Icekool 200 litre Mackie box - worth the money..?

[NAGG]

Thanks guys its interesting to get different peoples experience of the same product...I wonder if some of the issues are from different batchs/years/production runs/factories etc or if some guys are just tougher on gear...?

However, after chatting to Techniice although they don't stock the 200l long box they can include one in their next production run ...so I think I may do this even though it means a 2-3 month wait as so far I only hear good things about these boxes...

Rotomoulding would be one of the worst plastic process for consistency - hence why roto eskys vary in quality so much ….. not year to year week to week but item to item (or near to it) . It's got better over the years but it is still a passive heating / coating & cooling process without the control that you would get from say injection moulding.

Chris

[disorderly]

Hi Scott, it wasn’t! When I got the new boat, Col built me a custom 400 litre esky. Alloy outer, glass inside, bolted to the deck so you could walk around it. Awesome esky. These days it sits on my back patio as it is overkill for my whiting trips. Geez I miss NQ... I don’t recall any warping, but it is 10 years since I sold the evakool.

Yeah no worries..as mentioned I am going with the Techniice...and 200l is enough as we spend a bit more time in the water just looking at the fish these days, the kids have left home and I am over filleting a 200l esky chocked full of fish ..
and the missus wants a little fridge/freezer as well ..

Have you still got the big Origin Diesel, Dave..?...That would be a bit of overkill for Whiting too I imagine..

[disorderly]

Rotomoulding would be one of the worst plastic process for consistency - hence why roto eskys vary in quality so much ….. not year to year week to week but item to item (or near to it) . It's got better over the years but it is still a passive heating / coating & cooling process without the control that you would get from say injection moulding.

Chris

Ok I didn't realise it was that fickle a process Chris...

Its hard to decide...I still have my old Baileys and busted top Evacool...I really like the glass eskies but I am too rough on gear and getting them out of my high sided boat is difficult for the Missus and me...

[NAGG]

Ok I didn't realise it was that fickle a process Chris...

Its hard to decide...I still have my old Baileys and busted top Evacool...I really like the glass eskies but I am too rough on gear and getting them out of my high sided boat is difficult for the Missus and me...

Rotomoulding is the same process that you make a chocolate Easter egg ……. it's a hot mould that you pour powdered plastics into & slowly spin it around end over end while heating it up …… the plastic melts coats the mould & eventually builds the thickness ….. the heat is turned down / off and the plastic cools setting the shape . ……. there is no pressure to compact the plastic or align the polymer chains . It's a layering process . that's why roto parts are generally thick & heavy .

Glass is nice but its easily scratched or cracked …….. put big blocks of ice in a glass esky & over time it will crack . …… So I'm hearing you

Chris

[Noelm]

I have a big blue roto moulded one about 1.8m long that I have had for years, the lid is a bit bent from too many people sitting on it at parties, but it's been pretty good, nothing broken on it yet, and it gets left outside all the time, can't see a brand on it, keeps ice pretty well, although we don't get the heat like QLD I guess.

[BigE]

Yeah I looked at those Chris ..they do look good though and I like the split lid idea but not quite big enough ....

Alchemy I'm surprised that was big enough for you guys on your Red adventures up here....did you notice any warpage in the sun...?


Catshark , Technie ice don't have a 200l Mackie box anymore unfortunately

You could always buy two 160 split lids

BigE

[NAGG]

I have a big blue roto moulded one about 1.8m long that I have had for years, the lid is a bit bent from too many people sitting on it at parties, but it's been pretty good, nothing broken on it yet, and it gets left outside all the time, can't see a brand on it, keeps ice pretty well, although we don't get the heat like QLD I guess.

It doesn't surprise me Noel

It's probably an early Evakool which without doubt would probably be heavier & thicker than the current ones . Go & compare it to say one of the Waeco / Cool ice ones which are just rubbish ….. thin walled which make them susceptible to delaminating / bowing .

Heat doesn't really come into play …… as LLDPE doesn't really do much until it reaches 80 deg C & closer to 100 deg C before it does start to really soften ……… it's more to do with how it was made in the first place & how it was formulated .

Chris

[disorderly]

Rotomoulding would be one of the worst plastic process for consistency - hence why roto eskys vary in quality so much ….. not year to year week to week but item to item (or near to it) . It's got better over the years but it is still a passive heating / coating & cooling process without the control that you would get from say injection moulding.

Chris

Yep..you can now say you told me so Chris..

Got the brand spanking new special order Technie ice 200l Mackie box yesterday and upon opening it immediately saw that the front was warped out 11mm in the middle...

Funny this was meant to replace a 15 year old cheap brand Mackie box that used to warp the lid in the heat...but comparing that old one to this new one just shows how flimsy and badly built tis new one is...

IMG_1578.jpgIMG_1584.jpg

[Sheik]

What will you do with it?

[NAGG]

Yep..you can now say you told me so Chris..

Got the brand spanking new special order Technie ice 200l Mackie box yesterday and upon opening it immediately saw that the front was warped out 11mm in the middle...

Funny this was meant to replace a 15 year old cheap brand Mackie box that used to warp the lid in the heat...but comparing that old one to this new one just shows how flimsy and badly built tis new one is...

IMG_1578.jpgIMG_1584.jpg

No need to kick a bloke when they are down …… specially after forking out good coin for something that should be fit for purpose.
Hopefully you got for a good price .

When I wanted one of those Iceyteck split lid eskys - I decided to go & look at the one I was going to buy first (rather than order online) . Just gave me that peace of mind before handing over a wad of cash.

Chris

[Dignity]

No need to kick a bloke when they are down …… specially after forking out good coin for something that should be fit for purpose.
Hopefully you got for a good price .

When I wanted one of those Iceyteck split lid eskys - I decided to go & look at the one I was going to buy first (rather than order online) . Just gave me that peace of mind before handing over a wad of cash.

Chris

My mate bought the 1100 mm long one a couple of years ago, it hadn't arrived nearly 2 weeks after it was supposed to so they sent him a new one and it was good, straight and even, 2 days later the original one arrived, they told him to keep it so he ended up with a spare. To my knowledge he just uses it as storage on his mezzanine area in the shed. In all honesty I'd be contacting them and suggesting that 11 mm distortion is enough to NOT keep your ice from melting and that they organise a replacement.

[disorderly]

What will you do with it?

Hi mate, I rang them and sent them an email yesterday and asked that they organise a courier to come pick it up and refund me..

Chris I will try and arrange to look at the next one before I buy...its just so difficult when living in a small town in FNQ and this was a "special order" as they don't stock this sized box ...its was a 3.5 month wait to get this one made..

Dignity one of their top selling points is the "airlock dual seal" which in this case wont work as the inner seal doesn't actually contact anything in the middle where its distorted out..

Its a bit disappointing considering I decided on buying a Australian owned and manufactured product..

[Sheik]

Hi mate, I rang them and sent them an email yesterday and asked that they organise a courier to come pick it up and refund me..

Chris I will try and arrange to look at the next one before I buy...its just so difficult when living in a small town in FNQ and this was a "special order" as they don't stock this sized box ...its was a 3.5 month wait to get this one made..

Dignity one of their top selling points is the "airlock dual seal" which in this case wont work as the inner seal doesn't actually contact anything in the middle where its distorted out..

Its a bit disappointing considering I decided on buying a Australian owned and manufactured product..

Yeah good call.

[disorderly]

Just got off the phone from Graeme from Technie ice..

He assures me the shape is intentional and is too allow gases to escape from using dry ice...he also said that with normal ice having the gap between the inner seal and the lip will allow hot air to escape thus making the ice last longer..

I can accept the dry ice theory but not sure about the other..

Now I know very little about thermodynamics but personally whether its a fridge, freezer or icebox I would have thought the better the seal the better colder the box...

Is he feeding me a line or is he fairdinkum…?

BTW this is the seals..on the lid the edges are square so that inner seal doesn't come in contact with much of the front edge due to the convex shape of the front wall of the box..

IMG_1604.jpg

[NAGG]

What percentage of esky buyers use dry ice ? Why is it that other top brands dont do this ? ...... finally the gas will work it's way out through the seals ....

chris