Which is the best cooler box?

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spud350
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Which is the best cooler box?

Post by spud350 » Sun Jun 19, 2016 5:31 pm

New reviews on cooler boxes are a bit far between. I currently use a cheap and nasty one which just about keeps things cool for a day. I'm willing to spend whatever it takes for a good quality one.

Approx 30l will be fine as I don't want to take up to much space. So far the choice is between Coleman 28 QT Xtreme cooler and the Outwell Ecocool boxes.

The Coleman gets good reviews but of course if staying away more than a couple of days means refreezing ice blocks. The outwell is electric but if I don't get hook up would only be running when driving. Not an issue but I can't find any reviews on how good they keep things cool when not being powered.

What's everyone's opinions on good coolers?

Cheers Spud.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by sotal » Sun Jun 19, 2016 6:26 pm

The best are the compressor ones. They start at about £250 though. They are the most efficient and will last a good few days on a Leisure battery.


I plan to get one of the above when funds allow, at the moment we have a cheapy (£40 ish) one. It does the job OK. On EHU we leave it on 24/7 and have had it running over a week, keeping food cool. On battery we turn it off at night and it stays cool enough until morning. We tend to go out most days in the Bongo so running the engine replenishes the charge in the LB. We had it running like this for 3 weeks in the Summer last year.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by Ian » Sun Jun 19, 2016 6:32 pm

We have an Outwell Eco box, and it's excellent. It retains the cold temperature, even when switched off, for up to 10 hours. Plus it doesn't use much juice, so ideal for running off leisure battery. And you can switch it off at night.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by Gefail » Sun Jun 19, 2016 6:34 pm

http://www.dometic.co.uk/product/waeco-tropicool-tcx-21
After a bit of research and ditching our cheapo electric one we went for his one.
Use it on 12v while travelling and 240v when hooked up. It does take 48w which is a 4 amp load , so our 110Ah leisure battery should theoretically last 25 hours if it was on constantly. Its pretty good for a Peltzer system, can struggle on a really hot day.
As our van is unconverted, we wanted one to fit at the back of the rear seat. There are various sizes available.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by mikeonb4c » Sun Jun 19, 2016 6:49 pm

I got a Waeco Tropicool 2nd hand off ebay and it is hugely better than the basic peltier one i had before that. Suspect the others mentioned on here are similar.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by sotal » Sun Jun 19, 2016 6:56 pm

Gefail wrote:http://www.dometic.co.uk/product/waeco-tropicool-tcx-21
After a bit of research and ditching our cheapo electric one we went for his one.
Use it on 12v while travelling and 240v when hooked up. It does take 48w which is a 4 amp load , so our 110Ah leisure battery should theoretically last 25 hours if it was on constantly. Its pretty good for a Peltzer system, can struggle on a really hot day.
As our van is unconverted, we wanted one to fit at the back of the rear seat. There are various sizes available.
Cheers,
David
I'd say more like 13 hours on a 110Ah battery. You don't really want the battery to drop below 50%.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by Gefail » Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:56 pm

sotal wrote:
I'd say more like 13 hours on a 110Ah battery. You don't really want the battery to drop below 50%.
Indeed, should just last a weekend without too much problem then?
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by sotal » Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:19 pm

Gefail wrote:
sotal wrote:
I'd say more like 13 hours on a 110Ah battery. You don't really want the battery to drop below 50%.
Indeed, should just last a weekend without too much problem then?
Depends on how long you run it for and how many times you start the engine.

The fact that we can quickly detach the awning and drive away is one of the main plus points for us about the Bongo. We normally drive every day when we go away so the running of the engine keeps it topped up. Our 3 week trip last year had an occasional stop with EHU (where it cost no more!) but most of the time we were just living off the LB.

We would switch it on in the morning at 8ish and it would run all day until 10ish. We would then switch it off for 10 hours. Every morning the milk was still cold. So we were running it for about 14 hours per day every day but on average we probably spent 2 hours a day driving.

We had no problem at all with that, our LB is a 110ah and our cheapy coolbox draws a similar amount to yours.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by mikeonb4c » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:07 pm

And there is this, by way of LB protection:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waeco-COOLPOWE ... B00I5DAHNO

Currently on offer it seems.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by cmm303 » Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:30 pm

LColeman 28 QT Xtreme 3.
We have this very one and pleased with it. Tall enough to stand wine bottles upright. Claims to keep ice for 3 days. Might be pushing it if it's warm and you put stuff in that isn't already cold but we have absolutely no complaints. Lives outside when camping and easily strong enough to sit on. For a weekend away we use freezer blocks. For longer, we use ice. Touring Scotland in May we bought ice every 3-4 days. Using ice does mean everything needs to be kept in waterproof containers if it doesn't like getting wet. Also, that model doesn't have a drain plug for emptying the water (melted ice) so it had to be bailed out!

We like the simplicity and flexibility of not needing power. For festivals, where it can get very hot, exposed and ice isn't available we have a mahoosive Coleman trunk style cool box. With the right prep it keeps beers ice cold for a whole week easily! Milk keeps fresh also :)
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by spud350 » Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:57 pm

I can't find the power consumption for the Outwell Eco box, anyone know?
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by Gefail » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:31 pm

According to their webby 131kW/annum whatever that equates to?
A post on Amazon says 50watts same as the waeco tropicool.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by spud350 » Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:08 pm

OK thanks. Tried to work the annum value but got a dodgy figure. If it's 60 watts then that equates to 0.26 Amp so not to bad.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by g8dhe » Thu Jun 23, 2016 10:14 pm

Virtually all cooler boxes are rated at 48-50 watts and draw a continuous 4Amps current. There are a few now that include a thermostat and are slightly less power over an extended period.
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Re: Which is the best cooler box?

Post by winchman » Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:32 am

I have one of these its way better than the stuff you buy on the high street
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18-litre-Norw ... 2273293289

Look at the review here
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60092

They also make a good seat.
Here they are new
http://www.hawkmoor.com/i/products//36/detail.pdf
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