Igloo Kool Mate 36

cajun65 · 07-04-09, 01:58 PM

I'm leaving next week to drive from South Louisiana to Vermont by way of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We were "loaned" an Igloo Kool Mate 36 that you can plug in to the vehicles power supply. It also has a jack so that once I reach a campsite I can plug it in to a regular outlet. Are there any issues with this? I ran it today while a drove around town just to see if any gremlins popped up. Seemed fine.

Thoughts? Problems?

swampman · 07-05-09, 01:01 PM

i have a kool a tron .. pretty much the same thing.. it works but it could be better.. put your food in it cold if you can .. they are supposed to cooll like 20 degs. below ambient..or somthin like that.. so if its really hot out .. they dont really keep up to well i prefer to use my colman extreeme 6 day cooler it does a better job IMO.. and yes it will keep ice for 6 days only problem ice takes up preciuos room .. im saving my money for an engel.. hope that helps some..

cajun65 · 07-05-09, 02:23 PM

That does help, thanks swampman.

Enigma · 07-07-09, 01:33 PM

And from what I understand, do not leave it plugged in without the truck running, as they will drain the battery rather quickly.

97 FZJ80 · 07-07-09, 10:44 PM

Compare to a compressor type fridge, the thermoelectric coolers are rather inefficient and require the constant running of the cooling device to keep the temperature. They are able to to pull over 35F temperature difference and are much lighter and cheaper than the compressor type fridge.

I had one and it was very useful for trips where we stayed in hotel rooms. I would start the cooler running the night before the trip to get the contents cold. I would only place contents that were already cooled into the cooler. On the road, the cooler was in the passenger compartment and kept the contents cool without the need for ice. The cooler kept on cooling while the vehcle was stopped and never drained the battery although I seldom left the vehicle not running for more than a few hours. In the evening, I would move the entire cooler into the hotel room and keep it plugged into the AC outlet all night.

It was cheap, light, and did its job.

cajun65 · 07-08-09, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97 FZJ80

Compare to a compressor type fridge, the thermoelectric coolers are rather inefficient and require the constant running of the cooling device to keep the temperature. They are able to to pull over 35F temperature difference and are much lighter and cheaper than the compressor type fridge.

I had one and it was very useful for trips where we stayed in hotel rooms. I would start the cooler running the night before the trip to get the contents cold. I would only place contents that were already cooled into the cooler. On the road, the cooler was in the passenger compartment and kept the contents cool without the need for ice. The cooler kept on cooling while the vehcle was stopped and never drained the battery although I seldom left the vehicle not running for more than a few hours. In the evening, I would move the entire cooler into the hotel room and keep it plugged into the AC outlet all night.

It was cheap, light, and did its job.

We're going to give it a shot. I'm going to cool down our cold contents and plug the unit in this afternoon. Tomorrow morning throw it in the Cruiser and roll on down the highway. I think it will serve its purpose on this trip. Next summer I'll maybe have a fridge!

Enigma · 07-13-09, 09:30 PM

Heres a good writeup on the different cooler types available:

BC4x4.COM four wheel drive, 4x4, offroad and fourwheeling site.

Rattler · 07-23-09, 05:54 AM

My wife and I have used one for about the last 3 years on trips. It works ok but nothing like and ARB or Engel. we usually supplement it with a couple of smaller double-Ziploc-bagged ice blocks. Those seem to help for a couple days usually.

I did have to redo the wire connections under the side once. They kept popping off after we used it for @ a year. It does the job until we can step up to a better one.

cajun65 · 07-24-09, 07:19 AM

Update: We went on a 12 day cross country trip with this and it did well. I plugged the unit into my home outlet the afternoon before departure and got it good and cool. Made it to the Michigan UP with it running as it was in the back of the Cruiser. I gave up on the power system when we went primitive for a few days up there. I just bought some ice and kept the cold stuff cold that way.

No doubt an Engle fridge or something along that line would be much better and is on my wish list, but this did okay and got us through. I did break a handle off of it though which sucked.

Bogo · 07-24-09, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97 FZJ80

They are able to to pull over 35F temperature difference and are much lighter and cheaper than the compressor type fridge.

I have a Coleman one. I figure it is only good for 30F to 33F difference at best. So if the air temp is 90F the cooler is only 57F.

So I wrapped mine in two layers of bubble foil insulation and it has helped allot. Especially during the day as it doesn't gain heat as easily. That means the daytime high is now no more than 5 to 15 F above the nighttime low.

What I don't like about it is the need to run constantly and the 4.5Amps it draws all the time.

In the long run I too plan on getting a proper compressor driven one.

e9999 · 07-24-09, 02:46 PM

these are OK as long as one does not expect them to be a real refrigerator and obviously not a freezer at all.

but it helps a bit with the ice.

IIRC I did put some numbers up on a test I did with one on a thread here someplace. (after which I promptly returned the one I bought)