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i have been looking at fridges/coolers today in a camping shop and got VERY confused!  the fridges are SO expensive but i understand that coolers only "cool" to a certain point below ambient temperature.  i also looked at drink chillers - are they the same sort of thing as coolers then??

can anyone point me in the right direction?  we currently use one of those TEENY WEENY little fridges (nicked it from daughter's bedroom!) but you can literally only fit in butter, some ham and a pint of milk!  it's better than nothing though.

i know that i could use ice in a coolbox but i'm not a "back to roots" camper and dh wants his beer cold (else he won't come again!!) 

can anyone help please and explain the differences to me?

tia

aj

If you want cold beer then you have to go for a 3 way fridge.  Yes it is expensive and yes it is big but it will keep the drinks cold and the food fresh.

A cooler as in its name will only cool and much depends on what the outside temperature is.

You only get what you pay for 

hi dont quite agree with tony we have a outwell cooler and its fantastic used it in all the hot weather and had plenty of cold beers. it also kept the food really cold including milk yoghurts etc i have read posts on here where coolers have been found with ice in them so they cant be that bad. i think most of them cool to between 20/30 between ambiant temperature so its just a case of personal preference and money

If you have a cooler that plugs into the car - when you arrive at your site -non ehu-and you want to leave the cooler in the tent is it possible to then use freezer blocks and ice?  At the moment we are using cool bags and they are ok but would like something more sturdy a possible cool box ? but havnt got a clue ? would be prepared to spend upto £40.00.

cheers

Quote: Originally posted by GLSKCHT on 10/8/2006

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Hi we've just bought an igloo coolmate 40 an it's great!! we bought it from recarda 89.99 I know this is expensive but it's worth it it cools to a temperature of 4degrees which is basically the same as a normal fridge would definetely recommend this fridge! 

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is that 4 degrees regardless of the ambient temp?

if so i dont think 80 quid is dear at all i am sick to the back teeth of warm beer

we are looking for a fridge/cooler that will run from 12v/gas/240v as we only have a 240v stella drinks fridge with glass door still cools to 4 deg c but if we cant have ehu we cant use it and alot of sites we go to at drop of hat due to mrs being a nurse and cant book in advance due to strained nhs working conditions(she cares TOOOOOOO MUCH FOR OTHERS)

so far the cheapest gas one we have found is 140 quid too much for us even on ebay second hand they go for over 100 quid

im gonna watch ebay in deepest darkest winter and see if price falls to a decent second hand price

 

 

PS WHAT/WHO IS RECARDA please ? are they online?

 

Quote: Originally posted by Dripping_Wet on 09/8/2006

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If you want cold beer then you have to go for a 3 way fridge.  Yes it is expensive and yes it is big but it will keep the drinks cold and the food fresh.

A cooler as in its name will only cool and much depends on what the outside temperature is.

You only get what you pay for 

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I have to disagree.  While in Australia we used a Cooler - an Evakool which kept our food and drink ice cold for around 5 days. The Icepacks were still almost frozen.  We should have brought one back because you cant get them over here, but Igloo do one similar that keeps ice for 5 days its about £100 I think. After 4-6 days, we would have either have worked our way through any food or be ready to go home.

We are going to ship one over, which will probably cost the same as a fridge, but we were so impressed with it and like the idea of not having to take a fridge camping, to us, the more home comforts, the less camping it is !

Sorry to hijack this, but do I take it the Igloo ones can keep stuff chilled for 5 days on one set of freezer blocks???

If so thats me sorted