12 Volt Cooler?
 

I was looking into another cooler for my MB and was wondering if anyone has used a 12 volt powered cooler?

I am not sure how bad the draw will be but they don't seam that expensive.

One example:
Amazon Cooler

This one uses: 4 Amps / 48 Watts

Anyone done this?

I hade one of these for a while. I wasnt that excieted in the performance. It does do what it says(40degrees cooler than outside temps) but when its 100 degrees outside, a 60 degree "Cold One" isnt quit cold enough for me.
Just my 2 cents.

Only one I have ever found that actually works is made by ARB and hold on to your wallet. Cheapest one is $800.00. You can buy a lot of ice for that price we use block ice lasts 2 to 3 times longer.

http://store.arbusa.com/Fridge-Freezer-C48.aspx

Buy a YETI cooler. By far the best cooler I have ever owned. It really will keep ice for days depending on how much you open it and how hot it is outside. Just my 2 cents...

I agree with Conner. I have 2 Yetti's 1 large and 1 smaller one and they are just awesome.

some other Great coolers
http://www.engel-usa.com/

You will never convince me that a plug in portable cooler is a good solution. Brandon and G are right on target.

I would take 3 to 5 day boat trips with a 1/2 size refrigerator/freezer. The thing could never keep up with openings much less cool drinks and if you were not on shore power, running the engines or the generator it was not cooling. My old standard igloos were melting 5 to 6 bags a day in our larger coolers. I finally threw all those crap coolers out and bought a couple well insulated although expensive coolers call Icy-Tech. The ice now lasts for days. That turned out the be a great decision and many friends with off-shore boats followed suit.

Taking it one step further, since then I have been thinking of taking the powered refrigerator/freezer out of the boat and installing a larger ice maker in its place. Its a much better system for keeping things cool and it a better option than dealing with electrical solutions. Try adding dry ice if you need it to last even longer.

This is my newest Yeti, Its even better than my orignal Icy-Tech. Its was in the $350 range. Looking threw some old cooler threads I saw people talking about $50 Colmans that were as good as the Yeti. Humm Sounds intresting! Someone need's to do the Cooler Shoot out.

Not even fair. I stare at those things every time I go into overtons and can't justify it. Why not just use dry ice? Put dry ice on the bottom and then regular ice on top. Throw beers on top and your ice will never melt. I mean if we are talking about days here. I have a coleman and I can go out all day in 100 degree heat, leave it outside overnight after riding all day, and there still be enough ice in it the next day to not warm the beer.

They take forever to cool down too. I left mine pluged in over night(forgot about it) and the next day I had to get the jumpers out.

come summer time I rarely empty the cooler It has Ice in it almost all the time. Ice is easy and cheep to find. Dry Ice can and will damage your cooler over time.

On house boats where you need to Store or Pack Away Ice using Dry Ice to keep your Bag Ice the way to go. But IMO the advantage with these coolers (Yeti and Engel's) is they hold ice or keep Ice longer than a $50 colman. I have had $50 colman's and they work but not as well as these. I few tip's. #1 Pre cool your cooler. You waste or melt alot of Ice just gettting your cooler cold. If you can fill your cooler the night before with Ice and then either change out or top off your cooler with fresh Ice it will last much longer. #2 Quality over Quanity, The Ice you use has alot to do with how long it last's I have had a hard time finding Ice thats as good as what come out of the plastic Ice trays in your fridge. Example if you can fill your Cooler with what ever you can get your hands on and then throw in what ever came out of your freezer your good to go. I have a comercial Ice maker it makes good Ice (way better than way you get at the store) but its still nothing compaired to what you can make in your freezer.

BTW if anyone is in the market for a machine that makes the BEST Ice look no further These are the BOMB. Pricey but The Ice is just Awesome. Crystal clear and SOLID
http://www.kold-draft.com/ice-machin...s-ice-bins.php

Not trying to hijack this thread so my apologies in advance. I figured while on the topic of YETI coolers I would let my fellow WWs in on a nice little secret. The YETI corporate office and warehouse is located here in Austin, TX. They do offer what they call "factory seconds" which is basically a scratch & dent section for about 50% off. I got a $400 cooler for about $220. They have all different sizes in tan and white and most of them you cannot find the scratch if you tried (not to mention any cooler will get scratches over time). They do not advertise this and I would advise calling before you go just to make sure they have a good amount of them on hand...

Grant- Last week my girlfriend came home with a bottle opener, I actually mounted it last night...

That Yeti looks nice but if I start replacing my Icy-techs with Yeti's my wife will confirm my cooler and ice fetish. Never run short of water and save space at the same time....a good portion of my cooler ice is frozen water bottles which you can drink as they melt.

+1 on the yeti's. Bought one last year and never looked back. Well worth the investment.


James

I would never pay that much for a cooler but I will say they work just like every body says and there industructable. My best friend has one and always has it in the back of his tuck chained to the bed. He's pretty high up in some kind of contruction contract stuff and is always going to big job sites and likes to give out cold waters to people that work for him. He fills it up with ice once a week and they stay cold all week and it never leaves the back of his truck.

Last week he rolled his truck 3 times at about 60 and the first thing he posted on facebook was how his Yeti made it through with just a few scratches.