Just seen that my local friendly motoring chain-store has half-price cool boxes. Just the thing for the family holiday to the south of France. But then I wondered;
1) are they actually any good?
2) and if they are, do they need to draw power all the time (which might be a problem as my C5 switches everything off an hour after the engine is switched off) or do they just start over again next time you start the engine (in which case probably OK for drinks, but not meat products etc.)
Any advice appreciated....
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"family holiday to the south of France"
I assume you're camping (Otherwise you'd expect a fridge in your accomodation)?
If so, ask the campsite for a fridge! Honestly, we've done this a couple of times now. For a couple of quid a day, they'll deliver a normal full-sized fridge to your tent and connect it up to the mains. Absolute bargain! (Plus you can freeze those blue blocks a nd keep a cool box cool.)
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Sorry - badly expressed. I'm driving down with two children - so really it was just for keeping snacks/drinks etc. cool for the 2-3 day journey both ways. Once there (a gite rather than a campsite), it's not a problem.
Just a gadget really - but in this weather......
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I've been thinking much the same, but haven't got one yet, so this is conjecture. I wouldn't expect to have to leave the thing running overnight, as long as it was used for drinks and stuff than can be 're-cooled' OK. In any case, suspect that the current drain will of the order of 3-4 amps, so you would need a very healthy battery to keep it going for more than a few hours while stationary.
FWIW, some models can be run 'in reverse' to heat things up...
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I used one of these the year before last when we all went down to Portugal. It worked really well for keeping drinks and snacks cool but if you parked up for a few hours it soon got very hot.
Overall it was definately worth taking.
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Can't comment on the quality of those in your automotive chain store but we have found a £50-60 coolbox very useful on long trips. Used it the other week when we had four adults on a warm trip to France. Kept the water and fizzy stuff, plus essential chocolate bars, nice and cool and then held further essential supplies of cheese at a nice temperature on the way back. Provided the battery is OK I see no problem with short stops of up to an hour but I personally don't try to leave it for more than half an hour. Our full size coolbox is of Turkish origin for the German market and really does work well--I've used it in Jordan on the trip to Petra from Amman and was very thankful for it. I recently bought a little one in Safeway for about £15 which holds about six cans of cola or similar but haven't really used it for any length of time. It does have the advantage of also having a mains plug. Both of them work in reverse for curry transportation. When choosing one check the electrical connection into the box is robust. My old one, which is still working after 10 years but only just, was weak around the push-in connector on the box and worked a bit loose and overheats in that area.
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I bought a fridge/coolbox from Lidl last year for about £60 and it has been just brilliant,only thing i ALWAYS take with me though is a set of jump leads,last weekend at the beach i left it running through the ignition with the cd playing for several hours and i needed a jump start!Keeps the beer, vinho,choco,and everything else nice and cold.Well recommended.
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Thanks for all the advice - I like the idea of a reversible one - reminds me of the famous footballer who (allegedly) had an ice cream and some tea in his thermos because Sir Alex had told him that a thermos keeps hot things hot and cold things cold........
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I had one some years ago (the technology may have improved!); it would only keep things 15 to 20 degs C below ambient so with a domestic fridge meant to run at about 4C anything above 24C in the car means the cool box will not be working well enough for cheese, meat, milk etc. Fine for canned and bottled drinks and sarnies for a few hours, but not really a long term substitute for a mains fridge.
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If you have a vehicle with a permanently live power point, eg as in Mondeo Est its a good idea to wire (bodge) a relay into the coolbox power lead. Sort of relay which detects alternator output for caravan battery charging. Otherwise it does flatten the battery after not too many hours. A moment's forgetfulness turns a long journey into a nightmare.
As for coolboxes, OK but pick one with a mains input in addition to the 12V so you can pre cool before setting out, and take it into any hotel room enroute.
Don't vote it only encourages them
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On the other hand, you could buy a Rolls Royce which already has a refrigerated glove compartment. There you go - just saved yourself £60!
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I use a large one of these for camping trips (it's made by Camping Gaz) and it is fantastic. It cools things really well and it seems well insulated so it keeps things cool for quite a while (overnight) even when not drawing power--it helps if you keep it as full as possible. It also heats if you want it to, which is excellent for picking up takeaways on your way home, and has built in circuitry to make sure it switches off before it drains the battery too much. Expensive (£80 a year ago) but well worth it.
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Noticed that Woolies is doing a 25l 12v coolbox for £27.99.
Anyone got any experience of this one?
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Right just bought the coolbox i saw in woolies some weeks back.
Ezetil 28 litres. tall enough for a 2l bottle, Locking top, -20c drop after 2 hours. Dual fan (one on hot side of peltier, one on cool side to distribute cold air around in box) 4amp current draw.
Guaranteed for 2 years. No switch to change to a warming box.
All in all bargain at £27.99 -
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I used a Halfords coolbox 2 years ago on a camping trip.This was plugged into the very useful power socket of my then 2 year old Golf GT TDi.I thought it would be OK to leave on overnight, but surprisingly it flattened the battery and I had to get a bump start from very helpful fellow campers. Maybe this is a feature of cheaper own-brand coolboxes.Judging by ChrisR's comments, I would think it worth paying the extra for a more sophisticated model.
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I have a Campingaz TE24LC, it is fantastic, keeps items cold for days, does not run the battery down(there is a sensor inside that turns it off if it detects low battery voltage)it also keeps thing warm. Search on the web and you can find it for £49.99 (you can stand 2 litre bottles upright in it)
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Towsure do an in-line low voltage cut out. You may have to change the plug on it to fit our cool box.
I used a cheapsh box ~ £25 and 25 litres from the same source on a three week camping holiday last year. In conjunction with ice packs from campsites we kept ,cheese , cooked meats , cold beer etc.We had a good turnover of food and shopped regularly.
Would not try raw meat though.
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but surprisingly it flattened the battery and I had to get a bump start from very helpful fellow campers.
Lucky you, I had to call the AA out to my Golf when I forgot to unplug the coolbox overnight!
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Can I ask what model of coolbox is on half price and how much?
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Halfords - various sizes, from £24 upwards. Doesn't sound much of a genuine saving though looking at what some people have found!
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Woolworths have been selling one recently reduced from £69.99 right down to £19.99, with a 2 year guarantee,with both mains and 12v connectors. I did buy one for my son, but unfortunately I can`t remember the make.
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Woolworths have been selling one recently....
The author "renault family" has just mentioned buying one further up this thread.
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