Cooler Insulation

Submitted by Firefox_1607 t3_z7a8zo in DIY

I am out of christmas gift ideas and so I decided to make a cooler out of wood and styrofoam. Halfway through, I questioned if the styrofoam would work as an insulator. It will be made up of a layer of 1/2in styrofoam against a wood layer of the same thickness - all 6 sides. Would this work as an insulator, or would the styrofoam get ruined with moisture or not hold up?

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Graflex01867 t1_iy5qizy wrote

The styrofoam should be fine with water - they make cheap styrofoam coolers that are just foam, nothing else.

Keep in mind that a cooler that starts off full of ice ends up full of water. You’ll need some way to make this cooler you’re building hold water, or it will leak/drip wherever it goes.

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Firefox_1607 OP t1_iy5wj9v wrote

I’m planning on lining the styrofoam with some sort of clear plastic film, I’m not sure of the brand or type - I just found it in my basement. There will be a hole with a stopper at the bottom - still trying to figure out how to seal the plastic to the pvc pipe that will run through the hole.

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brainwired1 t1_iy61k07 wrote

Add more styrofoam. You can pack less ice/food/etc, but every bit of insulation is that much longer everything stays cold.

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patriots1977 t1_iy6uxoa wrote

Why not use spray foam?

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Firefox_1607 OP t1_iy845s3 wrote

I’ve looked up the possibility, but I’ve been told that mold or decomposition can happen. I don’t think this happens all the time, I would just rather not take the risk

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