You can’t. Those things are pieces shit outside of being left in the refrigerator at which point it becomes pointless. A three gallon water cooler with 10lb bag of ice and and adding a gallon of water to it each day usually got me through two days working construction in the Arizona summer heat if left in the shade.
I probably have the exact cooler you’re talking about. It’s a consideration.
Pardon my mistake, what I had was a Gott 2 gallon water cooler. Doesn’t appear at a quick glance online that they make them anymore, though you can find used ones on eBay for a steep price. I liked them because they were light enough to lift up to get a drink from and took up little room compared to the same with a 5 gallon. Plus the lid screwed on and had a built in handle for easy carry and security. Igloo brand cooler lids can fly off going down the road in the back of the truck because they don’t screw in.
In reality the insulating value between your cooler and the Gott 2 gallon, while the Gott probably is thicker, has more to do with sheer volume than anything in that the warm air cannot penetrate as easily into the core of the container of the Gott as it can your smaller jug.
So yeah, try going bigger perhaps. Stanley makes a small water cooler (2 gal?) that I tried in my outdoor blacksmith shop that was a huge disappointment in comparison to the Gott but I wasn’t putting 10lb bags of ice in it either so…Gott and Igloo 2, 3 and 5 gallon water coolers seem to be the standard for guys that work outdoors in the heat.
I’ve got some classics in the garage and attic. I’m a sucker for buying them (coolers and such) when I go thrift store shopping.
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