Need recommendations for a 12 volt cooler

[knothead]

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?

[dabnis]

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

[eMKay]

Oh...the preview on the main forum list just shows "Need recommendations for a 12" I was hoping the last part of the sentence was "year old Scotch" and someone had recommendations besides the usual Glenfiddich (awesome) and Glenlivet (also good)

Nice cooler recommendation BTW, I've been looking for one myself

[knothead]

Originally Posted by dabnis

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.

[mdbee]

I would be curious about the 40 -45 degree drop. Is that after 12 hours of not opening the lid?

[knothead]

Originally Posted by mdbee

I would be curious about the 40 -45 degree drop. Is that after 12 hours of not opening the lid?

Good question. I suppose it probably depends a lot on how cold the beer is when you put it in there and how much empty air space there is.
I can't imagine that it would take 12 hours in any case. Perhaps Dabs with tell us.

[rockDAWG]

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.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by rockDAWG

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.

[mdbee]

Call me cynical, a realist or experienced but I have found that in life there is no free ride. If a 150.00 fridge actually worked well, you would see them on every boat out there. Sorry, I have to agree, either use ice or invest in a better unit. 150.00 makes a good down payment.

Originally Posted by knothead

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.

[mdbee]

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.