shek
Well-Known Member
I'm in the process of upgrading from a 5 gal rubbermaid bev cooler MLT with a ss braid to a square 10 gallon igloo cooler and I've been thinking of going to a false bottom but hopefully on the cheap. Has anyone ever tried to make a false bottom using a metal screen? I currently have some aluminum screen and was thinking of making something like a drum head using pipe that would cover the entire bottom of my cooler. Obviously, I would need to take care that the edges of the "drum" would have little to no gap with the cooler walls. For a 14"x14" area, the screen might not be strong enough in the middle so I might just add a support 4"x4" ish square or circle of pipe to support the screen in the middle. Is this within the realm of sanity? And does it sound like it could get me a cheap but effective false bottom without the DIY hassle of drilling billions of holes? I'd still need to add a bulkhead because for some reason this cooler doesn't have a spigot (although it has a notch on the inside and outside as if one was supposed to be installed).