Auto cooler

[Chuck S]

Does anyone have one of those ice chest like things that plug into a cigarette lighter to cool/warm? Do they work well? I see Walgreens has one for $30, and I was thinking of buying one, if they work.

Thanks for the input.

 

[TTFN]

I have a Coleman brand. My only complaint is that it turned off when I got stuck in a traffic jam in Atlanta. It turns itself off when the drain on the electrical system is too great. I got an adapter for inside use, and took it into my resort room at WDW to keep yogurt and water cold. Worked really well for that.

 

[powellrj]

I got a small sized one at Target a couple of years ago. If you put something that was already cold inside of it, it would keep it cool for several hours, but it wouldn't make something that was warm cold. I gave it away because it was really more trouble than it was worth for no bigger than mine was.

 

[kbkids]

Our first one just broke last month after using it for 6 years. It is awesome!! We travel alot, and it has made numerous trips with us. Not to mention after hurricanes - plug it into the generator - it was great not having to go out everyday and find ice!! It was well worth the money we paid for it!! We live in October for another trip, and you can bet I'll be buying another one before we leave!!

Just wanted to add - ours was about $80. Don't know if that made a difference on the durability of it or not. I've had several people say that the motor on theirs burned up quickly - don't know if we just got lucky. The motor did burn up on ours, but I figured 6 years was still great. Ours would actually freeze drinks if you set them too close to the cooling agent.

 

[Poohnatic]

I've got one we bought about 5 years ago. It was around 85 dollars at Walmart-a Coleman 1.5 cf. It came with the car plug and an adaptor for home use.

It works great both ways. I've used it on several trips from Maryland to WDW and then I'd use it all Christmas season in my store for my employees.

My son's school in Maryland was 20 miles from my house. On occasion, I'd bring hot lunches to his program's team-and it kept all the food as if it'd just been pulled from the oven.

The cooler is one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Suzanne

 

[kbkids]

I've got one we bought about 5 years ago. It was around 85 dollars at Walmart-a Coleman 1.5 cf. It came with the car plug and an adaptor for home use.

It works great both ways. I've used it on several trips from Maryland to WDW and then I'd use it all Christmas season in my store for my employees.

My son's school in Maryland was 20 miles from my house. On occasion, I'd bring hot lunches to his program's team-and it kept all the food as if it'd just been pulled from the oven.

The cooler is one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Suzanne

That must be the same one I had. It would do hot and cold also. I never used the hot function part of it - but it sure worked awesome for cooling.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I used one for several years when I was on the road constantly as a sales rep. It was so much cheaper to keep drinks and a sandwich cold this way than having to stop and pay fast food or convenience store prices everyday. Can't remember the brand I had though. Since I quit traveling it's been retired to the attic.

 

[sha_lyn]

I've had one for several years. I'm actually on my second 1 now the first started blowing fuses after about 3 years of use. I have one of the bigger ones. It will hold 2 gallons of milk. I also have one of the big coleman's (about the size of a dorm frig) that we use when grocery shopping and traveling.

 

[Honu]

We have a big Coleman one. It's great. We mostly use it as a cooler for the car, but it's also great for parties. During holiday dinners, when the Turkey is taking up most of the oven, I keep finished items like potatoes, bread & veggies in it. It keeps them nice and warm, but doesn't dry them out.

 

[akhenaten]

interesting...do these coolers work when the car is off and parked?

If my Dh drove to his work location and left lunch plugged in would it stay cold/hot? Or would we find the car burned out? hahahha

 

[sha_lyn]

I've noticed that someone (coleman?) now has one that has a battery pack
I can run ours for about 3 hrs without it draining the battery
I have put a cold pack in it and turned it off for longer periods in the car to keep drinks cold on road trips. As long as you don't open it too much it will hold for several hrs (will depend on the outsdie temp). I think the manuals say they will only drop the temp 20 degrees below the outside temp, but I've had milk freeze in one before in the room at ASMu.