Lost a whole catering order because I trusted my cooler overnight

Out on a job last Friday for a wedding near Fayetteville. Packed 40 lbs of smoked brisket in my cooler like I always do. Woke up at 5am to load the truck and the temp was at 50 degrees inside. Had to toss the whole thing. $700 of meat and 14 hours of smoking gone. Now I check my cooler thermometer every time before I leave the house. Anyone else ever get burned by a cooler failing on them?

3 comments

3 Comments

milarodriguez1mo ago

Oh man, that sucks. I read somewhere that a lot of coolers lose their seal over time and you don't even notice until it's too late.

the_ruby1mo ago

Nah, I gotta disagree with that. I've got a cheap Coleman cooler that's gotta be 15 years old, the seal is cracked and kinda crusty, but I still pack it full of ice and it'll keep stuff cold for two full days if I don't open it every five minutes. Most folks just don't pre-chill their coolers or pack them right, or they leave it sitting in direct sun on a hot driveway. If you're losing ice fast, it's usually user error way more than the seal going bad. I'd bet a lot of those "leaky seal" stories are really just people expecting miracles from a cooler that's been sitting in a hot truck bed all morning.

the_jennifer1mo ago

Wait, are people really expecting the rubber seal to be perfect forever? Like yeah it gets crusty but my old Coleman has the same issue and I still trust it for weekend trips. The key is prepping it right. Throw a bag of ice in there the night before to cool it down, then dump that and pack fresh ice and drinks. And for real, keep it in the shade or throw a blanket over it if you're stuck in the sun. My buddy complains his cooler sucks but he'll leave it on his deck in 90 degree weather and then wonder why the ice is gone in 6 hours. That's not the seal failing, that's thermodynamics working exactly how it's supposed to.