Critical: Keep one or two gallons of water in your refrigerator to prime your Frankencooler as tap water will immediately melt a good amount of your ice, drastically cutting cooling duration.
Use block ice whenever possible. A rough rule of thumb is one ten pound block per 1.5 hours of cooling (this obviously depends on outside temperature).
Don’t run blowers at full speed, as there is a point where the air temperature will rise, as air is going through the heat exchangers too fast to effectively transfer cold. I’ve found that 60 – 75% blower speed is a good balance between airflow and temperature.
If you are going to be using your cooler in a remote area where it is difficult for you to reach the motor controller to turn on/off/adjust blower speed (such as in a small aircraft). consider placing the motor controller on the end of a cable coming from the cooler. As long as you use adequate-sized wiring (I recommend 16 gauge for this), you can cable the controller 4′ – 5′ away from the cooler. Make sure you wrap your wiring in a protective sleeve.
In addition, for remote operation of your cooler, Home Depot/Lowes also offers 48″ (and longer) 4″ flexible aluminum duct tubing you can use in place of the 24″ units I specify in my plans.
After using your cooler outside, especially in dusty areas, wipe down the interior to keep it clean and prevent debris from accumulating in the heat exchangers.
