Lead cools down faster than plastic. Now, get your buddy to help lift your 75lb empty cooler into the truck.
Lead lined coolers are currently in production for Spring/Summer 2023. A bonus of the cooler will be that they can be used effectively to avoid any sort of radioactive event. The new coolers will require a 48 hr pre-cooling period in order to keep ice the longest.
This is a matter that cannot be taken lightly. We’re talking about warm beer AND standing in the CCS (cooler caste system). Yeti beats Igloo, Igloo beats Rubbermaid. God help you if you have a Walmart branded cooler, Ozark Trail, yikes.
Back in the stone age coolers were lined with Polyurethane. What the hell is that? You can’t even find it on the periodic table. Sounds like some marketing mumbo-jumbo and THAT’S how they getcha. Also why would you want something made from Petrochemicals (evil) when you can get something that’s naturally occurring in the Earth (good)? So let’s do some quick math here when comparing plastic to lead.
To understand this innovation you’ll need to reach back into your brain and review Specific Heat and Heat Capacity. They’re similar but not the same; Heat Capacity is the amount of energy needed to change an object’s temperature by 1 degree Celsius. Specific Heat is the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of one gram of a material by 1 degree Celsius. Delta isn’t just the house where Bluto lived.
Polyurethane’s specific heat comes in at a whopping 1800 Joules/kg °C. Compared to lead’s 129 Joules/kg °C. Which means it takes much less energy to cool down lead than it does to cool down plastic. In the chart below you’ll see that lead stands in pretty good company. That’s right, gold and uranium. Just wait til your friends see that you have a cooler lined with a material that has a Specific Heat similar to that of gold and uranium.
I know what you’re thinking.
“But, publius, isn’t lead both a poor conductor AND insulator of heat? Also, why would I want to lug around such a heavy item for a recreational activity?”
I answer your question with a question.
Are you prepared for the emotional toll and societal fallout of arriving in the desert or at a mountain lake with an off-brand cooler? I would think not.
The drop in fuel economy is offset by your use of lead instead of petrochemicals. And the strain on your truck’s suspension is miniscule anyways. You can always finance a new truck.
-publius
The Huck 