Improving the seal on a cooler... Is it worth it?

P

physiognomy

From a land down under...
Hey all you coolerdor junkies... Over the last month or so I've filled my two 100 count humi's & desperately need to find homes for some boxes/bundles that are on their way. I was thinking today (bad sign!) & thought I'd dig out my $8 38qt Coleman cooler (outlet store purchase)... The only problem is that I'm not too sure about its seal as the lid fits a little loosely. I think it will do for the time being, but I was wondering whether any gorillas out there have a good method for improving the seal on their coolers???

I know many of you are going to say that I should just go to wallyworld & pick up another, but I'd prefer not to give them any business if I can help it... I also want to put my limited funds towards more cigars, so I'm hoping for a quick fix... My first thoughts were to pick up a roll of plumbers tape & wrap it around the seal??? Any other ideas?
 
Go to Home Depot/Lowes and pick up a roll of the half round door seal. Go around the top horizontal edge where the top comes down and closes. That should take care of any leaks.

Depending on how tight the lid really fits, you may need to weight down the lid to help compress the higher spots of the seal, likely along the hinge side.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the info!!! My cooler has a free lid, so no hinge to get in the way... It's handy that I've had a HD gift card lying around, so I'll head over there tonight wile I'm out & see what I can find.

Thanks again! :ss

RLembke said:
Go to Home Depot/Lowes and pick up a roll of the half round door seal. Go around the top horizontal edge where the top comes down and closes. That should take care of any leaks.

Depending on how tight the lid really fits, you may need to weight down the lid to help compress the higher spots of the seal, likely along the hinge side.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
 
stick a flashlight inside & look for light leaks in a dark room-that'll let ya know what you're working with-plumbers putty might work, or if you're good w/a caulking gun, lay an even bead of silicon around the rim-just let it cure outside for a few days to eliminate smell-some guys have also used felt
 
BTW, unless it leaks real bad, you're alright-remember wood allows the box to breathe, coolers don't-i think that's why it's recommended to open the cooler every couple wks, to let gases that the sticks give off out-a little "breathing room" doesn't sound like a bad thing
 
wharfrathoss said:
BTW, unless it leaks real bad, you're alright-remember wood allows the box to breathe, coolers don't-i think that's why it's recommended to open the cooler every couple wks, to let gases that the sticks give off out-a little "breathing room" doesn't sound like a bad thing
Click to expand...

That's true too. Mine gets enough breathing form the constant rummaging around deciding on what to smoke, luckily.
 
FWIW... I've been successful in solving sealing problems with Gulf Wax (the stuff they use for canning, available at most grocery stores).

I take a chunk of it, place it in a small dish or shot glass, and heat it up with a hair dryer or in the microwave until it's of a "spreadable" consistency. I then use my finger to lay a VERY THIN bead of it around the lip of the container (scraping off any excess after it's dried). Properly applied, the stuff "conforms" to the mating surfaces.
 
Weather stripping is a great way to go. It comes in different thicknesses (you'd need a thin one), and is probably the easiest to apply. If you can apply tape... you can apply weather stripping.

I was using an old borrowed 38-ish qt cooler (my roomate's), and thought it needed some weather stripping as it seemed to have gaps. However, when I loaded it with boxes, cigars, and beads, it was holding 70% with absolutely no problem, without the addition of any weather stripping or any other seal assistance.

I just grabbed a new 50qt cooler, and same thing... thought about putting weather stripping on it, but isn't needed.

SO... wash your cooler and just try it out first. It may not need anything at all. If it needs some help, I'd say go for weather stripping.
 
Thanks again for all the suggestions... It will be like christmas here in a few hours when the DHL guy comes. I'm almost literally putting in some beads in my cooler as I type... :ss
 
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