Thermos test

[colorado russ]

Okay, in preparation for a late season deer hunt with my wife in NE Colorado, I started thinking of things I might normally not take. Given the possibility of very cold weather and winds, keeping her warm will make for a more enjoyable hunt. I found we had 2 Stanley Aladdin thermos\' downstairs so thought I should give them a try before tossing and buying a new one. Hot coffee, tea or chocolate around 09:00 will be a welcome treat!
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Here\'s my test. As you can see, these are almost identical - one on the right is older and has some rust but what I think is more important is the lid. The newer one on the left has an insert you unscrew to pour out liquid which avoids possible lid falling off if unscrewed too far then hot water everywhere. I boiled a quart of water and added to each thermos then took the temp. Below is how they compared. To check the temp, I unscrewed one lid, put in thermometer, got max then put lid back on. Maybe lid is off 15-20 seconds. Repeated with second thermos.

Older vs Newer
186 deg vs 186 deg - starting temp
175 deg vs 177 deg - after 2 1/2 hours
171 deg vs 175 deg - after 3 1/2 hours
146 deg vs 156 deg - after 12 hours
134 deg vs 145 deg - after 19 hours

Seems like I could boil the water the night before and take off the early morning list if still 150-160 deg 10-11 hours later.

P.S. Yes, things are slow at work today!

 

[colorado russ]

I realize it\'ll be different outside than under a controlled environment where temps were between 66 and 72 inside. I really just wanted reassurance they would keep something hot for 2-3 hours so I\'m good there. A little bulky to add to my pack along with snacks and lunch but she\'ll have a daypack as well - carrying the heavy stuff after I shuffle things around some!

 

[cnelk]

Russ
It is very important to \'temper\' the inside of the thermos before putting liquid in it to get long lasting results.

Put hot water in the thermos and let stand for 10 min, then dump it out and immediately put the coffee in it.
You will find the temp will stay much hotter and longer.
I bring a thermos ice fishing and it will be hot all day.

Another tip is to put the thermos inside a wool sock to insulate it.

To clean a thermos, fill it 3/4 full with warm water, plop 2 denture cleaner tablets in, and let stand over night.
Dump out all the gunk the next morning, rinse and the inside will be sparkling clean!

 

[bowhunter]

It appears the thermos on the left is an older one and the one on the right is newer. Stanley puts the date on the bottom of their thermoses. They also might have the size of it. The newer might have a little more capacity and that could relate to the higher temps.

They have a good warranty. I broke a handle on one of mine. I called them and gave the date and serial number from the bottom. A few days later a new one showed up in the mail.

Brad I will have to try the denture cleaning idea. Thanks....... :upthumb:

 

[colorado russ]

Ok guys - if you ever get on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or something like that, choose Terry as your lifeline. Who the heck knows that Stanley thermos\' have a date on the bottom???? And, I think he\'s right - the thermos on the left has 86 stamped on the bottom and the one on the right has 93. Both are same size. I think diff is in the stoppers(#13 vs #13b) and I could easily have them reversed.

I was going by the rust which isn\'t apparent in the pictures.

On the edges of the bottom, it clearly states to do what Brad mentions for both cold and hot beverages - get it going first before adding actual contents. I don\'t drink coffee so likely it\'ll only have hot water in it.

Thanks!