I made my own with scrap 1/4" plywood. L shaped metal fasteners screwed on around the form hold it together. I put 2 pieces of plastic sheeting (6 mil thick) into the form to hold the water in as it freezes. It works perfectly and gives me the exact shape of ice I need for my cooler.

 

I went to lowes and bought cheap square-ish organization containers.
Similiar to this.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Sele...tyle-Selections-3-Pack-6-5-Quart-Clear-Shoe-Box-with-Standard-Snap-Lids/3345192

I got some that would fit in the cooler we were using.

For longer trips, I will freeze late trip meals vacuum sealed into each one, and separated the blocks in the cooler with cheap cutting boards.

Now I've got ice blocks below with food inside them, and ice blocks above that are purely ice.

And after all that I still like freezing gallon jugs better, they don't make a mess when they melt.

 

hunting freezers

I've been going to the local hunting processor. They've charged me like $20.

I fill the bottom of the cooler with about 2" of water and put it in their freezer over night. Rock solid the next day and lasts . . .

 

I have a food sealer so I buy the uncut rolls of bags, cut bags to the length of my coolers,fill them up, squeeze out as much air and seal them so I get a long flat block that fits the bottom of the cooler well. They hold up well, are reusable and don't leak.

 

What ever you use be careful to seal the blocks if you want drinking water. The ice will absorb smells and flavors of what ever else stored in the frig/freezer.

Last fall there was a Buzzard talking about using gallon SunnyD bottles because their squarish shape. I'm looking forword to trying that this year by filling them with Distilled water and freezing them. Then by keeping them in containers I will have drinking water.

 

I use these as molds, freezes well, no leaks and fit in my cooler very well. Four gives me a lot (6 liters) of ice and very cold drinking water after a week or so of melting.
https://www.rei.com/product/629248/nalgene-ultralite-wide-mouth-water-bottle-48-fl-oz
I also make my own ice cubes in these cube trays. These make bigger cubes that last much longer than little cubes. I then pack the cubes in gallon zip lock freezer bags to keep cubes clean and any melt water from the food.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Big-2-X-2-Ice-Cube-Tray/47460588


Got a freezer full of ice made, ready to hit a river

 

3 Gallon Bucket

I use a 3 gallon rectangular bucket. I've cut a couple inches off the top with a table saw so that they fit in the cooler. It takes a couple days to freeze them though. I've found it is best to add a couple of inches of water at a time or the bottom of the buckets eventually split. I also keep the bucket in the cooler too. That way there is not too much water sloshing around as they melt. Two of those in the 150 qt cooler will last for 7 or 8 days of desert rafting.

 

I've been using the disposable containers that lettuce comes in. They are food safe, lidded, and going in the recycle bin otherwise.
They only last a few times before they get too flimsy, but I should be eating more salad anyway.

 

I used containers to make ice, but they often broke from the expansion. So I bought a chest freezer off of Craigslist for $50. I marked the inside of my cooler in one inch increments otherwise I tend to make too much ice. About a week before a trip I start adding water 1/2 inch or so at a time.

 

Like others above, I feeeze weather in containers to drink later. Mainly the Arizona Ice Tea ones.

 

I was in the process of making ice molds when I noticed that two kitty litter plastic buckets will exactly fit both of my coolers. I cut them to size on the table saw and washed ran them through the dishwasher.

I get best results freezing in 2"-3" layers in my deep freezer. Thicker layers get more air bubbles and tend to have more side way expansion that distorts the shape.

 

I use half gallon milk jugs. I fill them about 3/4 full for expansion. water doesn't spill and I have cold water to drink towards the end of the trip. I reuse them for 1 season them get rid of them.

 

My sole purpose for wanting to make my own ice is that in recent years it’s become more difficult to buy block ice at my local neighborhood stores. They are now only stocking crushed ice. The only consistent place that has block ice is a bit out of the way and sucks up the limited available time on a river week to go get it.

Last fall I purchased a very large chest freezer and have enough free room to make enough ice for one or two coolers at a time. However, I’m not going to pullout my elk meat and other food to freeze ice in my cooler. I would only freeze my cooler on a Grand Canyon length trip and would then utilize a friend’s commercial freezer.

For the other Western rivers, I’m on the river for 7-8 days at the most and I’ve had 3-4 blocks of grocery store ice last for a week in triple-digit temps as high as 113 degrees during the day. I’ve always tossed ice in the yard when I get home. However, I always freeze most of my food that can be frozen and prechill my cooler with a sacrificial ice block in water, before loading it.

Ideally, I'm looking for a mold that can withstand repeated freezing and not crack. I’m thinking about getting actual flexible silicon bread loaf pan, which are roughly the same size as typical store bought block ice. Even more ideal, would be a mold the size of 3+ standard blocks, so I’m looking for a wedding cake size silicon mold.

Cheers!

 

in recent years it’s become more difficult to buy block ice at my local neighborhood stores. They are now only stocking crushed ice. The only consistent place that has block ice Cheers!

Ive noticed the same thing. I've also noticed that most block ice is just pressed crushed ice which does little more for you than crushed. Finding actual blocks of solid ice may only be practical by doing it yourself.

 

I use the 2.5 gallon rectangular water jugs from the store and freeze them on their side. These just happen to fit in my Sherpa 120 like they were made to do that. Handle and spigot if you want the water. About once a year I'll have to replace one when they get a pinhole in a corner or something. They'll survive a lot of thawing and freezing though. And they are only a couple bucks if at the end of a trip you want to slice it open and let everyone go to town for some drink ice on the last night.

You might find you are about to gain cooler space too. Grocery store ice blocks are half air anyway. If you were using three before you might only need one or two. Making your own is going to be way more solid and last longer.

 

I use the 2.5 gallon rectangular water jugs from the store and freeze them on their side. These just happen to fit in my Sherpa 120 like they were made to do that. Handle and spigot if you want the water. About once a year I'll have to replace one when they get a pinhole in a corner or something. They'll survive a lot of thawing and freezing though. And they are only a couple bucks if at the end of a trip you want to slice it open and let everyone go to town for some drink ice on the last night.

You might find you are about to gain cooler space too. Grocery store ice blocks are half air anyway. If you were using three before you might only need one or two. Making your own is going to be way more solid and last longer.

yep drain 20% put em in the freezer upside down with valve open so when the ice expands the air escapes. Leave 3-4 in the freezer year round. Your freezer will run less saving energy and the ice blocks get super cold and last a lot longer. Weatherstrip the lid, toss in dry ice, duct tape the seal around the lid. Open still frozen 7-14 days later.

 

I think that I found a far better way to do ice. I take 1 gallon and 2 gallon zip-lock freezer bags and i fill them with water then lay them flat in my freezer and let them turn solid ice. The reason I like this is bc they make flat "blocks" that I can line the floor, and sides of the cooler with. Then I put more of these across the top of the cooler too. I also sometimes make a freezer "section" of my cooler by surrounding my meat and stuff in basically a cube of these frozen bags. The water can obviously later be drained from the bags into a water jug if needed. It is cheap and easy and works really well. Also, buy a windshield sun shade thing and cut it up and use it as additional insulation across the top of the cooler, this really helps as well.

 

I like to use the large rectangular low-profile Glad Ware food containers: https://www.glad.com/food-storage/containers/large-food-storage-containers/

I do remove them from the plastic before loading them in the cooler.

I keep several in my freezer, so I always have what I need for a trip. 4 of these fit nicely on the bottom of my 65/70 qt coolers and 2 fit nicely in my smaller coolers. For longer trips, I pour cubes on them to fill any gaps. I also cover with blue foam sleeping pad (from Walmart) cut to fit, for added insulation.

They have lasted a 2-3 years so far.

 

I'll second Osprey. I've been using those 2 gallon jugs for years. I really like that there is not a swimming pool in the bottom of the cooler as the ice melts and that they are reusable and having drinking water if needed.


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz

 

I have used the rectangular food containers too, with good success.

I would be wary of the silicone thingies for freezing. Or just be very careful of spillage. They need to sit on something rigid and it is a pain to move them if you still have liquid. Just be careful.

 

Hospital plastic bath basins. Perfect size. Easy to freeze and un-mold the ice block.

 

I bought a set of these silicone bread pans a couple years ago on Amazon and they really work great. They’re 9”x5”x~3”, which makes pretty similar blocks to ones they sell some places. Highly recommended! If you’ve got the freezer space, just make a few batches throughout the week and stack these up and you’ll be loving them.

Amazon.com

 

I found some one gallon jugs on Amazon, they look like anti-freeze containers. 5 of them fit the bottom of my cooler wall to wall. Fill them a few inches a time in the chest freezer. I always have ice cold water on the tail end of the trip, usually douse the TL, NFL coach style, at the take out.
I like this system because everything stays dry inside the cooler.

 

Senor, is this what you got?

https://a.co/d/88wqPnt

 

Those look like what I use. I couldn't verify because the listed dimensions for that link is a 12' cube, which isn't right. I measured the bottom of my cooler and found some that fit 5 wide and weren't too tall.