# 100 Can Cooler Bag.



## Paleman (21/11/06)

Gday All.

Summer's upon us almost, and i have some serious brewing to do yet.

I've heard mention so many times of the cooler bag that you can purchase, that a fermenter will fit into.

I've used the bin and ice method to good effect, but i want something more portable and practicle.

Anyone got a photo, or can someone take one for me ?........just so i know what i am looking for. 

Any thoughts on how well they work ?.....I dont like my Ales going over 18C.

Thanks all. :beerbang:


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## Adamt (21/11/06)

100 can cooler bags are a soft, cylindrical, zip up cooler bag that fits around 100 cans, hence the name.

I've looked for one in KMart and I can't seem to find them. Not sure how hard I looked though


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## roach (21/11/06)

Here is my original post suggesting the 100 can cooler bags with piccies. I originally thought of them for a party set up but moved to using them as a fermenter cooler. Currently have a Brewboard Community Summer Ale in mine at the moment.


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## PistolPatch (21/11/06)

Howdy Paleman,

Some more pics and ideas can be found in Post #3 of Frequently Asked Questions For The New Brewer This has several pics of Roach's 100 Can Cooler and a few other ideas.

(Alas, Roach doesn't get the credit until the bottom of the post! Good on ya Roach!)

Cheers
PP


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## Brewsmith (21/11/06)

Hi Paleman

Have had my two 100 can cooler bags for 4 years, which I used to brew in, at the moment i have APA and Pale ale fermenting in them. Ths temp was in the 30,s today in Melbourne I put 2 frozen 1.25 lt plastic bottles in there with my fermentor, before work. When i got home tonight they were both at 16c in my guarge. (which is under the house) They work a lot better if your wrape them up with a large beach towel. They only hold the bucket style fermentors and you can use a blow off hose, so the cooler lid can be closed up. Just a little experimenting with a few 1.25lt bottle, to get the temp right is all you need to do They are great if you don,t have the space for a fridge. I got my at Big W , not all stores stocked them had to hunt around at different Big W.

Cheers Ian. :beer:


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## Paleman (22/11/06)

Thanks for the replys fellas, now i know what i am looking for. :beer: 

Dont have a BigW in my town, but theres one 70 kays down the road, good excuse for a homebrew shopping trip !  

If i can keep my ales at a 16-17 degrees, im a happy camper.......i mean brewer. :blink:


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## hewy (22/11/06)

I have been looking for one of these for quite a while.

I was looking at the manufacturers web site (cant remember what that was) and they dont mention it as being a product any more.

So if you manage to find one can you please let me know?


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## Duff (22/11/06)

Go to Kmart, $17.

Cheers.


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## hewy (22/11/06)

Duff said:


> Go to Kmart, $17.
> 
> Cheers.



I had a look at my local Kmart and Big W still no luck.

Which kmart did you purchase yours?


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## Fents (22/11/06)

Anyone in Melb know which stores i can get these? Big W / Kmart? Which Suburb?


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## therook (22/11/06)

Fents,

I'll have a look at the Big W store in the CBD tomorrow for you, as i'm keen to get a hold of one also

rook


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## StuBear (22/11/06)

Kmart at Chadstone had them last week (down with the other eskies, turn left as you enter and keep going till you hit the wall) and Big W at Southland had them about 2 months ago.

Stu


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## Duff (22/11/06)

hewy said:


> Duff said:
> 
> 
> > Go to Kmart, $17.
> ...



Castle Towers in Castle Hill.


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## Fents (22/11/06)

Cheers Rook and Stu.


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## petesbrew (22/11/06)

Duff said:


> hewy said:
> 
> 
> > Duff said:
> ...



Kmart at North Rocks


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## Steve (22/11/06)

Adam here are my two

folded up:

View attachment 10177


and in action:

View attachment 10178


View attachment 10179


....and yes you can fit a normal 25 litre fermenter in them

Cheers n hope this helps
Steve


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## Franko (22/11/06)

Picked one up today at K-mart Campbelltown they've got 3 left


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## Paleman (22/11/06)

Steve said:


> Adam here are my two
> 
> folded up:
> 
> ...



Cheers for that Stevo.

They look the goods. I like the fact that they can be folded away.......and they even double as a can cooler !!!  

I'm out of town on the weekend, so i'll be hunting. I'll let everyone know how i go. :beerbang:


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## hewy (22/11/06)

Thanks heaps gents


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## craig maher (23/11/06)

I just picked one up at Kmart at Maitland for $19.99.

They had 15 to 20 left in stock.

Can now ferment my first AG Pale Ale with Wyeast 1099 at a cool 18 degrees.

Wooo Hooo - no more summer brewing worries!!!!!!!!


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## Steve (23/11/06)

craigm said:


> I just picked one up at Kmart at Maitland for $19.99.
> 
> They had 15 to 20 left in stock.
> 
> ...




As long as you keep rotating the ice bottles to keep it cool both morning and night. Bit of a pain but you get used to it. The temp will soon climb without them.
Cheers.
Steve


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## craig maher (23/11/06)

Yep no worries - got a supply of frozen bottles on hand.

The temps have been pretty savage over he last couple of days so I will be changing them regularly to mainatain temp.


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## Paleman (23/11/06)

craigm said:


> I just picked one up at Kmart at Maitland for $19.99.
> 
> They had 15 to 20 left in stock.
> 
> ...



Your making me jealous craig........until i get mine. Then you'll hear about it !!


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## craig maher (23/11/06)

Sorry Paleman - but after years of summer brewing worries and no dedicated fermentaion fridge - its hard not to get a litte excited about temp control.


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## hewy (23/11/06)

Just got mine from kmart castle hill, they had 2 left.

Cheers


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## Steve (24/11/06)

This is the air temp inside the bag at 4.00pm on a 31 degree day in Canberra. Its actually tooo cold but take into account a couple of degrees generated inside the fermenter and its good as far as im concerned.
Cheers
Steve

View attachment 10206


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## Paleman (27/11/06)

Got my bag within 5 minutes of searching. K-Mart WestLakes, in Adelaide. 20 bucks on special.

Heres to summer brewing.......and thanks for the photos. Especially yours Stevo :beerbang: 

Bought a quick kit and kilo ( Coopers Lager, Brew Enhancer 2, and will load it up with hops, ferment it with a Wyeast ).........all to test me 100 Can Cooler. :super:


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## Adamt (27/11/06)

GOLD! I swear I looked at KMart West Lakes for them, but I guess I'll look harder.


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## Paleman (27/11/06)

Adamt said:


> GOLD! I swear I looked at KMart West Lakes for them, but I guess I'll look harder.



There was only about four of them Adam. But i had to ask.......i would never have found them otherwise.


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## Paleman (29/11/06)

P.S.

Thanks Roach !! :super:


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## Adamt (29/11/06)

Bought mine today for $19.99. Should save my next brew from the hot weather


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## Paleman (29/11/06)

Adamt said:


> Bought mine today for $19.99. Should save my next brew from the hot weather



Onya Adds......ive got an el cheapo Coopers Lager chugging away in mine.....very slowly :huh: 

Maybe too cool.

At least i know it works, have three milk bottles chucked in, with frozen water. 

A Safale US 56.....good tolerent yeast, all going well and slow. Just how i like it. :chug:


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## Busboy (2/12/06)

I bought one of these coolers yesterday at K-mart at Parramatta. They had about ten left on the shelf, if anyone wants one.

No affiliation......blah, blah...


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## craig maher (3/12/06)

Just finished brewing a pale ale in mine - the cooler kept the brew at 18 to 19 with only 1 or 2 ice bricks.

Wish I had found this site and one of these coolers long before now!!!!!!!


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## Paleman (9/12/06)

craigm said:


> Just finished brewing a pale ale in mine - the cooler kept the brew at 18 to 19 with only 1 or 2 ice bricks.
> 
> Wish I had found this site and one of these coolers long before now!!!!!!!



Just in adding to everybodys positive comments on the bag. Ive brewed two now in mine.....both during hot days. Ambient temperature in my kitchen would have been 28C +.

The bag performed admirably.......with constant rotations, at least one swap of two frozen bottles a day.

Keeping my brews under the magical 20 degree mark for Ales. I love it, wish i owned one earlier. :super:


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## Adamt (9/12/06)

Well, my bag has failed me momentarily. Racked to the fermenter yesterday morning (at 28C), put in the cooler bag with 3 ice bricks and sealed. Came back a few hours later and it was 27C :S

So, I waited until I finished work and pitched at midnight, it was about 22C, and left it in there with new ice bricks, and a cold, wet towel draped around it. Woke up this morning, it was still at 22C. Moved it into the (un-controlled) back fridge, as it's 41C here today and I didn't want to risk it exploding . Seems to be keeping it around 18C for the moment.

I think it would've helped a lot to actually get it down to the correct temperature before cooler bagging it, I'll put it back in the bag tomorrow when its 30C max outside.

-Adam


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## Paleman (9/12/06)

Adamt said:


> Well, my bag has failed me momentarily. Racked to the fermenter yesterday morning (at 28C), put in the cooler bag with 3 ice bricks and sealed. Came back a few hours later and it was 27C :S
> 
> So, I waited until I finished work and pitched at midnight, it was about 22C, and left it in there with new ice bricks, and a cold, wet towel draped around it. Woke up this morning, it was still at 22C. Moved it into the (un-controlled) back fridge, as it's 41C here today and I didn't want to risk it exploding . Seems to be keeping it around 18C for the moment.
> 
> ...





As you mentioned, with primary, its best bringing the wort down as cool as possible. I then add some chilled spring water to the fermenter to my wort, to top up to 23 litres. Usually finishes at around 22 degrees. Then the cooler bag will do the rest.

The cooler bag is very good, but it aint no miracle worker. To expect it to bring a 28 degree fermenter down in quick time is expecting a bit much.


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## Bobby (9/12/06)

the bags will keep the beer cool and as you have found they will struggle to get the beer cool.

put the fermenter in there cool and then your sweet.


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## Voosher (9/12/06)

Bobby said:


> the bags will keep the beer cool and as you have found they will struggle to get the beer cool.
> 
> put the fermenter in there cool and then your sweet.



And just to emphasise the point further... if you start with your fermenter at 28C it would take almost 10l of 0C water added _directly to the fermenter_ to bring the temp down to 20C :excl: 
The same amount of water frozen in PET bottles or similar _outside_ the fermenter is going to have no hope in ambient temps of 40-odd-C.
It is vital in hot temps to start things cool. The ferment itself is going to generate enough heat to be challenging even on a moderately warm day.
I can feel a big demand for Saison yeast coming on...


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## Adamt (9/12/06)

Yeah, should've occured to me earlier it wouldnt actually cool down. Anyway, it's in the bag now at 17C (actually, could be much less, no airlock activity and it feels pretty cold), but hopefully not much damage was done . At least this is good temperature juggling practise for summer brewing!


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## craig maher (9/12/06)

Adam

I do the same as paleman - always have at least 5 or 6 litres of chilled water to topoff with.

That way I normaly start at about 18 - 20 deg and can maintain that temp throughout the ferment.

I have an AG Pale Ale ticking over at 18 deg right now.


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## Edgecliff Brewer (11/12/06)

Anyone in Sydney know where I can get one of these in Central/Eastern Sydney?


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## DJR (11/12/06)

Edgecliff Brewer said:


> Anyone in Sydney know where I can get one of these in Central/Eastern Sydney?



Try kmart bondi junction, they should have them...


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## gussigan (13/1/07)

anyone in perth know where to find these suckers? tried k mart in garden city with no luck. was thinking a camping place or something


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## hughman666 (13/1/07)

gussigan said:


> anyone in perth know where to find these suckers? tried k mart in garden city with no luck. was thinking a camping place or something



most kmarts have them, ring ahead to be sure.

i have a pale in mine at the moment and it's stayed static at 20c for the past 8 days with two 2L frozen water bottles, just checked it now, still 20c even after the stinker we had today (~38c)


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## organo (14/1/07)

got mine in Kmart Galleria.. they had a few.. saw plenty in the one in Carousel.. this was before Xmas... 

good luck.. Organo


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## Bulmershe (14/1/07)

I have been phoning all around Canberra. No one has any in stock.  
If anyone has a spare one they want to sell, please let me know. :beer: 
Cheers

Bulmershe


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## Sloth (14/1/07)

I have been looking in Hornsby and recently at castle hill. Saw them in Hornsby months ago and didn't think I needed one. Cant find em now.

Sloth.


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## NickB (7/2/07)

Hi guys,

got one of these cooler bags recently on holiday in QLD. Bought one from Redbank Plaza, Resbank Plains, and they had a whole aisle full of them... Only $18 too! Bargain. Wish I had more room in the bag for another one (damn 20KG baggage limits!!!)

Cheers

Nick


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## neonmeate (7/2/07)

sleeping bags work well too, keeps it warm in winter cool in summer.


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## braufrau (19/2/07)

neonmeate said:


> sleeping bags work well too, keeps it warm in winter cool in summer.




At the risk of repeating myself ...
I got a cardboard box on the weekend, wrapped it in an old blanket, cut a hole
for the air lock, and the fermenter is down to
19C with just 2 x 2l mik bottles of frozen salty water changed 12 hourly.
Cost ... $0!

-braufrau


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## EnergeticSloth (22/2/07)

Any one know if the coolers are still available at west lakes kmart? if not know of other places that may stock?
aussie disposals? etc :unsure:


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## Adamt (22/2/07)

When I bought mine about 2 months ago there (West Lakes) were about 5 or 6 left.


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## Fents (23/2/07)

Still looking for one in Melbourne somewhere if anyone can help, if not im gonna go the cardboard box / blanket / frozen water route...


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## Fents (23/2/07)

I just rang Kmart head office and got them to do a search, i described the product as a 100 can cooler, and she said they had nothing fitting that description...All they had was a 65litre cooler.


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## Dan A (23/2/07)

You could always try Anaconda in Melbourne, as the Sydney store had quite a few.


http://www.anaconda.com.au/StoreLocations.aspx


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## craig maher (23/2/07)

Fents said:


> I just rang Kmart head office and got them to do a search, i described the product as a 100 can cooler, and she said they had nothing fitting that description...All they had was a 65litre cooler.



Last time I was in my local kmart (maitland) they were reduced as they were a discontinued line. I checked with one of the staff and they confirmed they would not be carrying them anymore  

So I bought the last one they had for $9.95


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## jdsaint (23/2/07)

Any one seen these around newcastle? Maitland is to far travel for me. I can manage my brews at 20* now would like to drop 2 more degrees to 18*.


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## Fents (23/2/07)

Dan A said:


> You could always try Anaconda in Melbourne, as the Sydney store had quite a few.
> http://www.anaconda.com.au/StoreLocations.aspx



Cheers for the link. Rang them..no good.

Looks like carboard box will have to suffice.


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## braufrau (23/2/07)

Fents said:


> Cheers for the link. Rang them..no good.
> 
> Looks like carboard box will have to suffice.




Somewhere on aussie home brewer theres a post from someone who
actually contacted californian creations, inspiriations, whatever they're called
and they have ceased production of the 100 can cooler bag.


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## Barramundi (27/2/07)

i got one of theses today from anaconda Auburn for $22.50 @ 50% off i asked if they always have them and the girl said they do , they are usually $44.95 though...

surprising that the melbourne store dont have them ...


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## Fents (27/2/07)

Well thats just shithouse. Someone ring em back and tell em i'll buy 50 if they start production again! :lol:


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## Barramundi (27/2/07)

id ring anaconda again perhaps you got a trainee on the phone ...


give them the barcode number 61282 73520 maybe that will help them find it


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## eric8 (27/2/07)

I just rang the Auburn store and they still have them. If your a member they will sell them for the cheaper price.  
Eric


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## Fents (27/2/07)

OK call of the search party. Ive found them..........................

*MASSIVE MASSIVE THANKS TO BARRAMUNDI ON THIS SITE!*_

He searched, he found and he informed me!

Im now the proud owner of 3 100can coolers.

Heh my latest AG sitting at 23c at home wont know what hit it tommorow...

BTW Anaconda in Melb do have them, there on sale $22.50 (normaly $45) and they post as well...phone number is 8720-4000

Happy days! _


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## EnergeticSloth (27/2/07)

Do they post interstate or just melb local?


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## Fents (27/2/07)

Im sure they would post interstate, give em a call


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## Barramundi (27/2/07)

their online order form quotes a fixed freight rate of $5.95 per parcel
max 22kgs 1m length x 1.4 girth anywhere in australia


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## fixa (27/2/07)

Guys.
My local Kmart has 10 of them. $18.99... i can pick up and deliver to the march batz cave meet if any brissie brewers want any. Or i can post if someone wants one like that.


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## Fents (5/3/07)

So i have my 100 can cooler...did u guys just cut holes in it for the airlock to pop out?


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## Fents (5/3/07)

it's ok just found my answer, carry on.


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## climbo (5/3/07)

I couldn't get a can cooler. Ended up at BCF and got an OzTrail collapsible camping bin. It's a heavy duty PVC and it worked pretty well, it even has a zipper lid. With some polystyrene from my new TV delivery I insulated it on the bottom and sides. A few ice bricks in there and I had it down to 18 degrees consistently over 2 weeks. The fermenter fits in quite snug so there isn;t too much air to cool inside.


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## discoloop (5/3/07)

Just a small caveat regarding the coolers. Saturday was a scorcher in sydney so I dutifully bought mine from Anaconda in Auburn (one of the last ones on the shelf).

Popped my fermenter in. It's a coopers one, so its a shorter, wider one. All good.

Checked about an hour later, a litre or two had leaked into the cooler! It would seem that since the coopers fermenters are a bit wider, the tap got pushed up just enough to allow some of the beer to leak out! 

I'll use my cooler again, but I'll be extra careful next time.


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## Barramundi (6/3/07)

fixa said:


> Guys.
> My local Kmart has 10 of them. $18.99... i can pick up and deliver to the march batz cave meet if any brissie brewers want any. Or i can post if someone wants one like that.




id buy the lot if you can afford it Fixa , id say you wouldnt have a lot of trouble offloading them although we are approaching the wrong end of summer for needing them ...


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## microbe (9/3/07)

During my travels for work I have seen these at Kmart in Capalaba, Lismore, Redbank and Cannon Hill. Also spotted at Anaconda Ashmore. 

At KMart they were $18 and @ Anaconda they're $45 (less 50% - $22.50)

If anyone needs one I can grab one on your behalf. Pickup from Dreamworld end of Gold Coast or I can post (no idea about cost there though) or I can maybe deliver to Northern NSW, Gold Coast, Southside Brissy out to Toowoomba.

If I was more financially afloat I'd buy them myself on spec and distribute them to AHB members as required, but cannot.

cheers,

microbe


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## EnergeticSloth (12/3/07)

I wouldnt mind taking 2 if you could find out a postage price to adel :beer:


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## Barramundi (12/3/07)

anaconda will post them for $5 per order i think...which is probably cheaper than what you could do it at the post office

<<<<<COOL I JUST HIT 500 posts ....


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## Eugene (12/3/07)

I was just in Kmart at Maitlend NSW, still had 5 left after I got mine $18.00, most Kmart will shift stock from branch to branch if you ask nice, no charge.


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## microbe (15/3/07)

EnergeticSloth said:


> I wouldnt mind taking 2 if you could find out a postage price to adel :beer:



Hey Sloth, I think that Anaconda's postage offer won't be beaten even though they're slightly more expensive. I just checked on the AusPost website and it will at least cost $10 (I couldn't weigh the thing accurately) but once it goes over 1Kg (which I suspect it is) it jumps to $19.30.


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## microbe (15/3/07)

Eugene said:


> I was just in Kmart at Maitlend NSW, still had 5 left after I got mine $18.00, most Kmart will shift stock from branch to branch if you ask nice, no charge.



Will they even do that interstate?


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