Date: Sun, 9 Aug 1998 15:03:10 -0500
Reply-To: "Karl F. Bloss" <bloss@ENTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Karl F. Bloss" <bloss@ENTER.NET>
Subject: Re: A good portable AC/DC fridge to buy?
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
> 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
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