What Size Cooler for 8 people for 7 days?
How big a cooler do 8 people need for 7 days?
Food for 8 people over 7 days takes about 70 quarts at 1.25 quarts per person per day. At three canned drinks each per day, drinks add 76 quarts (168 cans). Then ice goes in at 2:1 to the contents, because four days or more is where most coolers run out, and 2:1 is what rotomolded brands recommend. That totals about 437 quarts.
For this trip length, a rotomolded cooler (or a 12V fridge, or a planned ice run) is worth it.
| Cans per person per day | One cooler | Food + drinks coolers | Ice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 210 qt cooler | 210 qt food + 16 qt drinks | 168 lb |
| 2 | 370 qt cooler | 210 qt food + 160 qt drinks | 289 lb |
| 3 | 440 qt cooler | 210 qt food + 230 qt drinks | 349 lb |
| 5 | 590 qt cooler | 210 qt food + 380 qt drinks | 470 lb |
How do you keep ice for 7 days?
Pre-chill the cooler the night before with a sacrificial bag of ice, pack cold food straight from the fridge, fill air gaps with more ice, and keep it in shade. In a rotomolded cooler at an 85F high in shade, the ice calculator estimates about 6 days of ice for a 440 quart cooler. That is short of 7 days, so plan a top-up or a cooler with thicker walls.
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Frequently asked questions
How much ice for 8 people over 7 days?
At the 2:1 ice to contents ratio that suits 7 days, plan about 349 lb of cubed ice across your coolers, roughly 35 ten-pound bags. Block ice or frozen water jugs on the bottom last longer than cubes. On a hot trip, a mid-trip top-up is cheaper than buying a much bigger cooler.
Should 8 people use one cooler or two for 7 days?
Two. The calculator splits this trip into 210 qt food + 230 qt drinks. The drinks cooler is opened constantly and loses ice quickly; keeping food separate means it stays cold because it is only opened at meals.
Will a 440 quart cooler keep ice for 7 days?
Kept in shade at an 85F high and packed at the right ratio, the ice calculator estimates about 6 days for this type of cooler, so plan an ice run partway through, or step up to a better-insulated cooler. Real results depend heavily on sun, how warm the contents go in, and how often the lid opens.
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