> Karl, this sounds interesting. And inexpensive too! > ? Does it have the lid on top like a cooler? Does it also have a > drain from the inside for easy cleaning out too? Do you think it's > too much of a drain on an auxiliary battery to have it run > overnight? Where did you obtain it? David, Yes, it's a top-access with a lid, just like a standard cooler. There's not drain since you're not supposed to put ice in it; you'll fry the electronics. The only water you'll get in there is condensation and spills. We found the reusable gel ice-packs to work well for maintaining thermal momentum. We did run it on aux battery and the instructions even tell you how long you can expect it to work with various battery sizes. Basically , it draws 4 amps, so you figure out the battery size you need. We didn't run it much overnight since repeated aux battery drains kill the battery. The cooler is a "Coleman Portable Electric Cooler" Model 5232-807T. It was $89.95 plus tax at Ames, a local department store. I've heard of other models like Coolatron and Igloo that are similar. One Igloo that I saw had puny interior space and a weird double door for keeping the cool air inside. The Coleman has a well-insulated lid and a latch to make sure it's really shut. Some models have shelves so that you can use it stood on end, like a mini refrigerator. Of course, the minute you open the door, all the dense cold air rushes out. We prefer the "ice chest" mode of operation. Only problem with this is that it either has to be the top item or you have to move whatever is on top of it off to access the contents. One other thing to consider is that it takes a few hours to really get it cooled down from a warm start. They work on some sort of thermoelectric effect, not the standard vapor recompression or adsorption that we're used to with refrigerators. It's best to start with cold food and it'll maintain that. Other than getting used to how it works, we found it to be a welcome improvement over a standard ice box. We certainly didn't miss the soggy food items (esp. bread), butter floating in the ice water below, running to find a place that carries block ice every day, and having to dump the water. Regards, -Karl Karl and Kristina Bloss, Trexlertown, PA '87 GL Weekender "Beverley" VW shop list: http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/vwshops |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.