Feedback from Fran reposted:
Thank you for your feedback, Fran. However we moved this post from the article section to the forum thread Appliances for TrucksWe bought the 12 volt cooler a while back from Road Trucker and it is a great asset.
The article section is for a more thorough review that focuses on the product.
Last edited by Marie; 11-13-2012 at 10:54 PM. Reason: products
hey Fran or marie.. im planning to buy a 12volt product to my trucker friend for thanksgiving day and thought 12 volt cooler may be of good choice. which would you recommend? You mentiond you bought 1 from Roadtrucker.. can you tell me what it is?
are you looking fr just a cooler to chill drinks? because you can get a temp-controlled one which is a combination of cooler and warmer. Most of the time i go for the medium size koolatron. Its very convenient i don't have to worry at all so long I have it in my bunk.Originally Posted by pigpaw
a cooler is fine but i like the idea of both cooler and a warmer. can you recommend one? thanks.
You can go for koolatron thinline cooler-warmer if you got small space. I think it's around 18-quart only. But if not, an utra large heater box is also available.
the summit is 12 volt but yeah, if price matters, i would pick koolatron.
Hi,hapon A-z
12 Volt Beverage Coolers is a good choice from our large selection of compact appliances. 12 Volt portable cooler and warmer products are designed to safely, conveniently and inexpensively keep you and your foods and beverage cool or warm when heat or cold is a problem.You can Use to it at home, at the office or when you are on-the-go.12 Volt coolers and warmers will heat or cool your lunch and beverage; whichever you prefer. 12 Volt Coolers in your car, RV or truck when traveling by using the supplied DC power cord that plugs into your cigarette lighter socket.12 Volt coolers and warmers keeps the contents at your desired temperature with just the right wine cooler, thermoelectric cooler or combination unit by Koolatron. "When the temperature rises and the heat becomes unbearable" Koolatron 12 Volt coolers, beverage cooler, thermoelectric cooler and other cooling products in your vehicle are simple and effective ways to help keep you and your car cool.
Just to clarify a little. The 12 volt heater boxes do NOT cool. They are not designed to cool. They are only designed to heat and are used to keep cooked food warm while you bring it from one place to another.
Personally I do NOT recommend that you use a cooler/warmer for heating, especially on the road. First it takes forever to heat it up and second it tends to be a breeding ground for bacteria and being on the road, it is not quit as easy to make sure it gets cleaned properly right away. There are several products that do well for heating food. I like the Power Hunt appliances, especially the microwave, but not everyone can hook up their needed power port. A real popular item with truckers is the 300 degree stove. It is a small lunchbox type appliance that you can use aluminum insert trays to help you control any potential bacterial, in the stove itself.
As for cooling food, you basically have 3 type of products.
1. The cooler or cooler/warmer. Most coolers will do both simply by reversing the plug. We at RoadTrucker tend not to advertise the warming part for the above reasons. The cooler is NOT a refrigerator and does not work like a refrigerator., It does not have a compressor. The 12 volt coolers have 2 dissimilar plates in them. When you apply a DC voltage one plate draws heat from the other. Hence switching polarity will cause the cooler to heat instead of cool. As far as cooling, a cooler will cool based on the ambient temperature and usually can cool somewhere between 35 and 45 degrees below that ambient. So if a cooler is left in a hot vehicle with the sun beating down, and the temperature can get to 120 or 130 degrees, the cooler will only be able to maintain an approximate temperature of 80 to 90 degrees F. Coolers are fairly inefficient and will operate 100% of the time drawing between 3 and 4 amps (36 to 48 watts). They also tend to frost up if the ambient is about 70 degrees or lower. They use to last for 5 or even 10 years, but the newer models tend to only last 2 or 3 years. Most have a 90 day warranty, but Koolatron, Igloo, Coleman and others have a 1 year warranty on some of their models.
A cooler works fairly well if you can keep it within it's ambient operating range. They work very well for bringing cold food to a family outing, etc. Coolers were not designed to cool food from room temperature, although they can do it, it generally takes at least 3 hours and probably more like 4 or 5.
The cost is about $40 to $200 for the Koolatron KCR40B "Super Kool ACDC Refrigerator", which is a little bit misleading, as it is still uses thermoelectric technology, although it may very well be the best. It is a bit of a hybrid, as it does have a little refrigerant in it.
The KCR40B uses a higher capacity heat pump unit in conjunction with what they call heat pipe technology to provide higher performance. A heatpipe is a tube containing a small quantity of refrigerant under low pressure. At one end of the tube heat produced by the heat pump boils the refrigerant into vapor. This vapor moves rapidly to the other end of the tube where the vapor is condensed back into liquid form, from where the refrigerant drains back to the boiler. Due to the low pressure, the temperature of the heat pipe is only a little above ambient temperature. Still a cooler? A real refrigerator? You tell me..)
2. The 2nd type is the temperature controlled cooler. These have the added advantage of being able to shut off once they reach a set temperature, so they do not tend to frost up, even if the ambient is fairly cool. Since they do not operate all the time, they are also a little more efficient then a standard 12 volt cooler. However, keep in mind that they are still coolers and even if you set the temperature for 40 degrees, they will not be able to reach it, if the ambient is 100% F or hotter. The also tend to cool about 45 to even 50 degree below the ambient, so there is better performance. You can buy these with a factory set temperature or with a temperature you can set. I refer to these as a poor man's refrigerator. They are generally used by labs and for carrying medications, but they will work a lot better as a cooler for keeping your food cool. Price ranges from $300 to $400. They all have a 1 year warranty.
3. The 3d type is a real 12 volt refrigerator, which is obvious the best choice for cooling food. Unlike the cooler, these tend to be very efficient and they will not only cool your room temperature food, fairly quickly, they will also make ice, about as fast as your home refrigerator will. These have compressors in them with refrigerant. Most use a Danfoss compressor, which is a rotary compressor, but the best of the best, which is the Engel uses a piston like compressor known as a Swing compressor. These can get a bit pricy, but they also hold up for decades and are very efficient, so they make a very good choice for the long hauler or anyone else that wants reliability. Prices are from about $550 to $1600 for a larger unit. Warranty is 2 years.
RoadTrucker has an ex****ent selection on all 3 types, as well as more information, videos, manuals and a FAQ and technical page for all 3 types. If interested click on the "Truck Products" link at the top of the forum. All of our product pages have a 12 Volt Cooler and Engel Fridge/Freezer button at the top.
Last edited by Admin; 07-03-2013 at 12:57 AM.
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I bought one of the 12 volt fridges from a petro . I think it was 270 bucks . 48 can capacity ? Well any way it works very well . glad I spent that money . I have it on top bunk and it is way hot up there and it still keeps everything cold . sliced melon lasts all week and that spoils fast if not kept cold . I fill it up with a week worth of food I prepare at home . Best thing I have bought so far . Well that 12 volt lunch box oven is great also . great 35 buck investment . Bakes a potato. 350 degrees . I never go without hot meal and cold snacks . Saves me a bundle of cash on meals .
Oh and kind of an appliance i guess... i bought a 12 volt water pump for 30 bucks I think from harbor freight tools . mounted it on back of truck . Mounted a 5 gallon gas can painted black . filled with water . Gets very hot in day time . ran a garden hose to it and one from pump with shower head on it . After I unload for a few hours in hot sun I just put on short pants and use no rinse body wash ( undiluted ) and shower it off . Stay nice and fresh that way . Pump was a great buy.
Might add in that I haul grain and that ddg is a lot of hard sweaty work to pound out of trailer . You either shower or stink like cow and there aint no truck stop in the middle of no where nor do you make enough money to pay 12.00 for a shower , just sayin'
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