Test of 40 qt Coleman thermoelectric "cooler" (1 Viewer)

[Shahram]

What's reasonably priced?

ARB/Engel/Norcold is the way to go.



Just do it. Once the initial sting of the $600 wears off, you'll be very happy.

Okay, I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told the little lady when she wanted a fancy TV. I don't spend $600.00 on ANYTHING that doesn't have three stringers and a glassed-on fin.

 

[desertdude]

Quote:
Originally Posted by desertdude
Those three ways can be temperamental off road


how's that?

dang, this all belongs in the "propane" thread...

Because of the jarring bouncing and otherwise movement 4 wheeling. The way those three ways work , heating ammonia for cooling.

I am not saying it won't work - just that they can be temperamental

 

[97 FZJ80]

I used my Coleman thermoelectric cooler this past weekend on a road trip. I had a chance to "prime" the cooler for a few hours and log some temperature data before loading it up with food that has been cooled in the fridge. This was tested with the room temperature at 77.6F. The cooler cooled down 12F below ambient in 30 minutes, reached over 35F below ambient after two hours. Steady state of 39.6F below ambient was reached at 5 hours and the temperature kept constant after that.

 

[FirstToy]

I was very disappointed in the Coleman. It lasted 1 trip where my g/f clowned me for buying it in the first place, hehe (sat in the garage, then gave it away). The problem for me was, no matter what, it didn't keep things cold even w/ constant power.

Ambient temps can easily reach 100+ degrees in a short amount of time- if you stop to sightsee and come back to the car for example. Open and close it a couple times and you're done- warm food and drinks. They would get soggy too.

97 FZJ80, going back to your orig. post, I think you are right and I was probably expecting too much from this "cooler" as it's not a "refridgerator". Still, I feel at this price range, a reg. ice chest will give better performance and more storage space for food.

The Norcal guys won me over to Engel. It's really worth the money, and even more so for extended trips.

 

[e9999]

yup, if you are content with a box that keeps already cold things fairly cold then yes, it is probably OK. But cooling down stuff is about out of the question. There lies the problem IMHO, you buy some meat or a sandwich, you still better eat them quick...

 

[desertdude]

I used one on the job site and camping for well over two years before the AC adapter got wet with a sprinkler and fried the inside. It was just OK for all of the time I used it, including in the truck for transporting food. Like it was said above crossing the Mojave desert or the Imperial Valley during the summer the cooler had a hard time keeping things cold.

The Engel purchase has been the number one best investment to date. Case in point we were near the coast of Santa Cruz CA last Sat. We bought a fresh whole Salmon at the wharf and had it fillet in the early AM - loaded the 8.5 Lbs of fish into the Engel - turned it up to two and just relaxed the whole day in the blazing heat. Showed up at 6pm to a party and pulled out ice cold fresh Salmon for a BBQ ... The power of the Engel