I am doing a trip to Morocco soon and from London to Cape Town next year. Mate doing trip with me is diabetic. We are looking for any ideas to keep is insulin at a constant low temp. I am sure I saw a very small fridge only big enough to fit a can of beer somewhere on ADVrider. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Cheers
I occasionally ride with an insulin-dependent friend, and your question got me wondering. I just Googled "insulin cooler" and got tons of sites to look over. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=insulin+cooler&btnG=Google+Search If the link doesn't work, just search those two keywords again.
Thank you. I will check it out. Good to know I am not the only one with a diabetic riding buddy. We will be in Africa for 4 months and I want to make sure we do what we can to make it safe.
how low does it need to go and how big a package? if it were me i'd buy and canabalize one of the many electrical coolers on the market. they don't have moving parts, but cool electronicaly. i'd install one of the units on a container just big enought for the total package as long as there's power and the unit is still functioning, it could be much smaller that the single beer can unit you've discribed.
http://www.coolerconcept.com/ here's an evaporative cooling wallet. i don't have one yet... but need to order one. it works like some of the neck cooling bandanas that you soak in water, the beads inside absorb water and swell up, and the evaporation keeps it cool.
That's pretty cool, and it says that it works well. But if it's anything like those bandannas that have crystals, that you soak in water and wrap around your neck to keep cool. . . . . .well, I think that those products leave much to be desired. They don't really get all that cool.
The most important thing about insulin is that it needs to stay at a constant cool temperature. It will not be a good thing to let the temperature of the insulin rise and fall to much. This is why I am looking for a very small 'fridge' to wire to the bike to keep it cool during the hot days in Africa.
+1 ! That is why cooling vests and those bandana's don't work as well here in the deep humid South as they do in the drier west like in I.E Arizona or New Mexico. A small electrical unit may be best and a small (foldable) solar panel to keep the battery happy may be a good idea too. These days they put out quite a bit of power I saw one a West Marine that rolls up in a plastic tube. I don't remember the output. Just my 0.02 cts. YMMV
Hi, Here is good info. http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/m07.htm Looks like for periods up to one month for most versions,you are good to go,if you can keep the temp of the solution below 86F and avoid direct sun exposure. JR356