12 volt coolers

[Notmuchlonger]

Looking to get a 12 volt cooler for some road trips coming up. Curious if anyone has one and if you are satisfied with the results.

Thanks

P20 12V Compact Coolers- Thermoelectric Cooler – Beverage Cooler – Travel Cooler

 

[SteveL]

have a coleman.
best to bring it in to house, and plug it into 110 for a day or so to cool it down.
The fan can get buzzy after a day or two. And, it works better if it is full.

 

[bssc]

We have an Igloo. It is about 6 years old. It keeps things cool but not cold. As the ad says, it keeps it about 40 degrees cooler than outside so if it was 80 the cooler would be 40

 

[travelover]

I have one - these things work, but not anywhere like a small refrigerator with a compressor. They are also quite inefficient and will run your battery flat if left plugged in overnight without your engine running.

 

[Brat]

We have a Coleman and have used it for several years, purchased the converter (from Walmart) so that we can plug it in to 110 too. Agree, it is most effective when full.

 

[ls99]

Looking to get a 12 volt cooler for some road trips coming up. Curious if anyone has one and if you are satisfied with the results.

Thanks

Never had one. They use Peltier junctions. Two dissimilar metals + electricity. Efficiency is about 5%. YMMV

Vapor compression refrigeration is about 45% efficient.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Thanks all pulled the trigger and went ahead and got one. Also, got the adapter to take it inside.

 

[sailor]

Never had one. They use Peltier junctions. Two dissimilar metals + electricity. Efficiency is about 5%. YMMV

Vapor compression refrigeration is about 45% efficient.

Yup.
If you want a real nicely engineered, efficient and portable frigde/cooler look for Engel. They have models from 14 to 65 quarts.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Yup.
If you want a real nicely engineered, efficient and portable frigde/cooler look for Engel. They have models from 14 to 65 quarts.

Yeah they look nice. I didn't feel like spending 400 dollars. I just want to keep my bottled water cool on long trips without dealing with ice

 

[thefed]

my stepdad drives a truck and leaves his plugged in 10 days at a time...keeps his stuff cooled enough to pack lunches for 2 weeks at a time....but his usally die every 2-3 years the last i remember

 

[Jeb-NY]

Not sure what happened to this technology. I have one that is 25+ years old. It doesn't have a fan, runs completely silent, still works great. It has a 3 pin plug, if you use a 110V cable it uses 2 of the pins, 12 volt uses the common pin and the other pin, no adapters needed.

I had it in my office at work to keep a few soft drinks in and my lunch for 15+ years running 24/7. It would hold about a 6 pack plus my lunch. It even had this tiny ice cube tray that would give you enough ice for about one glass. I use it in my shop now to have a few chilled drinks available.

It isn't very efficient, so on 12 volts you do ned to be careful not to run down your battery. Friends that saw mine and bought the new version did have a fairly high failure rate but most/all of the failures were the 110v adapters, that mine didn't need.

Jeb

 

[SteveL]

I think coleman sells parts for these, so if the fan gets noisy, you can replace pretty easily. It is the only moving part, the rest is electronic....keep the model number handy...