In a cooler, you should place ice at the top. While it's true that cold air sinks and hot air rises, the ice will cool the air around it, and placing it at the top allows the cold air to flow downwards, keeping the contents of the cooler cooler for longer.
Positioning the cooler: Place your air cooler near an open window or door to allow fresh air to circulate. This helps the cooler draw in outside air, improving its cooling efficiency. Using cold water or ice filling: the cooler's water tank with cold water or ice enhances its cooling capacity.
Ice first it makes your drink of choice colder than if you put ice on last.
Keep your cooler out of direct sunlight when possible. Ice can last up to twice as long in the shade. Some pros even use tarps or towels to cover their coolers when they can't find a shaded spot.
Pack in Layers
Pack your ice blocks at the bottom of the cooler, and then cover the ice with a thin, solid layer like the side of a milk crate or a sheet of cardboard. This barrier keeps food from slipping between the ice and getting soggy.
One of the best ways to keep your ice colder for longer is by chilling your cooler before you place the fresh ice in it. You can do so by adding ice a couple of hours prior or even the day before and allowing the cooler to chill as much as possible.
The more effective method is to fill the cooler with a 80/20 mixture of ice and water. Then put the bottles/cans in so that the body of the vessels sits in the ice, but their tops/necks stick out; this lets your guests grab the drinks without getting their hands wet, cold, and nicked.
Add ice to water
Many people have already tried it with their coolers. In fact, some coolers also come with dedicated ice compartments. Adding ice to the water makes the pads cooler, resulting in cool air passing through them. However, it is effective only when you are seated very close to the cooler.
When lying in bed trying to fall asleep, your body temperature decreases to initiate sleep. Having a temperature between 60 and 67 can help to facilitate this. The best temperature to sleep is cooler rather than warmer. Temperatures above 75 degrees and below 54 degrees can disrupt a person's sleep.
Inspect Cooling Pads: If the water level is fine but you're still not getting efficient cooling, the cooling pads could be the problem. Dust particles can clog the pads, hindering airflow. To resolve this, remove the cooling pads, rinse them thoroughly to remove any dirt or debris, and let them dry completely.
Always pack your cooler as full as possible without over-filling it. This makes it more efficient and makes your ice last longer. A good trick to use is to fill the empty spaces with crumpled newspaper. This will eliminate the air pockets without adding additional weight to your cooler.
Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood in a separate cooler or securely wrapped at the bottom of a cooler so their juices won't contaminate already prepared foods or raw produce. Store food in watertight containers to prevent contact with melting ice water.
However, if you're using a cooler with less air space, like a Pelican Cooler with tightly packed ice, then salt can help to make the ice last longer. The science behind this has to do with the way that salt lowers the freezing point of water. When you add salt to ice, it causes the ice to melt.
Packing your high performance cooler in layers is another great way to get the best ice retention. The layers in your cooler will create zones that go from really cold down at the bottom to chilled up at the top. Start your layers with block ice down at the bottom of your cooler.
About 24 hours before you plan to leave, fill the cooler with several bags of sacrificial ice and water to pre-chill it. Prep snacks and meals the night before so they can be fully chilled before going into the cooler.
Layer items with ice packs or bags of ice. Start with a layer of ice packs or ice on top of the insulation. Place drinks and items you'll use frequently on top of this layer. Add another layer of ice packs or ice, and then put in perishable items like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meats.
Try dry ice
That can get you an extra day or two of cold. Note that some food does not do well stored with lots of dry ice, like many vegetables. This is more of an issue if you use all dry ice in your cooler.
Juices, meats, even milk, can be placed in the cooler in the frozen state to help keep the rest of the food cold. It will thaw in time for serving.
The short answer to the question is no. As it turns out, you cannot use an air cooler without water. One of the parts crucial to an air cooler's working is its water tank/reservoir, without which cooling isn't possible. ALSO READ: Can an AC run on solar power?
While most air coolers today come with a dedicated tank to store water, several brands have also equipped the appliances with an ice chamber. This section comes with dedicated ice trays that can give you cooler air. If you don't have an ice chamber in your cooler, you can also do the trick by adding ice to the water.