12volt Cool Box (Question)

Dougal

Dougal

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Our boat fridge recently bit the the dust, and I can't afford a new one. I do have a large Halfords 12/240v coolbox. Anyone know if its okay to run it standing on its end, instead of as a chest? Halfords don't know;-)

It not an expensive one (about 80squid), so no coolant etc I think. Looks like just a fan blowing over fins.
 
It sounds like a Peltier cascade - a lectric-hungry way of cooling! However, so long as the airways are not blocked, it should work in any orientation. Just be awarer if you stand it up so the lids forms a "front opening door", then you'll be cooling from scratch every time you open it. Probably best to run it if the engine is on unless you have large battery reserve and good charging regime. There was a recent test of several similar boxes in PBO and they lost 5 degrees in a matter of minutes, so the insulation is carp.

Rob.
 
its a peltier I imagine. i can't think of any reason why its will get dmaged by running on its end but I have a supercool unit built into the boat whch is similar. the fins provide cold air which phsyics tell me sinks and the warm air in the 'box' rises towards the fins to be cooled, so on its side it may not be quite as efficient. and when we take the top off, the cold air remians in the box - it doesn't rise out. also running it with the peltier unit at the top means you stack stuff from the bottom and the air can circulate to the fins. if you run it on its side then the food inside will pack itself against the fins and again that may not be the most efficient way of using it as a coolbox.
 
As the others have said, should be OK, there are no liquids or moving parts other than the fan. However, a warning about the electricity consumption. These cool boxes never turn off as they have no thermostat, they continue to draw 5 amps or more 24/7. Most battery banks would be flattened overnight. We have one that we run on mains electricity, on board it attracts a huge amount of condensation.
 
I use mine on its side when we go camping, it draws just over 4 amps and flattens a 80ah battery in 12 hours. You can extend the battery life by turning the fan off over night and as long as its not opened it will maintain temperature till morning.
 
vyv_cox said:
As the others have said, should be OK, there are no liquids or moving parts other than the fan. However, a warning about the electricity consumption. These cool boxes never turn off as they have no thermostat, they continue to draw 5 amps or more 24/7. Most battery banks would be flattened overnight. We have one that we run on mains electricity, on board it attracts a huge amount of condensation.
Click to expand...
I have a waeco compressor chest type on board and a peltier type in my camper. Just ben using the peltier as a load to test my battery so tested the draw. I had assumed 5 aps but observed 2.5 amps. With the chest in an insulate box I can turn it off when cool (an fullish) for an hour every hour with only a slight rise in temp. there are peltier units with a front opening door but their fan is on top, your fan will be in the middle.
Waeco draws 3 or 4 amps intermittently and wakes some crew up as it cycles but much colder than he peltier
 
When we bought The Kipper three years ago it had the original Eletrolux fridge - 8amps continuous. I guess these things have improved over time!
 
Lazy Kipper said:
When we bought The Kipper three years ago it had the original Eletrolux fridge - 8amps continuous. I guess these things have improved over time!
Click to expand...

Possibly it was an absorption fridge rather than a compressor one? In these the electricity is used to run a heater, so it's far thirstier than just turning a compressor. The benefit is that you can have multiple heating options in the same unit - could yours also run off mains and LPG?

Pete
 
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