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When gathering with friends and family outdoors, you may use a cooler to help keep food and drinks cold, though it can be tough to tell how long the bagged ice will last before melting. If you find that your cooler can’t preserve ice for the duration of a gathering, here are three ways to make it last longer.

How to Make Ice Last Longer in a Cooler

1. Use Larger Ice Blocks

If you’ve ever used bagged ice with small pieces to fill a cooler, you’ve likely watched it turn into liquid within the span of a few hours. The more air the ice comes into contact with, the faster it melts. Smaller cube-shaped pieces of ice tend to melt faster because of their larger surface area relative to their interior. To keep the contents of a cooler cold all day, use larger blocks with less surface area.

2. Chill Your Items

Bagged IcePlacing room-temperature items in a cooler will raise the internal temperature, causing the ice to melt faster. To combat this, chill your items in the refrigerator in advance.

You can also chill the entire cooler before the outdoor gathering. Fill the cooler up with ice a few hours before the event starts. Once you’re ready to use the cooler, empty the old ice and replace it with a new batch. 

3. Keep the Cooler Closed

Opening a cooler often allows warm air inside, speeding up the melting process. Although it can be challenging if you have many guests, keeping the cooler closed for as long as possible will help the ice last longer.

If you can’t keep it closed, use multiple coolers during the gathering. Designate one as the main cooler that is only opened to replenish drinks in the smaller, secondary cooler that guests can freely open and close. 

 

If you need bagged ice to fill your coolers, contact Hawaiian Ice Company. This company has provided high-quality packaged ice to Honolulu for over 20 years. They offer a wide variety of products, including dry, block, and crushed ice. For more information about their options, visit them online. To speak with a team member about your order, call (808) 538-6918.

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