Electric coolers question..

[Scoutn79]

Here is another option.
Get a jump pack and use that to run your cooler, when the jump pack gets low just plug it in the cig lighter socket and charge while you drive. Or you could get a marine/ deep cycle AGM battery since they can be used in the cab without venting and run the cooler off of that, you could then set up a charge cable to your cig lighter socket for recharging as you drive. Essentially a poor mans dual battery set up....no disrespect intended of course...:sombrero:

Either of these will cost you 100-150 more but will give you a safe way to run your fridge all of the time without worry about depleting your starting battery.

Non of these are ideal but they all will work as long as you are willing to do a little work on your part.

Darrell

 

[pugslyyy]

Here is another option.
Get a jump pack and use that to run your cooler, when the jump pack gets low just plug it in the cig lighter socket and charge while you drive. Or you could get a marine/ deep cycle AGM battery since they can be used in the cab without venting and run the cooler off of that, you could then set up a charge cable to your cig lighter socket for recharging as you drive. Essentially a poor mans dual battery set up....no disrespect intended of course...:sombrero:

Either of these will cost you 100-150 more but will give you a safe way to run your fridge all of the time without worry about depleting your starting battery.

Non of these are ideal but they all will work as long as you are willing to do a little work on your part.

Darrell

Of the two options I would say go with the deep cycle battery - it can handle being drawn down to zero, and it will be a much higher Amp-Hour battery. Most jump packs are going to be equivalent to a quarter to a third of a regular car battery in terms of capacity.

 

[overlander]

and let's not forget to share that the coleman takes a few hours to cool down. you can't set a temp. it just does a certain amount of degress below ambient. so if it takes a few hours to cool down, and it only runs a few hours, what's the value?

 

[Martinjmpr]

and let's not forget to share that the coleman takes a few hours to cool down. you can't set a temp. it just does a certain amount of degress below ambient. so if it takes a few hours to cool down, and it only runs a few hours, what's the value?

Yup, another good point.

I can understand not being able to afford a fridge, I'd just say that a decent cooler and dry ice (available from most of the bigger grocery store chains) are probably a better way to spend your money than one of those "thermo coolers."

Another option to keep your food drier than by using ice cubes would be to use frozen water bottles of various sizes. As long as the bottles don't get holes in them, they'll continue to cool the food even as the ice melts and then once the ice has melted you can use them for drinking water.

If you really wanted to be creative, I suppose you could build a wooden (or metal) box about 2" bigger in all dimensions than your cooler, put the cooler in there and fill the intervening space with foam or some other insulating material to make your ice last that much longer.

 

[pugslyyy]

Yup, another good point.

I can understand not being able to afford a fridge, I'd just say that a decent cooler and dry ice (available from most of the bigger grocery store chains) are probably a better way to spend your money than one of those "thermo coolers."

Another option to keep your food drier than by using ice cubes would be to use frozen water bottles of various sizes. As long as the bottles don't get holes in them, they'll continue to cool the food even as the ice melts and then once the ice has melted you can use them for drinking water.

If you really wanted to be creative, I suppose you could build a wooden (or metal) box about 2" bigger in all dimensions than your cooler, put the cooler in there and fill the intervening space with foam or some other insulating material to make your ice last that much longer.

Before I got my Engel, we got along with a couple of coolers -even in the deep desert. We would keep them in the shade and drape wet towels over them, the evaporative cooling seemed to help conserve the ice.

 

[4x4junkie]

yeah but that's a $450-500 real refrigerator (with a compressor).

FIFY

Refurbs also often pop up on Compact Appliance's "scratch & dent" page for $300 or so if you keep an eye out for 'em.

Here is another option.
Get a jump pack and use that to run your cooler, when the jump pack gets low just plug it in the cig lighter socket and charge while you drive. Or you could get a marine/ deep cycle AGM battery since they can be used in the cab without venting and run the cooler off of that, you could then set up a charge cable to your cig lighter socket for recharging as you drive. Essentially a poor mans dual battery set up....no disrespect intended of course...:sombrero:

Either of these will cost you 100-150 more but will give you a safe way to run your fridge all of the time without worry about depleting your starting battery.

Non of these are ideal but they all will work as long as you are willing to do a little work on your part.

Darrell

An AGM deep cycle battery is $250-300 (and it'll never charge properly through the huge bottleneck that is a cigarette-lighter connection). If you're gonna spend that kind of coin, you might as well just get the Edgestar fridge, or maybe one of the Dometic units Martinjmpr mentioned.

Outside of that, the best suggestions by far in this thread are for a good ice chest and blocks of ice. Thermoelectric coolers have no practical purpose whatsoever if the engine won't be always running, especially when locked in a car on a warm day.

 

[Lucky j]

I also made this at the time to cover my cooler isolating it from the sun, and also hepling with keeping cooler than oustside temp.

Just regular aluminium bubble wrap from the hardware store.

And by the way, he was asking about possibility of evernight battery drainage with an igloo type electric cooler, I think the general idea is no, as always, some have different experience and it's ok. I guess it also depend on how long you sleep at night.

 

[teotwaki]

yeah but that's a $700 real refrigerator (with a compressor). How does that help OP?

It would help the OP to have an accurate price maybe? :elkgrin:

$455

http://www.compactappliance.com/FP430-Compact-EdgeStar-Portable-Refrigerator-Freezer/FP430.html

 

[teotwaki]

---------------------I can understand not being able to afford a fridge, I'd just say that a decent cooler and dry ice (available from most of the bigger grocery store chains) are probably a better way to spend your money than one of those "thermo coolers." ----------snip----------.

This sums it up perfectly. Either go with the efficient "old fashioned way" or pony up the money for a setup that will give you many years of trouble free refrigeration. My Engel is almost 9 years old now.

 

[teotwaki]

Of the two options I would say go with the deep cycle battery - it can handle being drawn down to zero, and it will be a much higher Amp-Hour battery. Most jump packs are going to be equivalent to a quarter to a third of a regular car battery in terms of capacity.

No battery likes to be drawn to zero volts. A battery can be considered dead around 10.5 volts

 

[teotwaki]

I also made this at the time to cover my cooler isolating it from the sun, and also hepling with keeping cooler than oustside temp.

Just regular aluminium bubble wrap from the hardware store.

And by the way, he was asking about possibility of evernight battery drainage with an igloo type electric cooler, I think the general idea is no, as always, some have different experience and it's ok. I guess it also depend on how long you sleep at night.

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NICE work!

 

[Martinjmpr]

NICE work!

I agree, that's pretty smart. I may make one of those this weekend for my cooler (going to OK for a teardrop rally in a couple of weeks.)

 

[pugslyyy]

It would help the OP to have an accurate price maybe? :elkgrin:

$455

http://www.compactappliance.com/FP430-Compact-EdgeStar-Portable-Refrigerator-Freezer/FP430.html

Fair enough, $699 MSRP. http://www.edgestar.com/FP430-Compact-EdgeStar-Portable-Refrigerator-Freezer/FP430,default,pd.html?cgid=Appliances-Refrigerators

 

[pugslyyy]

I also made this at the time to cover my cooler isolating it from the sun, and also hepling with keeping cooler than oustside temp.

Just regular aluminium bubble wrap from the hardware store.

And by the way, he was asking about possibility of evernight battery drainage with an igloo type electric cooler, I think the general idea is no, as always, some have different experience and it's ok. I guess it also depend on how long you sleep at night.

View attachment 220036
View attachment 220037

Nicely done - looks good and is about as inexpensive as you can get.

 

[pugslyyy]

No battery likes to be drawn to zero volts. A battery can be considered dead around 10.5 volts

No argument there, I'm not sure it is even possible to draw it that low unless you are using a purely resistive load.

I meant zero charge.