Rapid Beer Coolers

Submitted: Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:47
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Hi, wondering if there's any tips on how to quickly cool drinks & the like whilst on the road... Will have the 3-way fridge but this can be slow.. Is there such thing as a microwave which operates in reverse i.e. cools down something in 1 minute which I could run from my inverter...

Also , anyone know what is the more efficient to cool down beer cans or bottles..Might need mythbusters to do a special on this ?
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Reply By: Dion - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:50

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:50
Drinks can be called down very quickly by blasting them with a CO2 fire extinguisher, very very effective when you have a good supply of CO2 extinguishers.

Cheers,
Dion.
AnswerID: 409207

Follow Up By: The Explorer - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:02

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:02
A blast from a normal gas bottle has a similar effect - though there are significant health and safety issues :)

Cheers
Greg
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Follow Up By: Member No 1- Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:49

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:49
Just dont do that on glass containers...you may get cut from flying shrapnel
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Follow Up By: Pete Jackman (SA) - Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 12:47

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 12:47
You can use gas safely:

Cold Beer

Cheers

Pete

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Reply By: Nik & Dee - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:53

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:53
If you can get your hands on some dry Ice that will work a treat. My mate used to get an esky of it before he wernt on fishing trips, you cant put anything in it or it will freeze but if you put a beer in it would be cold in about 5 mins or less. Not sure where you can get it from though.

If you have access to 240V you can get a wine chiller from Kmart wich is a fair bit quicker than the 3 way.

More efficent, I have read other people on here recomend you put a couple of beers in first thing in the morning, once they have had a chance to cool overnight and then it takes less work from the fridge.
AnswerID: 409208

Follow Up By: Member - Humff(TAS) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:35

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:35
when I was working at the physic department of the Tasmanian uni we would make dry ice by discharging CO2 from gas bottle into a damp chamois The dry ice would form on the chamois If I remember correctly the chamois used was quite large . We used a metal ring approx. 150mm in dia and form a bag by poking the chamois through it. we used the dry ice to test electronic components tolerance to cold at altitude on balloon radio transmitters
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Reply By: Dion - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:56

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:56
Another way of rapidlly cooling drinks is to understand a little about refrigeration principles and heat transfer.

Heat transfer is usually from warm to cold, and surface area contact is KING!!

If you were only to put drink containers into ice, the container may only have 10-15% of it's surface area in contact with the ice. The air surrounding the ice is not so cold, so the rate of heat transfer is retarded.

If you were to make up an ice slurry, so the water is at a reduced temp near to the ice temp, the slurry will allow near 100% of it's surface area in contact with the container, thereby more efficient heat transfer and the quicker the heat in the container will be transferred to the ice slurry, subsequently reducing the temp of the contents of the container.

Cheers,
Dion.
AnswerID: 409209

Follow Up By: Ianw - Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 18:00

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 18:00
An ally can in this slurry will only take a couple of mins to cool enough !!!

Ian
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Follow Up By: fisho64 - Friday, Mar 19, 2010 at 00:59

Friday, Mar 19, 2010 at 00:59
you are right on the money DION.
I fished for large fish for a quite a few years, and we experimented quite a lot with slurry's etc (as did some of the gov departments).
At the end of the day, fresh water ice in a salt water slurry worked best.
It was important with the fish (export tuna and swordfish) that they didnt freeze, this ruled out saltwater ice as this would slurry at about minus 5C.
This is likely important with beer also!

With a large fish the formula is roughly, 10kg per hour to get to around zero. A 100kg fish 10 hours.

Can/stubby 5 minutes or so!
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Reply By: Alloy c/t - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:03

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:03
A 15lt Engle set at #2 on the dial ,holds 12 stubs upright or 18 cans packed , replace cold with hot as required , suffiecient for 2-3 people to have a "good" session.
AnswerID: 409211

Follow Up By: Member - DAZA (QLD) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 15:43

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 15:43
I agree, we keep the 40 litre Engel in the truck 24/7 and the Beer and other drinks are always nice and Chilled, just replace what you take out, no big deal just a bit of common sense.
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Follow Up By: Hairy (NT) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:22

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:22
"12 stubs....suffiecient for 2-3 people to have a "good" session."
Not where I come from it isnt......LOL
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Follow Up By: Member - DAZA (QLD) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:31

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:31
Hairy, they might be Darwin Stubbies, bit hard to fit them in a 15ltr engel lol lol.
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Follow Up By: Alloy c/t - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:43

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:43
Hairy , 3 cold out ,3 hot in , 3 to 4 stubs /cans ea per hr means 1st rotation is cold by the time I get to it , then after enough beers its time for the scotch and coke with ice from the freezer section of the 80 lt waeco , LOL.
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Follow Up By: Hairy (NT) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 21:48

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 21:48
Phew!!!
For a minute there I thought you were saying 4-6 beers were enough!!!! LOL
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Reply By: Best Off Road - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:07

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:07
I've been told this by a few bushies.

Dig a hole, put cans in it, cover with urea (a fertiliser I believe) and add water. Apparently it gets real cold real quick. I can't comment on amounts of urea and water, nor how long it takes as I've never treid it.

Also no idea if there is any danger attached.

Jim.


AnswerID: 409212

Follow Up By: Member No 1- Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:51

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:51
you saying i got to pee on it....but that will a few drinks to get me going...which means i'll have to drink em hot anyway
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Reply By: Member - Duncs - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:21

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:21
I know it is not always possible but if you can.

Keep a few drinks in the creek. When you take a cold one out of the fridge replace it with a cool one from the creek. It's like giving your favourite beverage a head start.

I always carry my bulk supply of drinks well down in the car with gear on top. This has the effect of insulating them, again so the fridge doesn't have to work as hard.

Duncs
AnswerID: 409216

Follow Up By: Andrew & Jen - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 13:17

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 13:17
Spot on wrt paras 2 and 3. Also Dion's post #3. Maxm surface contact through metal (not glass) is the trick - hence cans (also advantage of less dead weight).
Air, at 1/4200ths of water's specific heat, is not very effective for rapid drawn down of temp.
Andrew
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Reply By: Alloy c/t - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:25

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:25
A. the gas given off when mixing urea and water will burn your throat/eyes.
B. Urea is a fertilizer that can and is used to home make explosives .
AnswerID: 409217

Follow Up By: Marny - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 21:40

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 21:40
I think you are thinking of ammonium nitrate- the key ingredient of fertilizer and when mixed with diesel makes ANFO ( Ammonium nitrate and fuel oil) an extremely powerful explosive. When mixed with water it goes cold. This is what those instant ice pacs contain. Cheers marn
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Follow Up By: Member - Duncs - Friday, Mar 19, 2010 at 19:41

Friday, Mar 19, 2010 at 19:41
Marny

AMFO as I know it is a commonly used blasting agent and as you suggest it is produced by mixing ammonium nitrate with diesel.

I am concerned about the second part of your response suggests that when mixed with water ammonium nitrate goes cold. That may be true but you need to be careful. Ammonium Nitrate mixed with water in the wrong ratio can be violently explosive. Ammonium nitrate is a fertilizer in its own right. Urea is another different product.

There was an issue with a ship oaded with ammonium nitrate lin a harbour in the US, about 1909 I think it was, where the ship caught fire. In an effort to extinguish the fire authorities flooded the ship trying to sink it. The resultant explosion killed many people and flattened numerous dockside buildings.

Duncs
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Follow Up By: Marny - Saturday, Mar 20, 2010 at 21:03

Saturday, Mar 20, 2010 at 21:03
Hi Duncs. The story that i heard with the boat was that it had a leaking diesel tank and that mixed with the fertilizer. Hitting the dock too hard set it off. As i said that is only one rendition of the story that i heard-dont know how true it is. As for mixing it with water, Does that mean that "watering in" your fertilizer is a potentially dangerous thing to do? I might end up with a new fish pond in my lawn!! Cheers marn
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Follow Up By: Member - Duncs - Sunday, Mar 21, 2010 at 19:20

Sunday, Mar 21, 2010 at 19:20
Marny

I don't want to get hung up on it. I first came across the story in a training manual at work. It was used as an example of why firefighters should know what is involved in the fire they are fighting.

The standard method of fighting fires in bagged grains etc was to use large volumes of water from hard hitting hoses to penetrate to the interior of the fire. In this case the water served to accellerate the decomposition of the ammonium nitrate. The heat from the reaction could not escape and eventually built up to the point of causing the explosion.

When you water in the fertilizer on your lawn it is probably not 100% ammonium nitrate and any heat generated can dissipate to the atmosphere. The heat generated is acutally one reason why you should use lots of water when watering in.

Actually when I think about it I wonder if covering your drinks with fertilizer and watering it in would not in fact cool them but heat them. Maybe it depends on the kind of fertilizer you use. I'll stick to dropping dropping mine into the creek before putting them in the fridge.

Duncs
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Reply By: MrBitchi (QLD) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:32

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:32
Cans cool quicker than glass. Also much safer and enviro freindly to carry.
AnswerID: 409221

Reply By: Member - Humff(TAS) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:42

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:42
Petrol!!! Sounds crazy i know But if I can remember the physics of it .....by pouring petrol on you tinnies the rapid evapouration of the petrol removes heat fron the metal tinnie ......I might point out that this method should be tried only if you are desperate and by the way dont smoke
AnswerID: 409222

Follow Up By: Hairy (NT) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:16

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:16
Naaa...tried that years ago......we used to put a can in a sock, dip it in petrol and hold it out the window while driving..........just got a like warm beer that tasted like petrol?
Better off drinking warm beer.
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Follow Up By: Member - Humff(TAS) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 19:14

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 19:14
aaaa..........the old sock soaked in petrol trick. ......was it a clean sock.... a dirty sock wouldnt allow unrestricted air flow......lol......what did you do wiith the odd sock.....any way I agree with you that warm beer is better wiThout the background taste of petrol....anyting is worth aT least one try...................well almost anything
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Reply By: OzTroopy - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:53

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 12:53
Sheesh ...

Everybody is always in such a hurry these days...

A good breezy day and stuff kept hanging in a wet hessian sack does me.

If I want stuff a bit colder in the mornings ... I just pour water in the hole the esky sits in at the campsite - the night before.

On the road ... I choose drinks that dont need cooling ... Water - or stop and make a brew ... Saves having a heap of wasted space in the back of the vehicle ... occupied by an expensive, good quality, 12v fridge.

AnswerID: 409224

Reply By: nickoff - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 13:15

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 13:15
I've had it explained to me, but never seen it in action.

Cooling with petrol.

Place tinnies in metal bucket. (Must be metal)

Cover with course sand.

Add water to top of sand

add petrol, about 1/2 litre, stand back and light.

Allow petrol to burn off, and remove tinnies carefully. Top of bucket will be hot, but tinnies will be cool.

Burning petrol is the fumes and gasses given off by the petrol evaporating. The heat required to evaporate the petrol, comes from the water, and of course the tinnies. Wont get them ice cold, but will take the edge off them!

Need to try it some day. Need to be sober as well, I suppose.

Nick.
AnswerID: 409226

Follow Up By: Member - Tony V (NSW) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 16:00

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 16:00
According to all things important -MYTHBUSTERS Click here

Busted....

A six pack of beer can be rapidly cooled by burying it in sand, pouring gasoline on top of it, and lighting the gasoline.

busted

The fire did not significantly alter the temperature of the beer; in fact, the fire actually raised the temperature slightly, not to mention burying the beer made the cans sandy.

(With this myth quickly busted, Adam and Jamie tested other cooling methods. A carbon dioxide fire extinguisher was able to cool a six pack to a satisfactory temperature in approximately 3 minutes. In terms of practicality, though, one’s best bet is to use icy salt water, which cooled the beer to an ideal temperature in 5 minutes. Barring that, normal ice water was next fastest at 15 minutes. The other methods tested (the freezer, ice only, and the refrigerator) did not cool the beer rapidly enough to warrant their use in a spur-of-the-moment event.)
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Follow Up By: Member - Tony V (NSW) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 16:10

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 16:10
Click here to see Mythbusters video
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Follow Up By: Hairy (NT) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:19

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:19
Yep...busted...
Tried that years ago too....used to bury some grog out bush while working on communities.....we would do the petrol thing before digging it up on the way home.................still ended up with warm grog!
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Follow Up By: ss--ss - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 20:15

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 20:15
Wow there was a mythbuster show on this !!. Looks like Salt / Ice & water is the go...
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Reply By: Ray - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 14:45

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 14:45
Nothing like a hot King Brown but then I'm a pom
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Follow Up By: nickoff - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 15:20

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 15:20
True, but at home, you don't keep the ale in the oven, as some of our temperature's are like....
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Reply By: TerraFirma - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 15:51

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 15:51
If you are starting off you can try Techni Ice, if it has already been frozen it can cool for 2-3 days, after that it needs to be re-frozen again. I always put some techni ice in my 3 way at the beginning as it took my fridge quite a few hours to get cranking. Obviously dry ice could also be used rather than Techni Ice which is re-useable.
AnswerID: 409237

Follow Up By: Member - Troll 81 (QLD) - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 16:22

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 16:22
How does Techni Ice compare with those blue freezer bricks? been reading their website and it sounds like a great product?

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Follow Up By: ss--ss - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 20:18

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 20:18
I have a few sheets of the tech-ice stuff. It's pretty convenient but doesn't perform as well as I had expected . Not bad tho
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Follow Up By: Ianw - Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 18:08

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 18:08
The thing with Techni- Ice is that it freezes down to the temp of the freezer. i.e -18 degrees. Water or freezer bricks only freeze to 0 degrees. So you have a head start with Techni- Ice !!

Ian
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Reply By: pt_nomad - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 16:53

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 16:53
An ice slurry would be the most practical method, if location prevents the acquistion of ice and there is not enough room to store the beer in the fridge in the first place you could try using cold packs. The gel filled bags used in first aid, wrapping the beer in the pack will give good surface contact and enable heat transfer.
I think you can also get chemical cold packs, these area single use disposable chemically activated item - similar in princile to a light stick - activate it, use it, throw it.
Seems to me the real solution is to have adequate refigeration capcity to have the beer cold from the fridge.
Paul.
AnswerID: 409243

Reply By: ss--ss - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 17:00

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 17:00
Thanks all for replying, some fantastic solutions to try here.. So when I head off on my 5 week adventure I'll have heaps to keep me busy :)
AnswerID: 409245

Reply By: landseka - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:59

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 18:59
"Best Off Road replied:
I've been told this by a few bushies.

Dig a hole, put cans in it, cover with urea (a fertiliser I believe) and add water. Apparently it gets real cold real quick. I can't comment on amounts of urea and water, nor how long it takes as I've never treid it.

Also no idea if there is any danger attached. "

You could always add diesel instead of water, the beer wont be cold but you will be in hospital (or dead) and won't care. lol
AnswerID: 409254

Follow Up By: disco driver - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 20:45

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 20:45
Mixing Urea and Diesel won't automatically go bang.
You need a fairly powerful detonator to kick it off.

Urea into a wheel barrow full of cans then add water and wait a few minutes.
Beer is now nice and cool, cans don't last long though.

Disco.
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Follow Up By: Nargun51 - Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 13:40

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 13:40
Unless, of course, you are not a farmer and are buying enough to chill drinks for a good sized party

There could be a knock on the door from members of the Special Operations Group fully kitted out, accompanied by men in suits wearing reflective sun glasses
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Reply By: Member - Porl - Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 19:34

Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 19:34
You can buy gel stubbie coolers. You put the stubbie coolers in the freezer or fridge and then when you want a beer our put your cold beer in and it keeps them very cold (depending if from the freezer or the fridge). I guess based on the above this would chill at least one beer before you put it in the fridge ... not much of a party though.

Maybe invent a multiple roll out gel beer cooler, maybe there's a market based on the above discussions.
AnswerID: 409256

Reply By: trainslux - Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 10:19

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 10:19
Mixing in ammonia fertilizer into water causes a temperature change.

Used to dip in drinks into the mixing vat, tied string to the neck, and dip in in for a short while before the mix was then sent into the main line for use.

Trains
AnswerID: 409332

Reply By: Pete Jackman (SA) - Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 13:03

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 13:03
This actually works - cold beer in 5 minutes

Cheers

Pete
AnswerID: 409344

Reply By: rayfish - Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 21:31

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 at 21:31
three ways are not the best at cooling down beer get a good 12/240 volt compressor fridge /freezer or run yours on gas they seem to work the best on gas
AnswerID: 409406

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