# Do the coolers at convience stores suck or what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2001, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453 "2001-07-06T04:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/1 "2001-07-06T04:55:21Z")
Whenever I buy a soda from a vending machine, it comes out very cold, like it should be. But whenever I buy a soda at a gas station or convience store, well, darn it, it just isn’t cold enough. And it doesn’t matter where it is I buy one. Aren’t they running those refridgeration units a maximum output or what? I even try to grab a soda that’s back on the shelf a bit, because I figure it won’t be exposed to the outside air as much from the opening and closing of the cooler doors. But, no dice. Do they need to turn the temp down on those things, or is the entire store cooler theory flawed? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/2 "2001-07-06T05:03:16Z")
Coolers and refrigerators absorb the majority of their heat when the door opens and closes. In a store cooler a relatively large door is opened and closed often. In a soda machine a very small opening is opened occasionally. Haj ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/3 "2001-07-06T05:24:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*Coolers and refrigerators absorb the majority of their heat when the door opens and closes. In a store cooler a relatively large door is opened and closed often. In a soda machine a very small opening is opened occasionally. \*\* Yeah. Isn’t there another way they could cool the product so that the individual tempeture was lower. ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/4 "2001-07-06T10:07:24Z")
Place the cans in a water bath that is both chilled and circulated. If a salt water solution is used the temp. could be brought down to below the freezing point of water. ---
**Author:** ![Mikahw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Mikahw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikahw)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/5 "2001-07-06T10:15:26Z")
If they used a chest type cooler that opened on the top, little cold air would be lost every time the door was opened. There’s probably some reason why they don’t do this, but I can’t think of it right now. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/6 "2001-07-06T11:09:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mikahw \* > \*\*If they used a chest type cooler that opened on the top, little cold air would be lost every time the door was opened. There’s probably some reason why they don’t do this, but I can’t think of it right now. \*\* Some places DO in fact do this, with promotional brand-supplied types of coolers. They’re generally waist-high, and not like a picnic cooler at all. They’re not electrical; they depend on the ice that the store usually sells, too. Yeah, they keep cold, well, at least until the undertrained employee neglects the ice long enough. ---
**Author:** ![BooBoo316](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@BooBoo316](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BooBoo316)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/7 "2001-07-06T11:41:31Z")
Probably a space issue. You can fit more vertical coolers along a wall than horizontal coolers. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/8 "2001-07-06T12:19:36Z")
And a display issue - you can’t see all the soda’s neatly lined up ready for you to buy them. But I’ve noticed that they are not cool enough too. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/9 "2001-07-06T15:29:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pkbites \* > \*\*Yeah. Isn’t there another way they could cool the product so that the individual tempeture was lower. \*\* Here in the south, it is common for convenience stores to just stick a huge tub full of ice near the front of the store and keep it stocked with a variety of drinks. Result, ice cold drinks all day for the cost of maybe 15-20 bags of ice. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/10 "2001-07-06T15:34:16Z")
I would like to take this opportunity to complain that not only don’t convenience store coolers keep soda cool enough, those darned plastic bottles are awful! The soda is always WAY too warm for me. I want glass bottles back! Zette ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-coolers-at-convience-stores-suck-or-what/71453/11 "2001-07-06T15:38:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zette \* > **I want glass bottles back!** Mmmmmmmmm. Glass Bottles. Beautiful is the dream that has all soda back in glass bottles!