Speeds5

I have some questions regarding cool suit setups. More related to the process as I already have a system that I need to install in the car. Already tested it and it works fine just need to finish the install this weekend.

What do you do to source the ice? Do you pick up ice bags the morning of the race? You go through the first session, do you then pick up another bag in between races? Or do you get a bunch of bags all at once? Don't they melt by noon time?
What about two to three day events?

Sorry if these sound like obvious questions to some but I've never had one and I'm sure you guys got this down to a science. Trying not reinvent the wheel here.

Thanks

brownan

I got a cooler which I load with 2-3 bags of ice in the morning on the way to the track. Other guys freeze a block of ice in a tupperware container as that melts more slowly (hard to make that work however if staying in a hotel the night before an event). Most gas stations sell ice if they have a bodega retail store. I usually end-up refilling the cool box once a day. Be sure to get some of the additive as it keeps the system clean.

Frank 993 C4S

Buy the bags in the morning and put them in a cooler. Add ice to your coolsuit cooler as required and don't drain your battery by running it a lot with the engine off.

Speeds5

So one bag will last the whole day? interesting i thought it would melt in a couple of hours in the august heat. Thanks guys

linzman

You'll need a couple of bags, so bring a big cooler and keep them in there. As said, blocks of ice last longer, but you need a really good expensive cooler to store them in for a multi day event or they'll melt.

Sboxin

3 Gatorade and 1 20oz water bottles frozen - add 4 lts of ice water from reused Coke bottles kept in house fridge - Cool
shirt cooler (small size) keeps it cold for 2 days (depending on time of actual use) . . .

Block ice always stays cold longer . . .

Also, hotel ice machines work great - - and sometimes the hotel fridge is cold enough to refreeze bottles over night . . .

Regards,

RSA964993

Make sure you have just enough water to cycle through your shirt and above the pump which is at the bottom of the cooler. If you have too much water it'll melt the ice faster. I try not to break up the ice to much from the bag and instead try to keep the big chunks intact. Fill the areas in between the larger pieces with the smaller ice. I'm a sweater so I know this game pretty well. Count on 2 large bags you'll use per day if you're doing multiple runs...

Frank 993 C4S

Blocks of ice will last longer but if you want to actually maximize your cooling, use cubes as there is more surface area for heat transfer. That's why they melt quicker. I'd rather replenish the ice mid-day.

Speeds5

Great advice, exactly what I was looking for. Thanks all

LuigiVampa

Lots of people also forget that they need to add water to get the system moving. Eventually it does melt but it can take a long time for there to be enough ice melt and you don't want to have to dump bottled water into it (which I have done!)

Ritter v4.0

It's a function of how hot it is, how long your day is and how many sessions you run. Irrespective, block ice lasts longer but cube ice is colder, so . . . I load with mainly block ice but some cubed (roughly 80/20) with the cubed, in my box anyway, near the pump pickup. 1 block fine all day with additional cubed added as necessary throughout the day if a long one. Maybe it's 60/40 in the end.

I run shirt and cool-clava, mainly in the SE and that works well and I've tried many iterations. But as always, YMMV.

MarcD147

Make sure the water you add is cold from fridge. Use old large soda bottles.
I have used water from track ( eg vir garage) and you would be surprised how warm it is and how much ice it kills while pouring in.

TraqGear

All good advice here.

Use coolshirt endurance ice for enduros and long stints. It will greatly increase the cooling time during your session. Short stints, ice is fine. Try to keep the cooler out of the sun as adding ice and water to a hot cooler/car melts a good bit of it before you ever get going.

txhokie4life

In Texas we just route the accusump lines to the Cool Suit box, depending on the time
of the year -- it often feels cooler :-(

I use the frozen bottle approach -- keeps things from sloshing around.

M