Materials to make an esky (lid)

[whiteman]

My IceKool 140l esky has a warped lid - seems to be a common issue with this brand (they are the blue plastic ones). Quoted $280 to replace the lid which is OTT.

Used to make boards in my younger days so happy to build a new lid with surfboard foam and glass. But now I live north of Townsville, where do I find foam, glass and resin?

[trymyluck]

Have you tried using a bit of heat to soften the lid up and adjusting the lid?

[Roo]

If you're going to bin the lid anyway, have you tried heating it gently to remove the warp?. could work, nothing to lose. I have a Big chilli with similar issues but not bad enought not to still work ok. Try a heatgun on low setting and not too close or the insulation inside may melt too. If the lid can be forced shut then maybe heat it then shut it and leave to cool....probably use some paper around the seal area to stop it gluing itself shut. Hope you get a result. if you do, I might just do mine.:)
Cheers Roo.

[BazzaDLB]

Hi Whiteman,
I have an Fridgemate fridge/freezer and it kind of suffered the same fate after many days in the sun.

I ended up cutting some foam seal to the correct thickness to seal it once more and it is as good as gold.

fortunately little cold air escapes out the top anyway.

Cheers and I hope this helps

Bazza

[Daintreeboy]

We used to get ours from FGI in Cairns if that helps. Should be able to find them in the online white pages.

[charleville]

My IceKool 140l esky has a warped lid - seems to be a common issue with this brand (they are the blue plastic ones).



Yup. Seems to be. I have had two eskies from the same manufacturer and I would not buy their brands again based on my experience. >:(

Like yours, my smaller blue Icekool developed a warped lid pretty swiftly and my big yellow Icemate has its own set of issues - eg warped sides which prevent a good seal and also makes the wire tray unusable.


Yes - I know that I can take these back under warranty but the retailer went out of business and the manufacturer is too far away to justify taking the boxes back to them, even if I could find the purchase receipts. A good product would not need to be taken back anywhere.


My next esky will probably be a Tropical. I don't read of too many complaints about them.


.

[whiteman]

Thanks all. The heat gun thing may make it worse - at the moment the lid is usable -just. There is an FGI in TSV and the site talks about epoxy resins so thanks for that tip off. Now I need to source some foam locally which may be the issue.

My Evacool esky (the white one with smooth rounded edges) has been faultless for 8 years. The blue IceKool has not. But there is a price difference.

[snodger 08]

I have a techni-ice esky and a tropical esky and am happy with both. Had them for 5 years or so now and no problems. Both bought off ebay at a fairly reasonable price. The tropical seems to keep ice a little longer, but only slightly.
Good luck with the repairs hey.
Steve

[bushbeachboy]

Whiteman, give Gough Plastics on Ingham Road Bohle a call. They may be able to help or advise.

Cheers

[Scott nthQld]

whiteman, also try Norfoam, they build coldrooms, so should have some high density foam. They're down towards the end of Enterprise street off ingham road.

if you can't get any foam, try and get some thick perspex or something and just layer up the fibreglass thick.

[whiteman]

I went to FGI in Townsville. This place is a treasure trove for anyone looking to work with glass and resin. While I'm used to working with epoxy and glass, these guys have cheaper options that will do a better job as their materials are much less prone to sun damage. They even have the inner insulation in different thicknesses. Will buy some stuff next week to get this happenning.

The guy I spoke with says they sell heaps of stuff to fishos making esky lids and he knows about IceKools and reckon it's rubbish.

[myusernam]

Hi Mate, was also thinking you could also just get a decent bit of ply (18mm) and sikaflex the lid to the ply with clamps/ screws and that would keep it straight.
if you want to make a new lid use corthane and polyester but it will work out exxy because of wasteage etc

[whiteman]

Hi Mate, was also thinking you could also just get a decent bit of ply (18mm) and sikaflex the lid to the ply with clamps/ screws and that would keep it straight.
if you want to make a new lid use corthane and polyester but it will work out exxy because of wasteage etc
I can get close to the quantities I want (enough for 2 lids) for well under $70. Will get accurate costs next week when I measure up what I want. This gives me the opportunity to make a stronger lid and maybe embed some sort of padded seat on it. Or make 2 - one with seat, one without. Or different colours for different moods. I love options.

But your idea might work as well.

[whiteman]

Went back to FGI to get the stuff. By the time I had everything I needed the cost was over $170 - it would have been much cheaper if I could get just enough to make 1 or 2 lids but the minimum quantites meant I had enough for at least 4 lids. The guy serving says that making your own esky is always more expensive once you take into account labour and the fittings but you get the size and cooling power you want.

So I made a call to Evakool in Brisbane and they'll ship me a new lid for the IceKool for $150 incl. freight. Much cheaper than the local shop that originally sold me the esky.