Cool box recommendations please.

[Aliwren]

I am off 'car' camping at the end of may for 4 days and looking for a coolbox to keep bacon, beer etc cool. Does anyone have experience of a cool box they can recommend? Are the ones which plug in and run off the car battery worth the extra money? Are gas ones any good? The only review I could find rates this one highly.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...ategoryId_33951_crumb__parentcategoryrn_33951

I would appreciate any advice/recommendations/things to look for/avoid.

Edit - this is the review I found: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/67696/cool_boxes.html

 

[FGYT]

you may already know but the ones that plug into the car will run your battery flat in a few hours if the engine isn't running so only any good while travelling then its just a cool box so ice packs help

if you want to run other times gas ones are good But expensive and normally a lot bigger and bulky Mine was £400 and runs mains 12v and gas but only practical in a big estate or my old van ( 2 crates of beer and milk n bacon ) though it did freeze a 2ltr bottl of coke solid over night when it was up against the internal heat exchanger and on full (does come with an ice tray for Pimms)

ATB

Duncan

 

[twisted firestarter]

I have successfully run a cheapo cool box off a solar panel. The panel cost about 10 times more than the cool box but all in about £150. It was a few years ago but I remember thinking that a timer switch would be a good idea to give the motor a rest from time to time.

A cheaper and simpler way of keeping food and drink cool is to take a large terracotta pot, turn it upside down and placing it in a slightly larger tray then fill the tray with water. Place your provisions under the pot on a raised surface to keep them dry. The Egyptians and Romans used this method to keep things cool.

 

[Celt_Ginger]

When I go car camping with the family, I just buy everything fresh each day. I think Lidl are selling 12v cool boxes this week for about £26.00 and they are fine. Cured meats like bacon keep reasonably well, and a pint of milk will be fine kept unchilled for a day. as for beer? Well, try and camp near a Pub

 

[Old Timer]

I bought a 12v coolbox from Woolworths about 2 years ago and it has run faultlessly whenever i've needed it.
I used to carry an old car battery in a purpose built wooden box. Whenever I stopped and left the vehicle for any length of time I would connect the coolbox to it.
This made sure that the car battery wasn't drained.

 

[TheMagicalBadger]

I have 2 systems:

- for lazy car camping I use a very very big coolbox and pad the bottom/sides and top with extra polystyrene. Then have silly numbers of cool blocks frozen for a week in super deep freeze at home. With this I have kept things frozen for 3 days, and on day 4 it's still fridge temperature or below. One of the tricks here is to plan what I'll eat on what day and make sure the stuff for days 3 and 4 are right at the bottom with extra sheet of polystyrene sealing them off. Also it's important how you store the cool box, the best results i've had were actually in the car (with sunroof and windows open a crack) raised off the floor with another piece of polystyrene, then a blanket put over it and finally sheets of newspaper to reflect the sun away (im sure alu foil would be good too). If you don't have many cool blocks, then freeze a 1L carton of orange juice, milk for days 3+ or any other liquids you might want later in your trip as then you're not wasting space with blocks you have to take home again.

- when I actually have to carry stuff, then I just change what I am going to eat - only have perishables on the first and 2nd night with the 2nd night's stuff sealed in a little box I make out of polystrene with a teeny cool block in the middle. I then wrap this in clothing or sleeping bag in the rucksack which keeps it well insulated. There are plenty of foods you can take that dont need to be kept ice cold and will keep for ages- carrots, potatoes, onions, can of corned beef (mmm love corned beef hash cooked on open fire).

If you have running water near-by you can put things in a waterproof bag and just leave them in a stream - it's going to be close to fridge temperature.

 

[Joethefish]

Not sure how relevant this is but... I use a Engel 40lt its not cheap and designed for overland trekking its also BIG (but they do smaller models) It will run off 12v or 240v and will freeze or refrigerate. I also have a shut off thingy (also by engel) that turns the fridge off if the battery drops to 11.5v (my starting limit) However if i set it to the temp it will be used at for the drive to wherever im going it will then maintain this temp for approx 12hours before the battery gives out. Then it will stay cool for a few hours more. I also have a second battery for it which kinda stops the worry of starting problems. Mind you this fridge freezer sees a lot of use! So was worth the £400 cost (if your interested contact mps4x4 sorry cant remember their web address)
Before this i used a halfords jobbie, it was ok but didn't like being full of stuff, ate my battery in no time (about two hours if left on) and would only cool to about 20 degrees below ambiant temp obviously in a 25 degree heat on full wack this meant it was about 5 degrees inside.. which is fine but put it in a hot car on a hot day and it was not so good... also took a long time to reach cool, which my engel doesn't. I still have it but dont use it.
I'll offer it free now to anyone interested...(cost £50) assuming i can find it however i wont promise it still works or even hazard a guess at how clean it is.. has been sat in the shed with some old camping gear stuffed inside it for over a year.
Lastly i used to have a Coleman cool box, it cost £40 from a camping show and was huge (think taking up most the back seat) it was blue with white lid, dont remember the exact model, but it kept things cold especially if you kept it stocked with ice/freezer packs. After 4 days away i would have some very cold water and still some ice in it. Wish i hadn't got rid of it really.
So my suggestion is if its gonna get a lot of use and you can afford it shell out for something posh from Engel (Waeco also make similar products and have a good rep) if not get a quality cool box and spend a few quid on some ice packs. Cant comment on how far the cheaper plug in things have gone technology wise and have never used a gas one.
Cheers
Joe

 

[Aliwren]

Thanks for all of the great advice these some really good tips and experiences there. I have planned the camping to be near 3 pubs!!! just nice to have a back up plan

I was wondering if a good quality box with loads of ice was a better option than one with a chiller lid. cant really stretch to the expensive ones however!!!

Joethefish if you find the Halfords box and it still works I am interested!!

 

[Joethefish]

No worries will have a scout tonight for you... will post back on here with the results!
Joe

 

[British Red]

Aliwren,

This is a simple tip but a few of the guys who've been out base camping with me can validate its efficacy - freeze your liquids before travel. I use an basic insulated box. Rather than carry those freezer packs, I often take a couple of 2 litre milk containers frozen. A couple of bottles of wine too (buy screw tops and pour out half a glass first as it expands as it freezes and might explode). I even freeze stuff like bacon and other meats. Take out what you want for brekkie the night before and it thaws over night. In cool weather I've had milk frozen two days later and still cool and good after three.

Red

 

[Aliwren]

Aliwren,

This is a simple tip but a few of the guys who've been out base camping with me can validate its efficacy - freeze your liquids before travel. I use an basic insulated box. Rather than carry those freezer packs, I often take a couple of 2 litre milk containers frozen. A couple of bottles of wine too (buy screw tops and pour out half a glass first as it expands as it freezes and might explode). I even freeze stuff like bacon and other meats. Take out what you want for brekkie the night before and it thaws over night. In cool weather I've had milk frozen two days later and still cool and good after three.

Red

Thanks British Red I will give that a go - I am taking it that the 'couple of bottles of wine' are essential for the whole process to work correctly so will follow your advice to the letter!!

Joethefish - thanks for the offer I have however now sourced a standard cool box and will try freezing the stuff..

 

[Joethefish]

No worries think you probably made the right choice.. however if anyone is interested have dug the halfrauds thingy out the shed.. stinks a fair bit and has some rust and damp stains inside, outside definately needs a good clean! Cant comment if it works as i havn't tried it yet.. mainly due to the fact my cigarette lighter in the discovery no longer works.. but up for grabs should anyone be passing the midlands.
Joe