am thinking of getting an electric coolbox for camping, anyone got any reccommendations / are they any good?
A lot of them state cool to 18-20 degrees below ambient, which probably ok for the UK but for france on a hot day might not be enough so i guess you need to supplement with ice packs.... so is it actually worth it, or just use a normal non elec cool box and ice packs?
How long do non elec ones keep cool with ice packs in, do you need to replace them each day?
I could get an elec one which goes colder (tropicool boxes say 30 degrees below ambient, and mobicool C40 is a small compressor fridge which states cools between 10 deg c to -15 deg c but costs a bit more at £160)
Planning on using it abroad next summer so need something that can cope with camping in france.
cheers
Are you camping with hookup? If so, get a compressor fridge, they're great
We've just got [url= http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/campingaz-powerbox-24l-12-230v-p403583 ]this basic Campingaz one (£60 GoOutdoors)[/url].
As you say it only does -18 from ambient which is usually fine for UK use. Runs off 240v or 12v which is a handy feature as it means you can run it off the car if required.
If you are in a tent then the other thing to think about will be the noise as it'll be running all night not far from your head. I'd imagine the compressor fridges are a bit noisier.
I have one of those Outwell Ecocool ones... Can't really fault it for what it is, does the job. It's not very big though, so if you're after keeping a couple of slabs of stella cold, then it's not what you want!
It's a bit top-heavy too as all the gubbins are in the lid. So it has a tendency to topple if there's not much in it.
I have it plugged in in the back of the van, it's pretty quiet.
We found that putting a block of ice in the bottom of the electric cool box always helped keep it at a low enough temperature - the ice melted slowly but defintitely helped. It also meant we could turn it off overnight as they're quite noisy.
Also, get it down to the temperature you want at home before you go and if you're going to put coke etc in there always try and buy pre-chilled stuff.
We've used one in France on holidays for a while as an extra beer fridge. I'd say 20 degrees below ambient is about right, so OK for beer when the temp is 30 degrees. If you put stuff that's already cold into it, rather than expecting it to chill it down, then you may be OK.
It's been a while since I used a standard coolbox when camping, but we always replaced the ice packs each day
yeah we'll have a elec hookup.
IHN what sort of compressor fridge have you got?
Was just thinking could maybe get a normal tabletop fridge as they're only about £80-100 in Argos / amazon and fairly small.
Its a pretty big tent so hopefully noise shouldnt be too bad...
There's two kinds of electric ones. Compressor or peltier. You can tell the difference by the price. We've got the cheaper peltier and its OK. As above, put cold stuff into it and supplement with ice packs when you have a chance and it keeps pretty cold. We pop a couple of water bottles in the freezer then use those as ice packs. Has the added bonus of giving you a very cold drink when you get too hot. They use quite a lot electric so we only powered it while driving until I fitted a leisure battery. We never use a hook up though
Small domestic fridge is a good option too. Way cheaper than a camping fridge. You can run them from an invertor while driving too but you'll need a good one
Aldi just had a 40ltr coolbox that runs off 12v or 220v for £40.
We bought one and used it camping in Orkney for a week. Worked very well.
Some stores might still have them.
Small domestic fridge is a good option too. Way cheaper than a camping fridge.
Don't most domestic fridges recommend that you leave them to settle for 24 hours before starting them or has that technology moved on since I last bought a fridge?
Don't most domestic fridges recommend that you leave them to settle for 24 hours before starting them or has that technology moved on since I last bought a fridge?
Not sure, i never used to do that anyway and never had a fridge pack up ...yet,,,! It will be upright in the car on the journey so hopefully wold be ok
Might not matter for smaller fridges. I think it is something to do with the coolant sloshing about in transit.
Aldi were doing small tabletop fridges a month for about £60 or something which I considered for longer holidays. Wish I'd bought one, but I guess they're only good when you're hooked upto the mains as it wont run on 12v.
I got a sub £100 coolbox one - Outwell I think. Fine for milk and things like that, doesn't refrigerate so much rather than just keeps things cool and protect them from the outside temp. Basically has some fans which circulates the air, not sure if it even chills the air. Not really cold enough to chill beers or wine. Probably just better off with a bucket of water with some ice in it for that.
I've hired a full size fridge freezer when i've been camping Spain before, check with the camp site to see if they offer that sort of thing before buying and transporting an actual fridge.
I also have an electric cool box (camping Gaz one) which like the OP says is ok in this country but struggles abroad in hot weather.
I'll probably be buying something like this http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/quest-atlantic-3-way-chest-p371770 when I get a van, and therefore a bit more space...as it can be run on gas so useful in this country without a hook up.
Not really cold enough to chill beers or wine
Well, they're not "fridge cold" but ale and white wine shouldn't be that cold anyway...
Dometic ACX40 runs of 240/12 or gas. £250 it's a bit more than aldi version. Its' not a compressor type instead it's an Absorption fridge, silent in use. the 12v is only for transport though, it draws about 10A on 12, 240v has a thermostat, gas use should be in a ventilated area. Works for us!
How long do non elec ones keep cool with ice packs in, do you need to replace them each day?
A bit of a how long is a piece of string question.
How well designed it is.
How well insulated it is.
What you put in it (and the starting temp).
How often you open it.
Where you leave it.
All affect it. You can certainly keep things cold without electric if you want to.
Surely some of the attraction of camping is living a simple life without this sort of stuff.
Surely some of the attraction of camping is living a simple life without this sort of stuff.
True it's simpler to eat at the pub every night if that's what you mean.
I got a sub £100 coolbox one - Outwell I think. Fine for milk and things like that, doesn't refrigerate so much rather than just keeps things cool and protect them from the outside temp. Basically has some fans which circulates the air, not sure if it even chills the air.
I would hope that the fans are actually blowing air over the hot side of a [url= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling ]Peltier element[/url]. You should see something like a finned heatsink under it.
Surely some of the attraction of camping is living a simple life without this sort of stuff.
Yes but bacon and cold beer are also attractions.
Got the Halfords electric one in a sale. Works fine, stick some blue ice blocks in to fill it to help keep it cool, run it off the car's electrics, remembering to keep fans clear then no electricity on site. Stayed reasonably cool over a weekend with no hook-up but keeping it in the car to run when the car was being used.
Camping in France - I hire one from the site. It's a bit pricey, but it works properly (and I couldn't put a price on ice cold drinks last year) and more importantly you don't lose a chunk of boot space taking it there. All the ones I've seen are too small to be useful or too big to get in the van with everything else.
True it's simpler to eat at the pub every night if that's what you mean.
No that's not what I meant.