Electric coolers?

[tentrus]

Is there any such thing and do you own one? I like the idea of an electric cooler (not a fridge). You would save money on ice and you could be sure the things stayed cool.

 

[oldmangunner]

Do you mean a cooler that you would plug in to an electrical outlet? I don't know if that would be very practical. If you traveled log distances with food and no ice (the time it takes to get to a plug) the food could spoil.

 

[Grandpa]

We had small, aftermarket coolers in our big trucks that plugged into the lighter socket to keep pop and sandwiches cool. Not sure how efficient they would be camping as you would have to recharge your battery often.

 

[msdoolittle]

My nephew has to use one for travelling to keep his medicines cool. We were travelling by motorhome and train back in '99, so it wasn't difficult to find a outlet.

They come in varying sizes, just do a google search. Lots out there to choose from.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

They actually work pretty well down to about 40 deg. On mine, you can reverse polarity and keep stuff warm, too. They DO suck up a lot of juice, so don't leave them plugged in when the car isn't running or they will kill the battery in a few hours. I use mine when mostly when I'm going to be in a campground with power for while

 

[ChadTower]

Can you keep ice in them too? Seems like it might be handy if you're traveling and have the cooler in the bed. I have issues with it being HOT under the black vinyl bed cover and pretty much wiping out my cooler. Even a good 5 day Coleman doesn't last more than a day there but if I could plug it in while in transit that would supplement the ice.

 

[GROUNDpounder]

Is there any such thing and do you own one? I like the idea of an electric cooler (not a fridge). You would save money on ice and you could be sure the things stayed cool.

We have a 12volt refrigerator for mass food storage that we plug in to our vehicle. It has an extra battery that I installed in the trunk to last all weekend, but aside from that it will work for the better part of 2 days in 80f weather with no issues.

 

[Newanderthal]

Coleman makes a mini fridge that plugs into a cigarette lighter. Does a good job keeping lunch meat and drinks cool. As a trucker, it's a necessity. Can stand it up like a refrigerator or lay it down like an ice chest. Also comes with an adapter to plug into a standard wall outlet. Holds about 2 cases of cokes.

 

[rockin]

That is pretty cool New... I want to get one of those for my camping trips. It would come in handy. I have never heard of a plug in cooler - I wonder if you would put ice in it too? I mean the ice wouldn't melt if it was plugged in and cool.

 

[outwest]

I could see the use for that being on a rig all of the time, but for outdoors like camping I am sure I would rather avoid it. No sense in killing the battery unless its only plugged in during the trip up for say the first meal.

 

[ChadTower]

Yeah, I'm interested for use during travel time. If I could use that as a regular cooler most of the time and as a powered cooler during transit that would save me some issues on some of my daytrips.

 

[GROUNDpounder]

Yeah, I'm interested for use during travel time. If I could use that as a regular cooler most of the time and as a powered cooler during transit that would save me some issues on some of my daytrips.

12 volt cooler

That should do yuh, just a heads up the coolers that use peltiare modules only get about 15F cooler than the ambient temperature, the Engel and Coleman coolers use gas similar to a refrigerator and get MUCH cooler. Not to mention they are more efficient....

 

[Newanderthal]

Since that Coleman cooler can be laid on its side, it doubles as an ice chest. (some coolers will malfunction if turned on their sides) You can drop in a bag of ice to keep it cool when you're not driving. If you have a lot of cold stuff in it, it'll stay cool for a while after it's unplugged.

 

[safn1949]

The only problem with the Coleman coolers is they don't last,if you only use it occasionally yes but full time like me you will be lucky to get 4-5 months out of one.

 

[GROUNDpounder]

The only problem with the Coleman coolers is they don't last,if you only use it occasionally yes but full time like me you will be lucky to get 4-5 months out of one.

Hard to believe that Coleman has gone downhill so much. I have a 2 burner stove from a garage sale, person selling it said it was their grand fathers, still looked like new.


Their steel coolers last a good 3days with ice in them, I've never heard of their electric coolers dieing after 4months??

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Mine's going on 10 years old, and still working fine. I';ll admit that it doesn't run 24/7 all that much though.

I have a Coleman two-burner stove and two-mantle lantern that are pushing 50 years old and still fire up every time I need them.