Does your <span class="highlight">ice</span> <span class="highlight">cream</span> scream ?
Submitted: Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 10:55
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Footloose
Since you mob are so keen to slam fridge brands, I thought I'd ask a sensible :) question.
Now I'm not going to mention brands or sizes, but I've had decidedly soggy
ice cream twice on trips. I freeze it before, have full voltage, have a proper fridge cover, rarely open the thing. There is
ice on the insides, but...Even
ice blocks are softer than ...
well enough of that line of thought. You know what I mean.
The fridge temp has been measured at -8C approx.
One thing I do is to turn it off at night. But both trips have been in winter.
Everything else is cold.
The fridge is not unduly full to overflowing...some of the time.
Bearing in mind that its of a size that I can handle by myself, ie not 80L etc..., what's the go with
ice cream?
I'll bet
ice cream hates corrugations, right ?
Is it the fridge ?
Is it me?
Do I need the chemical
ice blocks?
Or is it the el cheapo brand of
ice cream ?
Reply By: joc45 - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 10:58
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 10:58
Soggy
ice cream?
That's terrible!!
What suffering we campers must endure!
Seriously, -8deg is a bit warm for
ice cream. Recall it needs about -15.
Gerry
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:20
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:20
Gerry, thanks for that. I may just need to
check that figure of
mine.
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Reply By: Johnnotoo - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:24
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:24
Forget about icecream in a portable fridge. It's an oxymoron.
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:41
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:41
I was hoping that someone would mention this approach. Do you think the larger 12v fridges are any better in this respect ?
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Follow Up By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 12:03
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 12:03
F'loosie, just set the ENGEL to fffffreeze at -18 which is best for frozen foods. You can use lower temps but then need a cold chisel to extract.
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Follow Up By: Wingwang - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:30
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:30
-12c for
ice cream. No issue with
ice cream in my 30L Waeco.
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Follow Up By: Member - Crazy Dog (QLD) - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 21:10
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 21:10
Yep works ok in my Waengel no worries!!! I refuse to endorse any particular brand of fridge - freezer ok!!
Grrr!!!
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Follow Up By: pixiemops - Tuesday, Mar 06, 2007 at 11:25
Tuesday, Mar 06, 2007 at 11:25
Just came back from 2 days in the bush at Martins Tank near
preston beach WA. Took some
ice-
cream and the chescold rc1180 blue type no worries in keeping the
ice-
cream nice and frozen solid. It was bloody hot down there too . Nice camping ground pity the local caravan park has shut up but thats progress for you. Expensive beach homes going to be built there now. Oh
well.
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Reply By: flappa - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:25
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:25
Have to admit , I dont really try anymore.
I use the icecream for the first night or two away , then thats it.
Mind you , with 3 teenagers , it usually doesn't last more then 1 night anyway.
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:43
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:43
I know what you're saying. But I reeely love my
ice cream in the desert...if I can get it there as anything more than a cold drink LOL
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Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:06
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:06
Footloose probably chucks a big Tantrum,throws himself to the ground and kicks his legs in the air if he can't have his icecream,
Actually I can remember someone else chucking a Tantrum just like that in Rundle St
Adelaide when he was denied the chance to visit the old fella in the
John Martins Magic
Cave come December, but was quickly bought around to reallity when copping a half a dozen good ones on the a%se
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:13
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:13
Actually Doug it's a Freudian thing. There's something delightfully naughty about having
ice cream in a location where the nearest known water is a long way away LOL
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Follow Up By: Member No 1- Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 15:03
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 15:03
flappa ....take some advice...leave the kids at
home...we must have our icecream
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Follow Up By: flappa - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 15:07
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 15:07
Lol , I'm working on it. One down , but still 3 to go.
Gotta admit , I dont like being defeated with my icecream.
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Reply By: whyallacookie - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:32
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:32
Turning it off at night probably isn't helping, especially if the fridge is not close to full. Might pay to also
check air can circulate around everything in the fridge too (Sounds like a contradication to having it full I know). You may be packing the fridge "to well" and the cold air can't circulate properly. Also the closer to the bottom it is the better (but of course that presents packing problems too!) Your probably better off with the cheaper
ice cream anyway. The "better" ones probably wont be as tolerant of temp.
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Reply By: WWAB - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:33
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:33
Hi,
Well you wouldn't turn off your freezer at night at
home, so why do it when camping.try running it at a colder setting.
AB
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:39
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 11:39
It's only when camped overnight. I have an electronic isolator between batteries and don't trust my life to it
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Follow Up By: Crackles - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:04
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:04
So if you don't trust the
isolator what was the point in fitting it??? No fridge will keep icecream frozen if you turn it off for 10+ hours :-))
Cheers Craig............
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:20
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:20
The outside temp is usually just above freezing. I have an electronic
isolator. If for any reason the main battery is totally flat, any load on the main can drag the aux down also. That plus a fridge plus the radio can mean that its possible to wake up to two flat batteries. So I'm just cautious.
If you were by yourself on the
Kidson Track you'd be a little cautious also.
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Follow Up By: Crackles - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:51
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:51
If the outside temp is zero degree's then it's still 15 degrees too warm. Icecream may last one or two nights running as you do but would soon go down
hill from there.
I run two batteries in parrallel all the time & when remote on my own open off a heavy duty key switch for security. Simple & still allows me to run the fridge & lights with complete confidence. A low volt disconnect switch on the fridge & light circuit can also be set to ensure the car will always start, this way you can leave the fridge on (the way it was designed to work) & still eat your icecream frozen.
But if I was on the
Kidson track by myself I wouldn't be trying to run my fridge unnecesarily on freeze just so I could ;-) Surely you don't eat icecream every day at home so why bother trying to in the most remote area's of the outback??
Cheers Craig.............
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:55
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:55
Crackles, perhaps I'm just a perverse sorta guy LOL
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Reply By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 12:12
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 12:12
Maybe the question should have been, do I need a bigger fridge ? Are they more effecient at freezing things ?
Some have indicated its a hopeless quest.
Others have indicated that perhaps they don't have a problem.
What about YOUR
ice cream. Or perhaps you don't take the stuff?
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Reply By: Mr Fawlty - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 13:28
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 13:28
Think outside the square.... visit your friendly local electrical retailer & buy an icecream maker that you can run off your gennie... You'll be an instant hit in the camping area when you offer all a Gelato or Choc swirl Icecream
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 13:31
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 13:31
Wouldn't I need a trailer to carry everything ? LOL
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Reply By: Robin - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 13:43
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 13:43
Ice cream types can make a difference
Try low fat
Ice cream Footloose - should give you a couple of degrees margin and you really should have the - 15c, reccomended.
It should be isolated from warmer stuff. Foil barrier for radiation and or course not touching (conduction).
Robin Miller
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 13:46
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 13:46
Thanks Robyn. I'll try that...and changing to a better brand :))
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Follow Up By: Robin - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:31
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:31
Catch with better brand is that this can mean a higher butterfat content.
The compromize we made was Black and Gold low fat (4% IGA) , taste seems acceptable , and while low its not the lowest ( think coles is 2.5%)
Robin Miller
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Reply By: Steve63 - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:13
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:13
If you only need 3-4 days could surround it with dry
ice. At about -80 C fridge may not run much but the
ice cream will be rock hard! Just keep it avway from the surface of the fridge as most are not dry
ice safe.
Steve
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Reply By: Member - Blue (VIC) - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:14
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:14
We managed to keep those frozen
ice tubes for the kids over the course of a week... No probs maintaining -16°C(indicated) and the tubes were very frozen... We have a bigger fridge (110L) not saying which brand tho...
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Follow Up By: Member - Matt M (ACT) - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:39
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:39
Blue,
Hmmmmmmm.... didn't know you could get an Engel in 110 litre size.
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Follow Up By: Member - Blue (VIC) - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:44
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:44
Who said that...??? LOL, not an Engel, the other plastic unit that never lets me down...
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Reply By: Wingwang - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:42
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 14:42
have a
Waeco 30 use as a freezer and
Waeco 40 for fridge powered with 3 85w solar panels on canopy. Got tired of forking around with battery and generator and soft
ice cream. solar setup $2000 for life is nothing and my wife loves me which is priceless. amazing what hard
ice cream does LOL
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Reply By: Member No 1- Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 15:09
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 15:09
footy...turning your fridge is certainly not helping...everthing warms up during the off cycle and needs a longer pull down time to get to a low temp....
Ice cream needs to be held at or better than -15...
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Follow Up By: Member No 1- Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 15:25
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 15:25
this thing leaves words out......OFF should be in there somewhere
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:15
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:15
Since the temp outside when off is often only a few degrees above freezing, I wouldn't of thought that would have had a huge effect ?
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Follow Up By: Member No 1- Tuesday, Mar 06, 2007 at 07:41
Tuesday, Mar 06, 2007 at 07:41
its all to do with storage effect......
start cold and keep it cold......no point having soggy icecream....and us blokes who love our
ice cream are not whusses as that ole fart below wrongly assumes
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Reply By: Gob & Denny - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:04
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:04
goodday footy
ice creams fine in the 80l
waeco with dividers i am finding i only have to use 1/2 a divider otherwise i feeze the beer as well
set on about 4/5 lights nooooooo problems
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Reply By: lbudgie - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:11
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:11
never had a problem with melted icecream in my autofridge.
actully made it too hard when i acedently left it on flat out during the first night of a trip.
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Reply By: Mainey (WA) - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:20
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 18:20
As the numba 1
fridge mechanic will certainly tell you, its the ability or in-abaility of the
fridge compressor to maintain -15 in the freezer section 24/7 that will keep your
ice cream as it's meant to be, frozen, and yes the rest of the food in the
fridge compartment should remain between 1 & 6 degrees 24/7.
With a decent Aux
battery system you would not have to turn the
fridge off at any stage, as previously posted that's not helping you either lol
Maybe the
fridge is just inefficient and can't maintain -15 to keep your
ice cream frozen or maybe was not really designed for such low temperatures in the first place lol.
all said with a smile on his face - while waiting for ......................... :)
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Reply By: Willem - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 19:04
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 19:04
Icecream in the bush? What bunch of whooses!!!!
I thought the whole Idea was to get out there to do something different.
But then again, Jimbo recently bought a Gennie to run his AIRCONDITIONER!!!
No wonder 4x4 drivers are getting a BAD name.....LOL
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 19:12
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 19:12
Well you have to agree that it gave the possums something to get stirred up over LOL
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Follow Up By: Max - Sydney - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 21:09
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 21:09
Willem - I'm with you. Travel light as you can, and enjoy an
ice cream when you get to a
shop. Plenty of other stuff to have with your tinned fruit.
And I think if you ain't going to trust electronics better stay home - a reputable
battery isolator is designed to isolate the main
battery, and I'd hang my experience on an electronic switch over an electromechanical relay or something as the latter is likely to burn and eventually "hang".
Footie - if you are so worried, set up your leads so you can take off the lead from the main
battery to the isolator each night - just don't forget to put it on again in the morning!
Don't we all get excited about threads on fridges!
Max
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Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 21:19
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 21:19
Just had a thought..my first for today. What about a manual mechanical switch with an alarm that operates if the ignition is on and the switch hasn't been turned back on ? Would be relatively easy to design...hmmm
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Follow Up By: Max - Sydney - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 21:56
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 21:56
Now you're talking. Just make sure the alarm does not "bridge" the switch when you are stopped - a diode would probably fix that ... oh, no, that's electronic.
What about a big bit of cardboard you put on the speedo when you open the disconnect switch saying "TURN ON THE SWITCH" or something.
I'm off to bed - design non electronic circuits all night while I snore!
:-))
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Reply By: Member - Jeff H (QLD) - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 22:33
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 22:33
Footloose I'm really cheesed with pulling up and finding the Bundy rock hard : (lucky, no breakages, yet).Dispenses with the need for
ice cubes, but does little for the distemper. Maybe we should exchange units? "Poodle Poster".
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Reply By: Richard Kovac - Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 23:32
Monday, Mar 05, 2007 at 23:32
Hows it go
I scream you scream we all scream for
ice cream
Have a nice one
Richard
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Reply By: porl - Tuesday, Mar 06, 2007 at 15:44
Tuesday, Mar 06, 2007 at 15:44
Ah those Jim Jarmusch movies ...
I digress.
In the
Sydney Morning Herald Good Food guide of today (Tuesday 6 March 07) they review a non-electric gelati maker - you only use
ice and salt to freeze the
ice cream. The review was very positive.
Point is, if you have the physical energy to do the mixing,
ice stored and just less than 0c can be used with salt to make gelati at -ve a lot more.
Anyhow, late option thought you might be interested in.
And yeah, it caught me too - no electricity ? what the ??? but they say this is how they used to make
ice cream and it points out they were making
ice cream a long time before electricity and freezers.
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