Just back from a couple of days camping where I used my new Outwell electric cool box (the green one they had on offer in April). The coolbox was great and even in this hot weather kept by wine etc. nice and cool.
The campsite I was at were charging £3.87 per night for EHU. Now as I was only using the EHU to power my cool box, I resent paying that much. But I need to have a powered cool box for food and drink (young kids etc.)
My question is... Would a charged car battery (bought separately from my own car battery) run the cool box for two or three days without running out?
I would charge it at home, plugging it into a charger in my house.
Does anyone do this?
How much run time should I expect?
What type / size of battery should I go for?
Would it be worth getting a small portable solar panel so I could charge the battery at the camp site?
The problem with running an electric coolbox from a battery isn't so much the size of the battery but the amount of power the cooler uses. From memory they draw anywhere from 4 to 6 amps, assuming 5A that would flatten a 110Ah battery in less than 24hrs :-( A solar panel would never be able to replace that charge either.
The mrs and i have looked into coolers and batteries in the past and have decided to save up for a 3-way fridge and run it from gas. By the time you factor in the cost of batteries, chargers etc it doesn't work out to be much more anyway and gives greater flexibility.
Quote: Originally posted by Terminal-Junkie on 01/6/2009
Hi,
The problem with running an electric coolbox from a battery isn't so much the size of the battery but the amount of power the cooler uses. From memory they draw anywhere from 4 to 6 amps, assuming 5A that would flatten a 110Ah battery in less than 24hrs :-( A solar panel would never be able to replace that charge either.
The mrs and i have looked into coolers and batteries in the past and have decided to save up for a 3-way fridge and run it from gas. By the time you factor in the cost of batteries, chargers etc it doesn't work out to be much more anyway and gives greater flexibility.
Cheers Liam
Yes 3 way coolbox is the way to go for powered coolbox. Weekend breaks use frozen 4 pint bottles of water Milk bottles work very well and should you stay longer you can refill them with the ice bought in supermarkets.