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 Topic: Halfords 40L 12V/230V cooler
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18/7/2020 at 9:45am
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So long as you are not expecting it to work like a fridge, it will be fine, all these cool box’s are pretty much the same, expect cooling to be around 18 Deg below ambient temperature on a good day in real life.
You can get better coolers like the Waeco TropiCool, which give increased cooling better than your typical thermoelectric cool box’s, again they are not fridges, although they are over priced, and for the money you would be better of buying a proper portable camping fridge.
In fairness I would hang out for one of the Lidl/Aldi versions at around half the price, in fact Aldi have them in next week for £39.99 for a 29lt model, advertised as cooling to 20 Deg C below ambient.
The unit also acts as a food warmer, although I don’t see the point of that.
Post last edited on 18/07/2020 09:59:39
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18/7/2020 at 9:50am
Location: East Herts
Outfit: 1992 Elddis Wisp 450CT + X Trail
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Just a general comment rather than a make-specific one, but never use one of these on 12 volts without the engine running unless they are the type that is compressor-driven. If they are not of the compressor-driven type, and by the price I suspect they aren't, they will completely flatten a large 12 volt battery in just a few hours.
The compressor ones are much better but usually cost around £300 - £400.
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Best Regards,
Colin
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18/7/2020 at 1:12pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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Generically (regardless of brand) treat it as a power assisted coolbox that extends the life of your ice blocks, rather than anything else. They are certainly not fridges, and struggle a bit to chill effectively on their own without ice blocks. The thermoelectric/Peltier technology behind these devices is horribly inefficient and they consume a lot of power for what little cooling (and heating, if duel purpose) they offer. But if you don't expect too much of them, they have their place and do what they claim.
As to Francais comment "The unit also acts as a food warmer, although I don’t see the point of that.", I use mine to keep Thermos flasks hot for longer when going on longish winter hill walks, you can come back after many hours to piping hot food and drink, whereas without it would only be warm. Obviously you can only run it when driving, but that 2 or 3 hour drive to location is time the flasks are not really losing much heat and the box interior remains warmer than outside for much longer therefore improving flask effectiveness. Also handy for bringing hot takeaway food home.
I've got a Lidl one I've had for many, many years, and a much larger more recent Coleman one. Only caveat, as already mentioned, don't leave it connected to car battery without engine running, it'll flatten it in a few hours.
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18/7/2020 at 1:48pm
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Yep Paul and Nik, a handy gadget to have is the “Waeco CoolPower MU50” which protects your battery from running completely flat, most cars shut of the 12v to the Aux socket when the ignition is off, but some don’t, to be fair I prefer the cars that don’t.
Or cars like the VW Golf, which let you select 12v to aux socket on all the time, or only when engine is running.
The “Waeco CoolPower MU50” is very simple to use, it has a cigarette socket on one end, and a cigarette plug on the other, so very plug and play, although only rated to 5 amp (60 watt).
The “Waeco CoolPower MU50” is also handy if your powering the coolbox from a leisure battery or directly from a car battery, other makes of battery protector are of course available, I have seen 10 amp versions.
Monty15, you might want to check out my post “Stainless Steel Flask £2.10!”
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20/7/2020 at 2:46pm
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We keep one for chilling in the awning on 240v, and another on longer trips in the front locker, where i've fit a spare socket. I will 'rest' them overnight after a couple of days, and wipe them out, as they tend to get a lot of condensation when its really warm. As said, they arent a fridge, but they help to keep stuff longer - salads, uneaten pizza etc.
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via mobile 18/7/2020 at 9:19am
