Hi Steve,
I have found some great clearance prices on coolers and wonder if venders who have been doing this a while prefer a certain brand as most efficient.
I am looking at Igloo and Coleman, both have 5-day and 7-day coolers.
Yeti is still a bit pricey for me at this point, and I’m wondering if I can get good results from a less expensive means.
Thanks!
Lou
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Standard Coolers. I think that Coleman and Igloo are comparable and do a fine job.
Yeti is too expensive for my blood, but I have heard great things about them. K2 Coolers are direct competitors with Yeti and their prices are much lower.
Click here to comparison shop standard coolers.
12 Volt. Moving up in performance, we have the mechanically refrigerated coolers. They look like coolers but are actually electric refrigerators. Be sure that the unit you choose is capable of holding temperatures of 40 degrees or less. Some units only cool the contents of the cooler a set amount below outside temperature. This is fine if it’s 55 degrees outside, but it won’t keep your food and drinks cold when it gets really hot out.
Here is a 120 can refrigerator/freezer at a decent price. They can ship this to your local Walmart where you can pick it up.\
120 Volt + Inverter. Finally, we have the “dorm size” fridges that a lot of my California customers use on their E-Z Built hot dog carts. You can find these used in good condition on Craigslist. You will need a deep cycle battery and a 120V power inverter to run these.
Then there’s this bad boy…
What say you Slingers? What do you use? What would you NOT use?
Share your experiences in the comments. Let’s see who’s cooler is cooler 😉
-Steve
If you have an active health department they may be looking for an NSF sticker on the cooler to make sure it’s commercial quality. These are usually more expensive and available at commercial restaurant suppliers.
Not common but it happens.
Hi, I have 3, 5 day coleman coolers and 2 , 7 day igloo marine coolers i use all the time. Both kinds are eual in use and about the same price. But, you will never have to buy them agsin. Thanks, Rosie’s
That 29 days of coolosity. Very cool. 😉
here’s a great review of high end coolers on youtube. The Coleman came out as the “best bang for the buck”
Thanks Don!
Like that cooler cart. GO HOT DOGGERS.
I want one too. Seriously.
I found a great cooler at meijers and it is on stands! No more bending over or back problems! They run about 139.00 on sale for 79.00 great investment and ice stays about two days really cold for 3days. I bought 2 one for water, one for pop.
Nice. You must be from Michigan calling it “pop”. 😉
Good ole St.Joe silly man but you knew that!
Ha!
I find that despite the claims of how long they’ll hold ice, the Igloos seem to hold up better than Coleman. I also like the way they are put together. I can’t seem to fill a Coleman to the top rim without the top being unable to close. But the Igloos have a bit of an inside dome that accommodates the filling. Maybe it’s just those particular models I have, but both claim 5 days. Neither of them make it that long. Most upper models, including electrics tell you they keep everything 40 or 50 degrees below ambient. Thus at 90 it will keep it at 50.
Just my 2 cents. Personally, I much prefer Igloo.
Never thought about the lid design. Good point.
50 Quart Ultimate Xtreme Wheeled Cooler from Supa Hotdogs
I am always looking for coolers with excellent build quality and that can maintain ice for longer periods of time for my Hotdog Business. I recently got into “5 day” and “6 day” coolers. This is a review of the Coleman 6-Day 50 Quart Ultimate Xtreme Cooler.
When packing coolers, pre-chilled drinks and cubed ice are used. I use cubed ice because it is convenient, but understand that blocked ice maintain much longer than cubed ice. When tested, the Coleman Ultimate Xtreme Cooler kept ice for 60 hours (2 and a half days). Again, I am mindful that without blocks of ice, I cannot expect a full 6-days of ice retention. The Ultimate Xtreme significantly outperformed the other coolers I was looking for.
The build of the cooler appears to be good. Looking at the cooler, the lid and walls of the cooler appear extremely well insulated. The lid appears to align decently with the body of the cooler, though the front and center of the lid does not appear airtight. Also, the drainage outlet has no significant “locking” feel as my old Coleman did. I noticed that condensation formed along the drainage outlet of the cooler. This is likely due to less insulation around the outlet. Not a big deal!
Something to consider about this cooler is the canal on the inside of the cooler that leads to the drainage outlet. The canal is helpful in allowing any water in the cooler to drain almost completely without the need to tip the cooler. However, when packing the cooler, the cans will not line up easily or nicely due to the concave build on the bottom of the cooler due to the canal. Some people will see it as a plus and some will see it as a minus, I am neutral on this. I would recommend taking a look at the inside of the cooler to get a better picture. However, as a previous review mentioned, it would have been nice for the drainage outlet to be on the opposite side of the cooler due to the towing handle was in the direct path of the draining water. In addition, the long handle is just a tad longer than the bottom of the cooler when at rest, which digs into the ground when you park the cooler. So if you are outside, the tip of the long handle will likely dig into the ground, dirtying your handle.
The insulation appears to be an impressive 2-inches. As a result, you definitely notice this in the weight of the cooler. The cooler is hefty, especially when packed with cans and ice. Thankfully, the wheels on the cooler make transporting it easier and appear to work really well.
Overall, the Coleman 6-Day 50 Quart Ultimate Xtreme Cooler has decent build quality and good performance. This cooler is rated a 4.0 out of 5.0, which could be improved if the lid was better aligned with an airtight closure in the front-center of the lid, a more secured drainage valve, improved position of the drainage valve with respect to the long handle, and a little better performance.
I have been using this cooler now for about 6 months and wouldn’t go with any other cooler. I also am using it with Techni Ice, a dry ice alternative as well and do about 200 meals a day, so I use three coolers at my Hotdog Cart stand. Check Walmart or Kmart. They are selling them for like $70.00 right now and well worth the investment
Wow – what a review! We all appreciate it very much.
I have used both coleman and igloo and never had an issue with either. It depended on which brand had the features I wanted and was on sale. I always made sure they had wheels (saves the back) and a drain spout. As far as how many days they keep your stuff cold, its not going to last as long as stated due to constantly opening and closing.
Drain spout is a must.
steve what about the built in cooler in the hotdog cart the health dept wont’ allow they want mechanical refrigerator or powered fridge /freezer run by 12 voltm dc or generator .
Although far from commonplace, a few health departments do want to see mechanical refrigeration of some type on the cart. We mentioned those alternatives in the article.
I’ve used both Coleman and Igloo. I found the Coleman Extended (5 or 7 day) far outperforms the Igloo. For my money … Go COLEMAN. Now … about that motorized cooler … I gotta get me one of those bad boys!
Me too!
We use “Maxcold” 6 day coolers by Igloo. We bought 2 of them at Costco, and they work very well. They are on wheels and we use those only to keep all the meat, condiments, and refills cold.
We have a beverage cooler built into our cart; however, we take two additional coolers for bottled water, and Gatorade. For those, we use any type of cooler.
Same here. My onboard cooler is for sodas (“pop” if you’re from Michigan) and waters. I keep my meat in a separate cooler.
i have 2 – 5 day coolers- igloo…both do ok if not in direct sunlight……hey steve i looked into that kickstarter site… i should be live in a week… hope it works
Awesome!
You guys DON’T know how good you have got it! Up here in BC Canada we are not permitted to use these ice coolers for food (pop 0K). We must use a compressor powered fridge. No a Koolatron will not cut it either, not good enough for health authorities. Koolatron only ensures so many degrees below ambient temperature so if it is 100 degrees outside your wienies only keep at say 60 F. (Need 40F)
The best compressor fridge I have found that doesn’t up your mortgage is a Nova Kool. Here is the catch it takes a 3 amp draw on the 110 volt side. Now I need an inverter to run this off a battery. So all in for new equipment I am easily looking at over $1500. Wait it gets better! I needed a CSA approved propane hot water heater to keep gas inspector happy. Slight wrinkle only one available was (you guessed it) 110 volt powered and water pump for simplicity went 110 volt. Not so simple! Now I need a pure sine wave inverter to run Rinnai water heater and these can up your mortgage if you don’t shop around. So to complicate my cooling conundrum further I need 8 amps continuous on the 110 volt side not accounting for the surge when all appliances run at the same time.
Confused yet? Wait it gets better still. I talked with an ice cream truck vendor who is retiring now, because the electrical inspector is in on the act. Event organizers here want you to pass an electrical inspection and it’s only time before hot dog carts need an electrical inspection as well.
Trouble here is, no one locally can really determine with accuracy how much of an inverter I need for 8 amp continuous power, they guesstimate the surge at 20 amps (possible higher). Throw in the possibility I may need a second battery on the the hitch to last 8 hours and you may have a good idea what I have been doing all summer… so you see I am profoundly envious you guys get away with ice to cool your product and it gets hotter down there!. In BC we require a gas inspection (read NSF compliant for US specs) a compressor fridge (read CSA approved probably NSF for US authorities) and very soon I am quite sure an electrical inspector. Throw in a short Canadian season and it is a fact of life the dog slinger is faced with horrendous overhead up here before he can sell one dog. The fact is government legislation is preventing operators from starting up and when you consider BC and perhaps Manitoba are the only provinces requiring a commissary as mandatory you start to feel like the hunted, haunted and hopelessly harassed entrepreneur. It took a year to locate a commissary simply none to be had in these parts. If anyone knows a really bright person versed in inverter issues I am all ears because my commissary just billed me 3 months for $1500 and I have not sold a dog in 18 months of trying.
So guys do not stress about ice coolers Costco seems to carry a good make every year and I’m sure Sam’s Club would also. Something you might try though if not to difficult is pre-chill cooler with cold water before adding ice that might extend your chill temperature considerably. Meanwhile be glad you don’t encounter my road blocks. I’ll try to keep my cool with the electrical inspector. Maybe I’ll bring a stick to chew on, probably a good idea now that I think about it. Coleman or Igloo IMHO you can’t go far wrong. Best of luck! 🙂
Rich …chillin out of house and home and old man winter is just around the corner. Something tells me I am on the late night cabaret circuit this winter, if I ever get the cart approved that is. Good luck to all 😉
Reminds me of a really funny joke. It goes like this…
“Hi, we’re from the government. We’re here to help you.”
This is the best site for inverter information. I run 2, 14 CF Chest Freezers in my Ice Cream Truck with an 8D Deep Cycle Bus Battery on my 2000 watt rated inverter and I can go about 4 hours not running the vehicle.
http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/inverter_faq.html
As an Ice cream vendor, I ran full size freezer, box fan and televisi8m with 2000 watt inverter, but was burning up alternator frequently. Now I know I can get stronger alternator online, but does not apply to non-mobile business. Generator should do fine. In USA best source by far is Harbor Freight, dont know if online they ship to Canada, but far lower price than anywhere else. Inverters are available at most any truck stop, but much more expensive.
dang thats terrible…..have u thought of a mini fridge and a honda generator?….hondas are very quite… hardly hear them at all
Rich,
If you happen to be a military veteran, you might check out the service clubs in your area. Whatever the Canadian equivalent of the American Legion, or VFW might be. If you’re a member, they might well be willing to be your commissary. If you’re not a veteran, but would be willing to do a big feed at cost now and then, they might go for that. I’ve also had luck with a church; they have a licensed kitchen, and when I offered to feed the kid’s group twice a year they were thrilled, and charge me no fees.
In the Twin Cities, we have a sort of food service incubator that provides kitchen space, training and other services to folks getting started in the food business. They offer commissary services for $25 a month to cart owners. You have 24-hour access; just drive up, haul in your jug and dump it, and go. They also offer fridge and freezer space if you need it.
I use a church as my commissary also. I do a movie night for the youth in the spring and I sling at the local fair parade in the fall with all profits going to the youth. Win-win.
Rich checkout the sportsmans guide web site for demand water heater and 12 volt pump
My best Cooler so far is a Rubbermaid Dura Chil I got from Lowes. Has wheels and is a 75 quart container. I use it for food storage and when I put 2-10lb bags of ice in it, the ice usually last 3 days, but I also make my own form of block Ice from empty 45oz. butter containers. I use them in both drink coolers as well as the food cooler. Works effecient enough for now. But no matter what you get, ice will be one of your biggest expenses, make sure you use the Cash Tracker program, it’s a GREAT piece of software,
Thanks Steve for that!!
Bruce @the Smokies Mighty Dog
Thanks for the Cash Tracker plug Bruce!
Hi Steve,
I use the Coleman cooler that is built into my cart for meat. I put two bags of ice on the bottom, pack all my dogs in Ziploc gallon bags and then I put three bags of ice on the top. I keep the ice in the bags and reuse them over and over. I can carry 120 dogs easily on the cart. If I do a really big event I take an additional external cooler for the extra meat. I put my sodas in rolling Coleman coolers. I also put a door on the upper storage area where the buns go which has minimized damage to the buns. What makes me happy about my setup is that I can feed over 100 people without a lot of extraneous stuff to pack and unpack.
I would have to look at which cooler I use. One thing I do is thaw some dogs then inter layer them with the frozen as a brick dogs. Plus, my HI is happy with the use of blue ice(the frozen gel packs, water ice is a nono) at my first inspection the inside of my cooler was 20 f. I just finished with the toughest county in the area and passed with flying colors. Also so you can thaw what you think you will need and have extra if needed. Sell em’ all
Jerry
Go to the Dollar Tree and get what you need for $1.00. I buy them all the time and add a buck to a large purchase. Or use them for ice, drinks, storage, or dogs. bs
Bill Pavone (sorry taking thread off topic Steve) EXCELLENT LEAD on inverter store. These guys set me straight and hear me when I say inverters can be as complex as you let them. This guy (Kyle) simply knew where he was at and it was so seamless working with these guys I am astounded how easy it was! These guys do inverters exceptionally well. Thanks again Bill got me out of a jam hopefully I will be up and running much sooner now. If you need an inverters talk to these guys first. I got what I wanted/needed and I got got it on sale. The staff could not have been more helpful. Thanks again Bill Pavone cheers Rich.
http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/inverter_faq.html
Um we use a Colman cooler and we freeze our hot dogs. Keep EVERYTHING ice cold. What are you guys all talking about? Seems expensive and a waste of time and money. Hotdoggers cant afford to waste either…. love, the wiener girls
Steve
I read the peace from Rich in BC Canada,i live in Ontario and he should look at the sportsmans guide web site they have propane demand water heaters for $120 and a demand 12 pump for around $50 they can be installed in about 2 hours if you read the instuctions.that means he needs a small generatore and an upright freezer.This is all we use,it saves a lot of hasel.
I use 3 boat coolers, bought from Sams Club. 2 are used at the stand, one remains in the trailer, for rotation to the stand coolers. When doing big events , like the Woodward Dream Cruise, cannot chill drinks fast enough. At the end of the day , all drinks are transferred to one cooler, chilling lasts for 3-4 days.
The best cooler I have found is believe it or not a foam cooler that one of my hot dog (sausage) companies sent my hot dogs in I put in 8 Ice packs and in 70 – 80 degree weather it keeps my dogs frozen for a 8 hour day.
I am going to be turning it into a wood cooler soon.
Bernie
snappershotdogs.com
I agree with Sue & Rena. Money is tight. I buy all my coolers at swap meets and Goodwill. My last cooler I bought was a 32 quart Colman, like new but dirty- $10.00 bucks. Clean up was easy, I used Clorax Foamer-worked great! Then I spray painted the outside of the cooler with clear paint, shined like new. My tip would be buy coolers for specific jobs, I have a cooler just for dogs, frozen burger patties, cheese, and a 1 liter frozen bottle of water. Cold meat all day long even here in Arizona. Yes I frezze my back up dogs as well. I would like to know how well frozen gel ice packs work, are they worth the money? Ice here in Arizona can cost about $4.00 a bag.
Anybody played with the idea of keeping your doggies above 160 degrees instead of below 40?Good coolers keep things hot as well as cold and we can always heat water above 160.That way they will also be ready for serving when you need them.????
Interesting. I think the problem would be flavor degradation. Heat is hard on spices. Would be worth experimenting with though…
Howdy… I think you will find, all ice chests ratings for holding cold, are based on chests full of ice and no other ingredients
Kind of deceiving…
True. At least it lets us compare apples with apples.
We use the Colemn as shown in the photo above. I throw some ice in there it always gets me through and beyond any event.
Right on.
great info in these comments. I use the large igloo coolers for h2o and pop/soda they hold cold for a day or more although I am not sure for how long since I re-ice each morning on my longer shows. The igloos seem to like to break on the hinges but, I have found replacement parts on ebay. One, four day gig that I do since I dislike to carry items in every day I use some cambros to put extra dogs in. I take two of these full on the first day dogs are frozen solid by the third day they are getting to get unfroze then moved to my dog cooler. Cambros really work for me the HD looks and sees frozen dogs then leaves me alone. Also, when I go to some gigs I have my dogs unthawed HD likes “blue ice” i also inter mix hard packs of dogs with the thawed ones, keeps dogs cool plus you have extra to draw on if needed.
“sell em’ all’
Jerry
Great ideas Jerry. Thanks for sharing!
Hello we are out in California and in need of the proper refrigerator. A couple questions… We have seen some carts that has a fridge off the cart to the side and plugged in to a generator and then some carts with the fridge just plopped right on top. What is the best way to run a fridge on your cart. She we just use a generator or should we plan for 2 propane tanks on the cart. I am probably making this more deficult that it needs to be. the fridges we see are in the $500 range. Also with a fridge on the cart do we also have to have a cooler too. We are getting ready to finalize our cart and just want to make sure we are doing it right.
Hi David & Jackie,
You can use any energy source that you want to. Generator, propane, deep cycle batteries running through a power inverter, 120V cord, etc.
Check with your health department before you buy the fridge just to be sure that he will approve it. If you have a fridge, you do not need a cooler also.
Has anyone used the cooler ice melt and transferred that into your fresh water tank? Is that allowed
If anyone is in Arizona and wants to give me advice my email is
Mikewesleymontgomery@gmail.com
Although advice from anywhere is welcome. Excited to start my new beginning
Definitely not allowed anywhere Mike.
Something that works for us, we use the local senior center for a commissary. We do a fund raiser for them in the fall , and at a couple of local spots during the year give them 10 percent. They in turn let us use their walk in coolers and also give us unlimited access to the ice cube machine. Works for us anyway.
We have never had a problem with any health department any where in the country. Only hassles we have ever had was electrical inspectors in Minnesota. That is all Minnesota seemed to care about.
Senior Centers – great resource! Thanks Pat!
They ship sushi from Japan all over the world in styrofoam coolers and it stays frozen. Air is warmer than ice, so they pack the coolers tight ensuring no empty space.
Right on.