food coolers for film storage

[seany65]

I have a lack of fridge space for my 35mm/120 film (the space I have got is taken up with 16 cartridges of 110 film) and I'm using a food cooler thingy to store the 35mm/120 film.

I was wondering if it's best to store it in the ones with 3mm or 4mm thick sides which have a silvered surface on the inside or those with thicker walls and white surfaces on the inside, or does it not matter?

I realise that it isn't the best solution but it's the only choice I have.

Thanks for any help anyone can give.

 

[B-9]

Grab a cheap mini fridge locally.

Best bet, set it on low (cooling).

To save more energy put it on a timer. On 1hr off 1hr. Or alternatively invest in a thermostat kit.

 

[shimokita]

A mini freezer works... (ignoring the question of auto defrost for the moment)

and for plan-to-shoot-soon I use the bottom shelf of my wine refer. Of course the down side is I give up space for wine ; )

 

[Bill Clark]

I have a one of those small freezers. I use it to store film and don’t turn it on. It sits in the basement where it’s pretty cool year round. I believe fairly consistent temp helps. The problem with a cooler is if it gets warm inside it can retain the heat inside too. When I was film based with my business I only used a cooler for the durantion of the event. I did divide the cooler up into compartments with cardboard to have the film types organized for easy reach. Whew! I’m glad I changed to digital! CF cards much easier to store compared to film!

 

[Rob-F]

I was wondering if it's best to store it in the ones with 3mm or 4mm thick sides which have a silvered surface on the inside or those with thicker walls and white surfaces on the inside, or does it not matter?

Thanks for any help anyone can give.

If that's the choice I would go with the white exterior and thicker walls. The silvered interior would reflect heat energy and retain heat inside, which is not what your want. The white exterior will reflect heat energy away, not letting it enter. That's a lilies better.

But all an insulated container can do is to slow down the Rate of heat exchange. In a few hours equilibrium is reached, and the temperature inside will be almost the same as the temperature outside the "cooler," because it isn't really a cooler.

Conclusion: you need a mini-freezer!

 

[retinax]

If that's the choice I would go with the white exterior and thicker walls. The silvered interior would reflect heat energy and retain heat inside, which is not what your want. The white exterior will reflect heat energy away, not letting it enter.

Only relevant if one puts in film that's warmer than the environment, because:

But all an insulated container can do is to slow down the Rate of heat exchange. In a few hours equilibrium is reached, and the temperature inside will be almost the same as the temperature outside the "cooler," because it isn't really a cooler.

Conclusion: you need a mini-freezer!

If you actually store color-for-critical-applications or super high sensitivity film long enough, in a warm enough environment to warrant that.

 

[seany65]

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

@Rob-F: I was also thinking that silvered interiors could reflect any heat back into the bag once the whole thing had warmed up a little, which is why I'm wondering if a white interior would be better. On the other hand, black is supposed to absorb heat so should I look for one with a black interior?

I suppose I should try to find one with a really thick wall and a black interior. Then again, should I go for a solid 'cooler' box that has two separate walls like a thermos flask? But if I do, what's the smallest I can find?

I suspect plenty of faffing abut in the interwebnet is going to come my way.

No film I have is really "critical" as I'm a talentless bozo and so no-one wants to see what I do with film-I'm not sure I do either, lol, but I do at present have one empty and one full roll of delta 3200, but they won;t be around long enough for me to worry about storage.