Simply put, insulated bags help cold items stay cold and hot items stay hot. You can think of them as a cooler in bag form, no ice needed. They have thermal insulation properties that help maintain the temperature of any contents. Insulated bags are also known as cooler bags, thermal bags, and hot or cold bags.
Tips for keeping warm in your cooler or cooler bag
When you put ice packs or just ice in a cooler, you usually just put the ice and what you want to keep cool in it and youre done. And, for more information, you can read our blog post on how to keep cold long in your cooler bag. However, if you want to keep warm food for a long time in your cooler (without making the cooler light up, warp or break), a few more steps are needed. Were going to reveal the tricks to keeping your meals warm anywhere!
Now were going to give you 5 effective tips for keeping your food warm in your cooler :
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Buy a quality cooler
First of all, the quality of your cooler makes a difference. High-end coolers like a Yeti cooler will keep food warm much longer than a cheap $20 cooler you bought at your local hardware store or big box store. The better the cooler is at keeping ice, the better it will be at keeping food warm. The same is true for insulated bags or Healthy Lunch insulated backpacks. Our thermal backpacks are great for keeping things cool, but also warm! Discover our collection of insulated backpacks, we offer a wide range adapted to your desires and needs.
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Preheat your cooler
At room temperature, the walls of your cooler will be cold compared to your food. This can instantly cause your food to lose a lot of heat when you put it inside. A simple trick to overcome this problem is to first preheat the walls of your insulated compartment. Wondering how to heat my cooler? It is very simple! Simply fill your cooler with warm tap water and let it sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Then, discard the water, dry your cooler and fill it with your warm food. This is the same for an insulated lunch bag or a backpack cooler. This is a great way to keep your food and drinks warm.
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Cover your cooler with aluminum foil
This is the second tip for keeping warm. Thermal coolers are very good at stopping two types of heat transfer – convection and conduction – but they are not designed to stop heat radiation from escaping your cooler.
Heat radiation can travel in a vacuum and pass through a cooler, which will automatically cause your food to cool. But fortunately, aluminum is an excellent reflector of heat radiation. It has a reflection of about 97-98%. So by lining your cooler with aluminum foil, you add an extra layer of insulation that keeps your food warmer for longer. Again, this trick also works great for any other type of cooler bag.
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Add a hot water bottle, heating pad or hot bricks
Some foods, like soups, are very dense and contain a lot of heat energy. However, other foods that are not as dense have difficulty staying warm for long periods of time. Often, for these types of foods, it is important to add another heat source to keep your meals warm. This will ensure that you are not relying solely on the heat energy of the food itself. Hot water bottles are a very easy way to do this because they are very dense and contain a lot of heat energy and when you fill them with boiling water, they can get very warm. Wrapping bricks in foil and placing them on top is another good way to add a heating element to your cooler. However, the weight will be much greater. You can choose other heat conserving items to keep warm. In a small lunch bag, wed recommend the hot water bottle trick. In terms of heat/weight ratio and simplicity of installation, it is the best tip.
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Use towels, cardboard or paper to insulate and fill the space in your cooler or bag
Super hot food containers, hot bricks or even hot water bottles can get so warm that they damage the plastic of your cooler or insulated lunch bag. Sometimes, it can even melt the insulating part of your insulated lunch bag.
In order to counteract these inconveniences, we suggest you follow these tips.
Place a towel or cloth at the bottom of your cooler to both insulate your food and protect the cooler from heat damage. You can use towels to put on all the inside sides of your cooler.
Also use towels, cardboard or crumpled newspaper to fill the air spaces in the cooler. This is because the air in your cooler bag will cause the heat kept inside to escape. Simply filling your cooler completely with insulating materials or food will keep the heat in your insulated portion of the bag more effectively.
How to keep your meal warm in a cooler?
Most of us think that a cooler is a device that only keeps food and drinks cool. Especially with high performance coolers that can keep ice for over a week. When it comes to coolers, insulated bags, lunch bags or even insulated bags, we usually only think about the cold. However, coolers dont really care if your food and drinks are warm or cold inside. They only do one thing: keep the temperature of what you put inside them. So it is through a process of thermal insulation that rigid coolers or soft coolers will work to keep the temperature you want. The insulated lunch bag is insulated with foam that contains millions of tiny air bubbles. This makes it very difficult for heat to pass through the walls of your cooler. When you have cold items in your cooler, it prevents the outside heat from entering your cooler and warming the ice inside. On the other hand, when you have warm food in your cooler, these isothermal walls work the same way to keep the inside heat from moving outside. By the same token, heat cant easily move through the walls, so it stays trapped inside the cooler, keeping your food warm longer. However, coolers arent perfect, so food will eventually get cold, but it can stay warm for hours or even days in the right cooler and by following the tips were about to outline.
Insulated cooler bags for food, keep the goods cold or warm!
FAQ
Do insulated bags keep things hot?
How long will food stay hot in an insulated bag?
Is an insulated bag better than a cooler?
What are the benefits of insulated bags?
Do insulated bags keep food cold or warm?
If you’re looking at an insulated bag to keep food cold or warm and it doesn’t use any of these materials, steer clear. Hardboard Bottom – The hardboard bottom helps the bag to keep its shape when placed flat as well as when it’s carried. It prevents food from knocking into each other and causing potential spillage.
Should you use a thermal bag or insulated bag?
If you primarily deliver hot meals like pizzas or curries, a thermal bag might be your best bet. On the other hand, if your orders vary between hot and cold items, an insulated bag could be more suitable. Remember, both types of bags aim to maintain the quality of the food during transit.
Should you use insulated or thermal food delivery bags?
Choosing between an insulated and a thermal food delivery bag largely depends on the type of food you usually deliver. If you primarily deliver hot meals like pizzas or curries, a thermal bag might be your best bet. On the other hand, if your orders vary between hot and cold items, an insulated bag could be more suitable.
How long do thermal bags keep food hot?
Read here to find out more about how long thermal bags can keep food hot but the general consensus is 2-3 hour without an extra heat source. As for keeping things cold the answer is about the same 2-3 hours depending on which bag and specific use case.