Electric Coolbox?

[Shrimp]

We are off to France this summer to help out on a campsite and I want to take some extra cooling for cold drinks etc. has anyone any experience of the Electric powered Coolboxes, are they worthwhile, do they cool enough in hot weather. Not worried about a bit of noise as it will be outside the van.
I've been looking at a table top fridge too but most of them seem to have an ice box and are quite expensive.
I think the Coolbox is the way to go but was looking for anyone's ideas/experience.

 

[Landy lover]

Would not be without one, always chill things before packing but if you are going to a warm area remember that they will only cool to max 20 degrees below the ambient temperature so ideal for drinks but if its food that needs to be kept at 5 degrees then you do need a fridge. Always keep in the shade

 

[Les]

Bought one in France this year when fridge stopped working,12v,240v worked well 12v not as good as 240v but 35c+ lot of the time

 

[obanvanman]

We bought the 40L box from Halfords. Great bit of kit. Not noisy at all. Plus we use it in the van, it keeps my Gin and Tonics nice and cool whilst driving.

 

[Minxy]

There are 2 types of cool boxes: one that only cools to approx 20 degrees below the ambient temperature and ones that are capable of acting like a 'proper' fridge/freezer and will go low and stay low regardless of the outside temperature. The former is cheaper, the latter is a LOT more expensive!

For what you want, if you are going to be there for a while with it on constantly, I'd suggest a small table top fridge, there's a good offer on one at Curry's at the mo:

Broken Link Removed

It has a small freezer box but you might find it useful for making ice cubes!

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[eddie]

Basically if it is thermo electric it will cool if it has a compressor it will keep things cold or even can be used as a freezer

When running on mains the power is academic, when running on 12 volt it is important.

Compressor units will run on about 3amps and thermo electric are a lot less efficient depending on make 10 - 15 amps

I have a Dometic Coolfreeze CF40 on a slide out mount in an outside locker for drinks, which will chill Stella and wine beautifully! It will freeze stuff if turned up (down lol)

 

[Shrimp]

Thanks for all the above.
The fridge in MH is good & works well, was just looking for something to keep drinks cold, it will be outside, under cover, bottles take up so much space in a small fridge!
I did look at a table top fridge but decided against them, bit too expensive!

 

[Minxy]

The table top one I've linked to has a £20 discount so it seems to only be £49 at the mo ... some of the cool boxes may be cheaper but they are not generally meant to be on for a long time, so if you are helping out on the site for a few months it could go 'poof' and you'll have nothing. You might also find that once you've done your stint there someone might want to buy your table top fridge off you or just sell it when you get back home. Of course you could look for a second hand one on Ebay as they can go quite cheaply on there at times.

As for the one that Eddie mentions - the Dometic Coolfreeze - it is a proper 'fridge' disguised as a cool box but far, far superior!

 

[Madcaravanner]

We have two of the cheaper ones one is a cool-bag on a wheeled frame (£25 clearance) one a proper box actually had them for YEARS neither of them run on 240v so a quick alteration of a 240v-12v power supply to fit a car plug in and no problem
yes they don't cool too low but on a 40° hot day in benidorm 20° cooler than ambient is fine for a cold drink

AND
one can be used to keep bait fresh when SWMBO won't allow asticots in the fridge

 

[Camdoon]

If it is France then a filled child"s swimming pool in the shade (under the van) will keep drinks cool enough to drink.

Amazon product ASIN B00WYY3W3C

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[Jaws]

I always worry about the amount of current they use.. even a 3 amp jobby will kill a 110aH battery in day in hot weather ( bring the battery lower than a 50% charge )

 

[Shrimp]

Thank you Minxy Girl, I used the code and got the fridge for £49.99!
Cheaper than a cool box and probably more useful!
I hadn't thought about the cool box being on constantly for 3 months!

 

[Minxy]

Thank you Minxy Girl, I used the code and got the fridge for £49.99!
Cheaper than a cool box and probably more useful!
I hadn't thought about the cool box being on constantly for 3 months!

Who's a good funster then! Go to the top of the class!

It could also prove useful over Christmas/New Year too to put in all the extra bits and bobs you buy!!!

 

[Feltwell]

I used a cheapo Halfords thermoelectric one this summer, in Germany / Switzerland / France, off hookup - a little ambitious I know!

It made the drinks much more pleasant but definitely not as cold as the fridge, or as cold as I would like. 100w solar panel, 2 x 100AH batteries, bright summer sun - OK for about 3-4 days use but no more.

May well treat myself to a "proper" compressor one at some point, but they are a bit pricey. One will just fit nicely between our cab seats though, and fridge space is always at a premium with 5 of us to cater for, even with a decent size (by MH standards) fridge/freezer.......

 

[Christoph]

Bought one from Lidl 2 years ago for £35. It's brilliant and still going strong.

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