  If less than that, maybe it doesn't have insulation in it.  

EggObsessed

I will try those suggestions, @Photo_Egg and @Focker.  Thanks!  I was not aware of the need to prechill.

GATraveller

I would say it's not normal.  I have a 65.  We put a bag of ice in it Saturday along with 2 gallons of ice cream for my girls softball party.  My wife dropped another bag of ice in on the way to the park.  It sat outside in the sun for 2 hours during the party and the top was opened several times to remove/replace said ice cream.  We brought it home Saturday afternoon and opened again to remove ice cream.  I checked the cooler this AM before I left for work and there is still ice inside.  Mostly melted but still ice.  
I agree with @photo_egg that it must be pre-chilled.

Raymont

+1 Normal. I have Yeti's and all act the same. As noted above, for maximum ice retention a) pre-chill and b) minimize air space (very important). 1 bag of ice solo in a 45 will melt. (to be fair @GATraveller you had a 2xbags of ice + ice cream to chill your 65). I bet 1 bag of ice with a towel over it (minimizing air space) would also improve retention (same theory as FTC).

nolaegghead

10 lbs ice is 5 quarts.  That cooler weighs thirty something pounds.  Also matters if the ice was pre-cooled or not (somewhat).  There is, as others had said, the need for a lot of energy to cool the mass inside the cooler to 32F. 

All the roto-molded coolers are similarly constructed.   If your cooler is defective, you can check for air gaps where insulation should be by tapping all over the inside of the cooler.  Look for hollow sounds.  Otherwise, consider normal.

dougcrann

Thanks for the info on the "prechill". Something to remember...

GATraveller

I meant to say it was normal......just needed to be pre-chilled.  My fingers don't always type what my mind is thinking.

Jeremiah

GATraveller said:

I meant to say it was normal......just needed to be pre-chilled.  My fingers don't always type what my mind is thinking.

From the yeti website, either use a sacrificial bag of ice or if you have a deep freezer, stick the cooler in there to pre cool it. 

Hotch

Kelley I have two or three 1 gallon plastic milk containers that I fill with water and keep in our freezer. I will put them in the cooler the day before to cool down/charge the cooler. Also everything that goes in the coolers I typically have already chilled it in the refrigerator or freezer.

And last, for the big coolers, I have a couple of 2 liter soda bottles I fill 2/3's with water and then squeeze the air out then tighten the cap. This makes a flat side on them. Freeze them in a horizontal position. These are put in the bottom of the cooler with a layer of ice upon them. Then load the cooler.
Many times when we get home the 2 liters will have the bag ice still frozen to the sides. With very little melt.

EggObsessed

Thanks so much for all the suggestions.  I'll definitely try the prechilling techniques.  And....time to clean out the freezers to make room for gallon milk jugs!!  Good incentive.  I'll also double-check for any leaks.

SGH

@EggObseessed

Sister, something sounds amuck to me. I own 4 RTIC's, 2 Yetis, a Pelican, a Engel and a couple of Orcas. All perform far better than what you stated above without pre-chilling. I could see it if it was a large 100+ quart cooler, but the little 45 with that much ice should do better based on what I have seen. Even without pre-chilling.

Chubbs

My brother does not pre chill his RTIC and it holds ice for days. However, he has never laid a bag of ice only in it. If prechillling is simply putting your cold beer in along with the ice then this would not be a problem for me. If it's adding a step the night before to get the desired performance that a deal breaker for me. I often need a cooler last minute. I would try it with cold beer and ice and see how it performs. If inadequate, money back. But I bet it will perform better this way. 

YukonRon

EggObsessed said:

@YukonRon: It was a 10 lb. bag of ice.

No expert here, but, depending on how warm the inside was prior to the addition of 10 lbs of ice, may have yielded less than desirable results. I think that is a given. A warm, insulated sealed environment is not a place to store frozen items and expect either the frozen material or the heat within the cooler to remain the same.

I do agree with @SGH having internal temperatures within reason, ten pounds mass of ice should have some left after 72 hours, especially in a 45, I would think. I have a Yeti 65 I keep stored in the basement, which is a constant 65F. I can put a 10 pound bag of ice in my Yeti and it will last 72 hours, easy. RTIC and the Yeti are practically identical, except for cost, as Scottie reminds myself, and others, on a frequent and regular basis.

As was mentioned by others previously, the more cold you put in the better the ability to keep colder longer.

I would test it again.

Spaightlabs

nolaegghead said:

  Also matters if the ice was pre-cooled or not (somewhat).  

Tell me more bout pre-cooling ice?

Photo Egg

Spaightlabs said:

nolaegghead said:

  Also matters if the ice was pre-cooled or not (somewhat).  

Tell me more bout pre-cooling ice?

Sounds like a very stupid thing.lol

In fact very important. Ice that we use in our coolers is essentially called frozen and solid around 32 degrees. But Ice can be much colder than just the freezing point. I always grab a bag of ice from the coolers that is not "wet" ice. Ice that is already melting will not be as cold and will not last as long.
Most home freezers will keep things frozen at temps close to Zero degrees. 

dougcrann

Photo Egg said:

Spaightlabs said:

nolaegghead said:

  Also matters if the ice was pre-cooled or not (somewhat).  

Tell me more bout pre-cooling ice?

Sounds like a very stupid thing.lol

In fact very important. Ice that we use in our coolers is essentially called frozen and solid around 32 degrees. But Ice can be much colder than just the freezing point. I always grab a bag of ice from the coolers that is not "wet" ice. Ice that is already melting will not be as cold and will not last as long.
Most home freezers will keep things frozen at temps close to Zero degrees. 

Thanks for the explanation. As a guess...the ice coolers at say Wally World are probably right around 32*? I have grabbed bags of ice that are "wet"...

Spaightlabs

Ahhhhhhhh.  Gotcha

Photo Egg

dougcrann said:

Photo Egg said:

Spaightlabs said:

nolaegghead said:

  Also matters if the ice was pre-cooled or not (somewhat).  

Tell me more bout pre-cooling ice?

Sounds like a very stupid thing.lol

In fact very important. Ice that we use in our coolers is essentially called frozen and solid around 32 degrees. But Ice can be much colder than just the freezing point. I always grab a bag of ice from the coolers that is not "wet" ice. Ice that is already melting will not be as cold and will not last as long.
Most home freezers will keep things frozen at temps close to Zero degrees. 

Thanks for the explanation. As a guess...the ice coolers at say Wally World are probably right around 32*? I have grabbed bags of ice that are "wet"...

Probably a combination of many things. How often box is opened. Quality of insulation in box, and gasket seal on door. Cooler inside or outside? At larger places with more than one cooler box check a couple different coolers.
I normally stop at a Buc-ee's store on my way home from work when I need ice. 99 cents for 20 pound bag...I'm putting it into a cooler that has been in my car all day but in a parking garage. If I put in a 20 pound bag of "wet" ice into a standard igloo cooler at 6:30pm it's close to half water the next morning. Much less loss with a good solid bag of ice that is not dripping wet.
Similar to ice out of hotel ice machines. It never lasts long in drinks or the hotel ice bucket.

DaveRichardson

Also the "Wet" bag of ice could have been manufactured recently and therefore hadn't hardened into the typical icebergs that I get from those type of freezers.  When the ice truck gets to the store, they typically have to park in the rear of the store, load their carts, push them thru the store, then load the cooler.  If this is the case, the bags of ice that were on the bottom of the cart were exposed to the hot asphalt for the longest, thereby causing some melt.  They were also out of the temp controlled environment the longest, also causing some melt.