Thermo Electric CoolBox - any good?

Roach1948

Roach1948

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The recent spate of warm weather has alerted me to the undisputed fact that I am partial to a cold beer or two!

I have tiny cockpit lockers, and would like to fit a small cooler in one of them before I bed the locker surrounds down. I was wondering whether I should go for a thermo-electric number that I can run on 12v /240v when the engine is running/shore power to give the ice-packs a hand?

Do they actually work? And if they do, can anybody recommend one that is small, cheap and effective?
 
They do work, but best to put cold beers in, it may keep them that way, as to cooling them down in a hotish summer, doubtful.
A small compressor coolbox/fridge would be a much better investment. IMHO
 
[ QUOTE ]
I was wondering whether I should go for a thermo-electric number that I can run on 12v /240v when the engine is running/shore power to give the ice-packs a hand?

[/ QUOTE ] I assume you mean the ones based on a peltier element. They do work but will take forever to cool much down so fill with precooled stuff and "freezer packs".
If you make provision to accomodate a portable one you fill it at home from the fridge and keep it plugged into the car lighter socket for the journey otherwise not really practical.

They need to be kept running contiuously, mine draws 4 amps.

I advise against the cheap ones like mine!, buy the best you can afford or you will probably regret it. Cheap and effective are not two qualities you normally find together.
 
Agree with VicS. Generally, they work fine, especially if you can load 'em with pre-chilled stuff. Less power efficient that compressor fridges, but if you're engine's running that's probably not an issue. Also and won't get your beer quite so cold, but obviously they cost a fraction of the price. They're a tad more portable, too.

Unwise to run any type of fridge/coolbox in a confined space. The heat removed from the beer has to go somewhere, so effectively you're proposing to heat your locker...which means the cooler has to work harder...which means it generates more heat...
 
Jimbo's cold beer tip :

Stick em in a net and lower them overboard.
I gave up on the electric coolbox. Kept stuff cool that was already cool, but won't chill anything. Now everything, including milk and butter, goes overboard in a waterproof bag.
 
Had a look at these and they are not small and I have a space issue. More expensive than a domestic fridge actually - so not entirely sure whether they can be described as an "invstetment", but I suppose a cold beer is a good return.
 
All in all my suspicions are sort of reinforced. Maybe it is just easier to go for a decent non-electric cool box and pack it well at home and sail to a pub when the beers get warm.
 
We bought one but soon realised that to get much benefit out of it you need to do a lot of motoring or be plugged in to marina sockets.

It will probably end up under the stairs along with other gadgets that seemed essential when you bought them but turn out not to be, e.g. juicer, Foreman grill, Teasmade, excercise bike, electric carving knife, veg steamer etc.
 
Twisterowner - you have sold it to me. I am also a victim of a juicer - such a pain to clean.

Old fashioned boat, Old fashioned beer: The simple solution is to drink warm bitter.
 
To get one to work as others have said items need to be pre-cooled, etc etc. The expensive ones are the only ones which work.

Your best bet is to build your own with a proper compressor it works out cheaper

Have fun
 
And when you have accumulated all this junk you can have a fun [?] day-out at a car-boot sale and dump it on someone else! Although that can be failure sometimes - last time I went to one the only thing I sold was the pasting table on which I was displaying my stuff. The bloke on the next stand bought it from me so he could display even more of his worthless tat.
 
They are pretty well useless. If you must drink cold beer fit a Waeco compressor unit or better still drink real ale warm.
 
You have got a problem! the cheap Peltier coolboxes do work but take hours from ambient to really cold, and in doing so use about 60 watts, so you will need the engine running or shore power unless you want to pull down the battery voltages.
On the other hand the compressor type cost about 7 times as much but use a quarter of the juice, and work intermittently so the drain on the batteries is far less.
or.. you could consider some lateral thinking...
1. Proper Bitter is drunk from the can warm, and if you like it slightly cooled you can put the tinnies in a mesh bag and hang over the side.
2. Train the SWMBO and visitors to drink red wine which does not have to be cooled.
3. If you feel that seriously about it - sell the boat and buy a pub!
 
Rather than using special icepacks (eg the ones with the blue gel stuff within) just fill lots of 500 ml PET bottles (eg like what Coca cola comes in) with ordinary water and freeze them.
Pack the ice-box with them, and they should easily keep it cool for a weekend or longer in your climate.
Even works well here in the Windies!
And as they melt you have a constant supply of chilled water to drink.
You could also freeze 1 litre bricks of milk and fruit juice at home to take with you on the boat.
If you want to keep provisions cool for a longer period, you could consider adding extra insulation around the outside of the portable cool box.
And if the cool box is exposed to the sun, covering it with a damp towel will have a dramatic effect re keeping the contents cool for longer.
 
The are good and bad as far as I was concerned. Mine works fine, yes you need to put pre-cooled stuff in, but it keeps it very cold. Mine also has a warmer.

The downside for me was the noise. It has a bl@@dy fan that is quite loud, running constantly. I wanted to use it as a second fridge, but could not sleep with it running all night.
 
I use a good old fashioned cool box, without a plug or battery. To top up the coldness I pop the small gas cannisters from the portable stove in there after making a brew, they are nicely cold after five mins of losing gas at full tilt. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The more tea I drink in the day - the colder the beer and chardonnay is for the evening.
/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

A 12v ice machine might be nice though. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I agree with ccscott (your first reply). Thermoelectric are a bit pathetic and the small compressor types are brilliant. I have a small Engel that you can carry over your shoulder (heavy, though) and will pull down to -18C - i.e. freezer if you want. It only draws a couple of Amps. Magic. £200+ but it really works and is great in the car as well.
 
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