Replacement cooler for Igloo 36 Marine Finally Found

[Loneranger]

I haven’t posted anything on the forum for years but I felt this find would be of significant benefit to those who have a molded in place for an Igloo Marine 36 cooler and want something better. The Igloo is terrible. I finally found it, off of Amazon, an Echosmile 30. Slightly smaller interior volume as seen in the pictures. I have yet to test it for ice retention. It claims 5 days, so it’s not an Rtic or Engel but way better than the 1/2 day of the Igloo.

There are two pictures in the link of the seat cover placed. One is with four rubber feet removed and one with the four rubber feet in place. The four rubber feet removed it fits perfectly.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZVDzAW8XEY8jv3sn6

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F1PFK4...abc_SQXBFZ2Z4Z442978T2N5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I may need to work on the photo URL since last time I posters I was able to use photobucket without a fee.

 

[JHornsby3]

I don't know why but the legs of the person standing on the lid in the add just reminds me of Cpl. Klinger.

 

[boatrboy]

Good to see you back lone- thanks for sharing this find. I currently use that space for life jackets but truthfully, the space in front of it is really enough room. I always look in Walmart etc for something that would fit but haven’t found the perfect size. Let us know if the five day is really close…

 

[Loneranger]

I put whatever ice was in the house refrigerator bin and put 6 room temperature drink cans into the cooler Friday night. The drinks were all removed and consumed and a few new ones added over the weekend. This is not ideal for packing a cooler but this lasted for almost 2 full days. Ice was fully melted but drinks and melt water still very cold on Sunday night. I had the cooler outside on the porch with some sun exposure and ambient temperature of 87 F. This is better than the stock Igloo. At some point I will do a better test of the cooler.

 

[Creekwood]

Little known fact: Many cheap coolers have no insulation in the lid. Its hollow but no foam fill. Quick way to make it a much better cooler is to buy some white plastic plugs like these 3/8":

And some Window/door expanding foam sealant. The window/door is best because it does not build up a lot of pressure.

Drill 3/8" holes in the underside of the lid spaced roughly 8 inches apart so the foam can be used to fill the voids in the lid. Put a tiny bit of water in the lid and move it around so its in all the corners a but (its really needed for the spray foam to cure).

Then spray foam in each hole. Use a paper towel wrapped around the spray straw to control the overflow a bit. Don't overfill. It really expands a lot and can potentially swell the lid. Once you are done, turn the cooler so the lid is upside down over something you don't care about getting the sealant on. You want the lid upside down so the overfill foams out and doesn't pool on the lid.

Once it cures (overnight) you can cut off the excess foam and plug the holes.

Then your cheap cooler will be much better.

 

[Sundancer]

I have an old Igloo from 1985 that I'm about to foam! We have some leftover foam from the ski boat floor that I can mix and pour in. I just need the plugs and this IS going to happen! The cooler is in great shape, but is only good for a couple of days. We have an Ozark and love it, but the Igloo won't get stolen!

 

[Little Ducky]

I had an igloo in my 11 260 DA. It never saw ice but it was a great place to store rags and cleaning supplies.

There's some inexpensive good coolers on the market..... why foam anything?

Buy a Colman Extreme.... for weekend boating they are a great cooler.

 

[Creekwood]

I had an igloo in my 11 260 DA. It never saw ice but it was a great place to store rags and cleaning supplies.

There's some inexpensive good coolers on the market..... why foam anything?

Buy a Colman Extreme.... for weekend boating they are a great cooler.

The reason I suggested it was if someone has a cooler that fits in a space (like OP) and can't find a replacement that is better, they may be able to improve it.

 

[Creekwood]

I have an old Igloo from 1985 that I'm about to foam! We have some leftover foam from the ski boat floor that I can mix and pour in. I just need the plugs and this IS going to happen! The cooler is in great shape, but is only good for a couple of days. We have an Ozark and love it, but the Igloo won't get stolen!

I don't know about the pour in foam. Might be hard to get into the holes and make a mess. And you don't want it to over-expand and/or overheat like the pour foam. It can distort the top. I did one small cooler with the high expansion foam and it did distort the top. I had to push it back in shape before it solidified. That worked for me, but it was a pain and "almost" wrecked it. The window/door version works best.

Here are two pictures. The first is of the little Coleman that I foam filled first, with too fast/expanding foam. The lid got quite distorted but I was able to push it back roughly into shape.

The second is a cheap Walmart Igloo that was really bad at staying cool. I used window/door on that one and it worked really well. The top shot shows a "bit" of distortion at an angle, but not bad.

 

[Maggieiscrazy]

I bought an Igloo IMX 70 cooler. It is amazing. Much better than the Yeti.

 

[Sundancer]

I don't know about the pour in foam. Might be hard to get into the holes and make a mess. And you don't want it to over-expand and/or overheat like the pour foam. It can distort the top. I did one small cooler with the high expansion foam and it did distort the top. I had to push it back in shape before it solidified. That worked for me, but it was a pain and "almost" wrecked it. The window/door version works best.

Here are two pictures. The first is of the little Coleman that I foam filled first, with too fast/expanding foam. The lid got quite distorted but I was able to push it back roughly into shape.

The second is a cheap Walmart Igloo that was really bad at staying cool. I used window/door on that one and it worked really well. The top shot shows a "bit" of distortion at an angle, but not bad.

Thanks for the info!! I figured I'd try the pour in foam sparingly. I have a quart left and if I did it in SMALL batches, it might work. The cooler is so old it wouldn't hurt my feelings if it DIDN'T work either! It's 36 years old and trying to make it better is like entering a souped up Mustang in the Indy 500!

 

[Christo]

I have an igloo bmx and it keeps ice for several days, I love it

 

[Loneranger]

Little known fact: Many cheap coolers have no insulation in the lid. Its hollow but no foam fill. Quick way to make it a much better cooler is to buy some white plastic plugs like these 3/8":

And some Window/door expanding foam sealant. The window/door is best because it does not build up a lot of pressure.

Drill 3/8" holes in the underside of the lid spaced roughly 8 inches apart so the foam can be used to fill the voids in the lid. Put a tiny bit of water in the lid and move it around so its in all the corners a but (its really needed for the spray foam to cure).

Then spray foam in each hole. Use a paper towel wrapped around the spray straw to control the overflow a bit. Don't overfill. It really expands a lot and can potentially swell the lid. Once you are done, turn the cooler so the lid is upside down over something you don't care about getting the sealant on. You want the lid upside down so the overfill foams out and doesn't pool on the lid.

Once it cures (overnight) you can cut off the excess foam and plug the holes.

Then your cheap cooler will be much better.

I actually did just this, only I drilled a series of holes to try and get more even foam infiltration. I also added a refrigerator gasket around the lid. The Igloo Marine 36 even after modifications was still the worst cooler imaginable.

 

[Loneranger]

The reason I suggested it was if someone has a cooler that fits in a space (like OP) and can't find a replacement that is better, they may be able to improve it.

Exactly my reason for the first post. I could get whichever nice cooler I want but then on my size boat it would probably only fit nicely on the swim platform. The EchoSmile is the first I have found that will actually fit in the stock storage location and still have an acceptable capacity. It drops from 36 to 30 quarts. Any of the yeti, Rtic, Engels that would fit in this space would barely hold a 6 pack.

 

[Loneranger]

We are taking the boat on a two week trip down the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers starting tomorrow. The new cooler will get a real world testing and I will report back my impressions.

 

[Loneranger]

I have now used the Echoline for a week on our Cumberland River to Tennessee River trip (still another week to go). The outside temperature has been running unusually hot this week into the 90’s. Currently at 6 pm it is 91F. The cooler is definitely an upgrade from the Igloo Marine 36. It has been sturdy and well made. It does not hold items cold for the claimed five days with typical use however I can get three days of use out of it. On the third day very little ice left but everything is still cold. Given the space limitations it is an overwhelming success.

If anyone has any specific questions about the cooler let me know otherwise I do not plan on an ongoing review unless this thing goes sideways for some reason.