LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Project Information

This is my first post here and on any site about something I built.
I didn't have any plans for this so I just made it as I went along.
My wife and I needed a good cooler that will hold ice for a long time and easy to get into without bending over.
I used a 48 quart Coleman cooler as my base and built the carcass and shelf from Douglas Fir 2"x4" that I salvaged from old roof trusses which I planed.
The top of the lid and sides are made from some 1"x3" rough cut cedar stock I happened to have and also ran through the planer.
I started by making my frame 2 inches bigger all the way around the ice chest. Next I lined the inside of the box with some Double Reflective Insulation Roll from Home depot and installed a brass hose bib wit a 6" box nipple connected to the cooler for drainage (I used tub and tile chalk to seal the connection).
After this was finished, I used two 16 ounce cans of spray foam insulation the folks greater than one inch to fill around the inside of the box and cooler.
I also drilled holes in the top of the cooler kid and filled it spray foam. Once this was dry, I removed the excess foam from the lid and built my wood lid around this. I also added the foil insulation between the wooden top and the plastic lid.
Once This was filled I made sure some of the foil was converting the bottom an I sealed the box with 2"x4" stock.
I finished the cooler by putting it on casters and heavy duty handles after I rubbed in 3 coats of wipe-on poly.
The finished deck cooler stand 35.5 inches tall and my wife and I just filled it with ice, beverages and food today so we'll see how long the ice will last. We are keeping it indoors so that should help keep the ice longer.
My total cost to build this was about $60 and 20 hours Not bad since this is my first cabinet/furniture piece I have built and without any plans. Thanks for checking out my humble project and happy building!!!

Gallery

Comments

· Registered
Joined
·
3,876 Posts
Very Nice Project & Well Done!

Rick S.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
0 Posts
Thank you very much. I appreciate the feedback.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
0 Posts
Thank you. Hope this helps someone else looking to do a similar project.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
0 Posts
Update, one block of ice has lasted 6 days! This is better than I thought it would last.
 
Top