12V Travel Cooler

[ED27]

Anybody use one? I've been looking at the Rubbermaid/Vector units sold at Target and Walmart. Do they work well? How long does it take to reach a cold temp?

[OB3]

We purchased one for our Canada/Maine trip last summer. Bought it at Target, rubbermaid i think. We had to purchase the AC adaprter too, so we could plug it into the wall outlet in the hotel rooms too.
From what i recall, it took a couple hours to really get up to full 'coolness', but once there, it kept things very cold all day long. We kept it on for almost the entire 2 weeks, fit 3-4 sodas, a few juice boxes, some fruit.... all with ease.

It is definitely worth the investment in my opinion.

good luck

[jdeanski]

If this is what I think it is they use a thermo-electric device. When power is applied to the device it cools down, or heats up if the polarity is reversed. Air via a fan is passed over the device and cooling/heating is blown into the insulated container. It works quite well if you understand it's limitations. It will only cool 40 degrees below the ambient temperature. If the air temp is 90 degrees it will only cool to 50 degrees, 80 degrees to 40 degrees, etc.

[CMasten]

I am presuming that in the summer if your chilling your goods, then the heat that is a byproduct gets pumped into the cabin and the AC takes care of that? I have never used one, but have a trip to AZ coming up and it may be handy. Course ... Ice is pretty cheap too, as I already have a bunch of ice chests laying around.

[OB3]

this is the one that we purchased...

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c...e_1947_5818251


i think we paid 49.99 at target for it, although we had to go to a few to find one, they are/were scarce. definitely invest in the AC adapter, another 20 dollars or so, in order to bring it inside the hotel/house and keep it running

[ED27]

Originally posted by OB3
this is the one that we purchased...

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c...e_1947_5818251


i think we paid 49.99 at target for it, although we had to go to a few to find one, they are/were scarce. definitely invest in the AC adapter, another 20 dollars or so, in order to bring it inside the hotel/house and keep it running

I think that's the same one I saw at Target - just with the Rubbermaid/Vector brand. I'll go ahead and give it try. We've got a short road trip this weekend so I'll have a good chance to evaluate it. Thanks for the info.

[tim.s]

Originally posted by OB3
...definitely invest in the AC adapter, another 20 dollars or so, in order to bring it inside the hotel/house and keep it running

Good point about the AC adapter. If you get a hotel room without a fridge, you can still keep your stuff cold. Plus, if the unit is already cold when you put it in the car, it maintains the temp better.

BTW, you can still use ice packs in these coolers (in or out of the car). Plugging them in just keeps stuff frozen/cold longer and makes better use of your ice. If you are going to be toting the cooler to the park or the beach, you will probably want a larger one with room for ice.

[rocky]

I have one of those coolers and get pretty disappointed by their small capacity and weak cooling powers.
I often stick a reusable ice block to chill things down more inside it.

[johnrweb]

I kept thinking of getting one, but when I looked, they were pretty small capacity. I guess the motor takes lots of room. So I figured that it was better just to spend the $2 on ice and use my regular cooler. Since most hotels/motels have ice, there is no issue with running out of ice.

[rocky]

I'd love an engel but the cost puts me off. They can freeze stuff too so much have the power!

https://www.expeditionexchange.com/engel/

[VKwalker]

here's a link to a 40quart coleman model at wal-mart that includes both an ac and a dc power supply. I have this and have been pleased with it's performance. From time to time it'll be cheaper in the store than the price shown on the link. Hope this helps
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=4810828