Small 12v cool boxes

[William_H]

AH consumption of fridge.

Of course that assumes nothing taken out and nothing put in. The cdf11 in the link looks very much like what I bought. Funny they don't seem to offer the Waeco that we get here in Oz. Mine is made in China but then what isn't these days. I think that little cdf11 would be very good you might be disappointed at size inside but I am sure it will freeze things. My 25 will take 4 x 2litre drink bottle standing up or 6x1.25 l bottle plus a bit of space on the side with less height for food. It is fairly heavy to carry when empty and very heavy when full. I am impressed by the UK price for the cdf11 very similar to what I paid for the 25 but we always seem to be cheaper with less VAT. good luck olewill

 

[LeonF]

My concern is mainly about where I store it on the boat. I would probably use it to just freeze blocks every couple of days to keep the built in cool box chilled, amd maybe the odd ice cube tray for the G & Ts. The luxury of really cold drinks at anchor is unbeatable, one can make gourmet meals out of tins and packets. Interestingly one of the websites selling the CDF 18 says it's the newer model than the CF18 but cheaper because they no longer use a Danfoss compressor but a Waeco badged compressor .... a Danfoss by another name ?

 

[Wunja]

Peltier element cool boxes are not thermostatically controlled. They run contiuously so it will draw 4 amps all the time it is on!

Not only is it drawing 4 amps all the time it is also running a very noise fan.
On dry nights mine gets put out in the cockpit, on wet nights it gets warmer!
Also they only drop the temperature about 10 degrees from ambient. Not a good return for the power and noise.

 

[blackbeard]

I bought a WAECO CF25 for wife for her birthday in Jan. it is a compressor type. .....Now the freezer is actually for the car for camping and picnics. It just runs when the car engine is running.
I do not ever imagine using the Waeco on my 21ft boat.
......
olewill

I have a Waeco CF25 on a 25' boat. First job is finding somewhere to put it which is a challenge even on a 25' boat. You will probably need some device which will keep it firmly in one place, Waeco sell one but it adds to cost.
Battery is just the ordinary 70Ah or so leisure type plus an engine start battery, there's an inboard engine with usual 30 A alternator.
On the whole the arrangement seems OK, but the only time last year when we spent more than one night in the same place, we were in a marina with shore power so could use a battery charger. This was also the only voyage when I felt that the fridge was actually useful (during a trip of 10 days or so). But last summer was notable for lack of very hot weather.
With hindsight the device is useful but not essential, and certainly with a smaller boat I would suggest you don't bother. Drinks bottles left in the freezer will survive in a cool box for 2 or 3 days (in my cool box 2 litres of ice will last about a day) and after that you can manage with stuff that doesn't need to be kept cool (see other posts on this thread). Just remember, when packing the bottles in the freezer, that water expands on freezing ...