ProudGrandma Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 I want to buy one of these....if they actually are what they appear to be.... here is an example....but we aren't settled on any one specific yet. electric cooler If you have one that you like can you tell me more about that...and which one you own? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 We had one many years ago for camping. And it did work well. We could keep everything so nice and cold, and then when we arrived at camp (we tent camped with the kids but in state and national parks with electric hook up), would plug it in to a twelve volt adapter with an extension cord, and sit it in the shade. We just eventually outgrew it with the four kids in tow and often camping in Canada so we were taking quite a bit of food with us. We upgraded to a small camping refrigerator which we packed with food and dh powered through a 12v inverter in the van, and then could be run with an extension cord at camp. Now, because we often van camp in lovely National Forest campgrounds with no electrical hookup, we have a large Artic cooler. We take frozen foods and place on the bottom with ice packs, and place thawed foods and condiments on top. Pack around it all with ice. I make little ice blocks on the freezer from small, Mylar bags. That Mylar really works. It keeps everything for court six days without having to buy any ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 This won’t be much help, but friends have visited our house with one. I am a bit envious of it. I think we have hosted them Dec 2019 and April 2021 with their same cooler. They say it works really well, but I don’t know what brand. They do not have an app control. When they come here, their food isn’t raw meat or potato salad, but they travel with cheese, sodas, fruit etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 I haven’t tried one in ten years, but the last one melted the plug in the car and caught on fire for about 15 seconds. We went back to a better old fashioned cooler after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 We had an igloo brand one for years that worked well except in ultra hot Texas summer temps. I don’t remember how much it cost, but for the price of the one you linked I would rather get one of the super insulated coolers, such as a Yeti or Rtic, and use ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmom Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 (edited) There is a difference between a thermoelectric cooler and a portable compressor fridge/freezer. The igloo mentioned above would have been thermoelectric. The best brands are Dometic and ARB, but they are $$$. I have 2 off brands like what you linked above. Ausranvik 26-Quart Portable... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DNNMY58?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share ICECO GO20 Dual Zone Portable... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07THMM1CK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share They both serve their purpose well. Mine go down to zero degrees—and they both do a good job of keeping stuff frozen. My only regret is not getting a bigger Iceco. I originally bought them (Black Friday deal) because we get both hurricanes and tornadoes where I live and deal with extended power outages. I can run these for days off a fully charged Jackery (plus solar panel). I use them both all the time now—way more than I thought I would. The smaller Iceco is a potato fridge set at 50 degrees. The bigger one stays in my car along with the Jackery so on hot days I can put cold/frozen stuff from grocery shopping and still run other errands. Every time I go to Costco I wish I had bought a bigger one. I can’t fit the street tacos in either one of mine. 😂😭First world problems. Anyway, they are fabulous for long road trips, camping, etc. The Iceco is the better of the two. It has the Danfoss/Secop compressor and better build quality, but they both get the job done. 🙂 @kfeusse the brand you linked wasn’t around when I bought mine several years ago, but I’m sure it’s fine. I think so many of these are made with the same components in the same factories and just rebranded. Edited June 19, 2022 by popmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABmom Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 We had one a long time ago. It worked well. It wasn’t crazy expensive- but this was 10+ years ago, so no apps or anything. Just a cooler that plugged into the cigarette lighter! Anyway, if they worked well that long ago, I’m sure they have only gotten better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 We have one although I don't remember the brand (it's packed away in the basement at the moment). It works well enough. The big things is don't' over pack it, it really needs to be able to circulate the air. Also I always made sure to pack any fresh veggies as far from the fan as possible as sometimes they would freeze. But it is definitely better than having to deal with ice packs/bags of ice on a multi day trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 We had one when we traveled in Africa. It was standard camping equipment when we rented a truck that was outfitted to camp. I remember being like, what in the what is this! But it worked pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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