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Need recommendations for a 12 volt cooler

5K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  norahs arc 
#1 ·
I am looking for a small 12/120 volt travel cooler for a upcoming mini cruise. There are lots of them on the market but I was hoping that someone might have personal experience that they could share.

I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars, but I don't want to buy something that won't get my beer cold enough either.
The ones that I've read about online say that they only cool to 40 degrees below the surrounding temperature. Is that the best that I can expect?

I don't have anyway to charge my batteries except for the engine so I'm not sure that this is even a practical solution.

Any ideas?
 
#4 ·
Knothead,

I have one, does exactely that, 40 degrees cooler that the
surrounding air. Manufacturer says it draws about 5 amps,
equivelent to a pair of headlights. Can be run on 110 volts
through a converter.

P85 Koolatron 52 Quart 12 Volt Travel Cooler

No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.
Dabnis
Thanks Dab. That's what I was looking for.
I measured the temp in my home fridge and it was 41 F and I have no problem with the beer that comes out of there. So I figure that the temp in the boat underway should be around 80 or 85 at the most so with a 40 degree reduction I should be in the ballpark.
The price seems pretty reasonable and since I can take it off the boat when we're not using it, hopefully it will last for a while.
 
#7 ·
You may not want to hear this. Just keep it simple, use ice. Freeze a couple water jugs before the trip. Keep things cool plus you have ice water to drink.

I used to have one for camping use. Thinking that 2 weeks in the wilderness, this may be handy, it turns out totally useless. You car ac will do a better job.
 
#8 ·
You may not want to hear this. Just keep it simple, use ice. Freeze a couple water jugs before the trip. Keep things cool plus you have ice water to drink.

I used to have one for camping use. Thinking that 2 weeks in the wilderness, this may be handy, it turns out totally useless. You car ac will do a better job.
I take it that you had a bad experience with one. Didn't the one you tried work at all or was it just not cold enough? Did it use too much power? Was it the same one that was suggested here?
I saw a Coleman online too but I figure they are probably all made in China anyway.

I certainly will start out with some ice, but there is no way that I'm going to be pulling in all the time to get ice. I was hoping that one of these might be the way to go for a couple of weeks.
 
#10 ·
Ps

Block ice works better and with some of the better ice chest, your ice should last four to five days. We use two chests. One for things we use during the day and a bigger one to hold the rest of the supplies and more ice. We also try to keep that one closed, as much as possible.
 
#11 ·
If you need to have reliable refrigeration, get an Engel or Norcold portable refrigerator... while more expensive than the Koolatron, they can actually cool stuff in hot weather, and even make ice. I'd point out that the compressors used in the Engel/Norcold are far more efficient than the Koolatron cooling system and would probably use LESS electricity than the Koolatron.

Given that you don't have passive recharging capability, going with a 12VDC solution is probably a bad idea, since you'll be burning a lot of fuel trying to keep your batteries topped off.

Block ice with a "7-day" cooler makes far more sense than buying a Koolatron, since it is far lower maintenance and isn't really dependent on having moderate temps to work properly.
 
#12 ·
As a truck driver, I try few of them. The Coleman did good job, but the amp draw was excessive. I drive for 28 days and 3 days at home. One of those home times , I forgot to unplug the cooler and my battery went down. The cooler was $89 and you can find it in any truck stop. For smaller one, go to Wall-Mart. They run between $39-$69.
 
#14 ·
Knothead,

Mine is a Koolatron. With nothing in it it starts to cool down to 40
degrees cooler in about 45 minutes. It would help to have whatever
you want to put in there pre-cooled. I plug in the 110AC/12Volt DC
converter the night before we leave so it is cold the next morning.
The Mfr claims 45 degrees cooler, they may be right as my thermometer
is used in the cooler most of the time. Have used it for quite a while,
no problems. It does make a little noise as there are cooling fans in the
converter and the cooler, probably no more than a compressor
driven unit.

Dabnis
 
#15 ·
Thank everyone. I would really like to get the Engel. But there's no way I can afford that right now.
I am going to look seriously at the Koolatron. With Dab's recommendation and my lowered expectations it might be the way to go.
I bet I could also add ice to it to facilitate the cooling process.
Thanks again all.
 
#16 ·
Knothead,

We had a camper with a 12 volt/ 110 AC volt/ propane refrig. Worked really
well on 110 and propane. It boiled ammonia in a bulb or something like that.
As I remember it used very little propane and would make ice cubes. It had
to be level when not driving. Don't know about the cost or use in a boat,
venting, etc, probably no worse than a propane stove? Don't know if they make portable units or need to be mounted? A small 1 quart? disposable
propane cylinder would probably last for a day, maybe longer? The Koolatron
Mfr says it is made in Canada. A small Honda generator could help supplement
your battery source? One thing leads to another.

Dabnis
 
#17 ·
I used a koolatron on board for several years before I could afford 12 refrigeration . I kept it in the cockpit under a cushion and white towel to keep it out of direct sunlight. It uses more juice than my Adler Barbour . . I still use it in my Land Rover on the inverter battery bank for road trips and on boat deliveries. It is still earning it's keep after 20 years of service.
 
#18 ·
Best cooling is with compressor. Peltier cooling works but requires a lot of energy. Ammonia units do not work when they are tilted in a sailboat. Cheapest way is to use a ice. You can also use dry ice (frozen CO2) in a box. But make sure you keep it in a small isolated box insde the box.
 
#19 ·
The ammonia units by Dometic are actually standard on Gemini catamarans and work quite well.
 
#20 ·
Ditto on the koolatron. I have two of them, and while they won't keep things as chilly as a Norcold, they are also 25% of the price. And they float, even fully loaded.
As Dabnis said, prechill the cooler before loading, and prechill the contents if you can. If you can, keep it in the shade, because the lower the outside temp around the cooler, the lower the temp INSIDE the cooler. If you don't open the cooler often, you can run it intermittently- we run ours only when the engine is running and the contents stay acceptably cold.

Oh yeah, shameless plug- koolatron has a warehouse/repair facility right here in town- buy one and support my local economy!
 
#21 ·
Knothead,

Don't know what your battery / charging configuration is but here is a possibility; Add a big group 27 RV/Deep cycle battery with a "dual
charging" unit that allows your alternator to charge both starting
and house batteries but will not allow the load on the house battery
to draw down the starting battery, some sort of magic diode device.
The only concern is how much your alternator can put out without
burning up? Mainesail and or Sailing Dog may have written about
this, I think? If you have power at your dock an "on board" permantely
mounted "smart charger" would keep both batteries fully charged
all the time. My apologies if you already know all of this.

Dabnis
 
#23 ·
Does anyone out there have any experience with propane coolers. I have seen some in stores lately and am thinking of trying one out. Would appreciate any comments or opionions. Thanks in advance
 
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