I work 30 miles away from home and my work is located 5 miles from several of the better lakes to ice fish. I am trying to figure out a way to keep my minnows from freezing all day while I am at work so I have bait for after work when I take my one man shack out.I have an Engel bait cooler and a lithium aerator but that has not been enough lately to keep my minnows from freezing. Any suggestions?
If the water is that cold, you probably don’t need the aerator. It is just introducing more cold.
Wrap the Engel in a blanket and just keep the pump outside the blanket.
Do you work inside? Could you just bring them into the building to warm up a little?
Or toss them in the truck with the heat on the way to work (like on the passenger side floor) and cover with a blanket like Matt suggested?
I bet if you kept a bigger cooler in your house over night to stay warm and put the Engel in that along with a hand warmer or 2 they wouldn’t freeze. Or even pre warm the big cooler with some hot water or water bottles filled with hot water.
I’m actually surprised they are freezing at all in your car in the Engel cooler, but we have had some cold weather lately.
I use a half gallon insulated gatorade jug for minnows that does pretty well for preventing freezing. I would think something like that plus a handwarmer in a blanket on a really cold day would work.
Wrap the Engel in a blanket and just keep the pump outside the blanket.
I would do this on the floor of my truck.
Sadly I cannot bring them in due to the sanitation requirements of my job. So everything I do has to remain in my vehicle.
Activate a couple of hand warmers and put them in an airtight plastic bag stick them with the minnows.
Activate a couple of hand warmers and put them in an airtight plastic bag stick them with the minnows.
Don’t hand warmers need air to work?
My bottle of water doesn’t freeze in my truck sitting most the day at 2 degrees. I’m sure the Engle will be just fine
Agree with the post above. Do not need the aerator.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>catmando wrote:</div>
Activate a couple of hand warmers and put them in an airtight plastic bag stick them with the minnows.Don’t hand warmers need air to work?
No idea, I just figured it was a chemical reaction, worth a shot. Nope, it won’t work.
Throw them in a non see-through water bottle and bring them inside work
Throw them in a non see-through water bottle and bring them inside work
Just don’t forget and take a swig! 
Battery power hand warmer. Put that into a metal cup into the cooler. Hopefully all balances out without taking in water.
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