I’m thinking of the 240v/12v peltier type ‘active cooler box type’?
They seem to vary a fair bit in price, but does price or brand make much difference to actual performance?
Try a Forum Search until other replies come in, because there are a number of very detailed threads on fridges, different types, for & against etc, many with full specifications.
I don’t even know what a “peltier” type is, so I can’t advise.
We have one of these as they are a relatively cheap way to get stuff to site and keep it cool. But it does have some drawbacks.
The peltier is basically a system where an electrical current cools (or heats) a component. Fans also draw air out of the box. It uses quite a lot of power to achieve this, so needs either a 240v supply or a constant 12v (like a running engine) supply. Connected to a battery or power bank, it will quickly drain that device.
What we do to maximise ours is:
Freeze items to take in advance
Freeze a number of ice packs
Run it at home for about a day before we go, swapping over ice packs to get it "down to temperature"
Pack it last in the van before setting off
Plugged into the running engine on our outward drive.
Regard it as a cool box with a little help
Expect to pay around £50 for one and they are generally similar as it’s an established quite cheap technology. Aldii and Lidl are likely to have them in stock very soon, as they have been there the last couple of years in the lead up to summer.
If you can afford to spend a bit more, a budget compressor fridge will cool much more efficiently. You can get them online from about £150 upwards to four figures. The capacity of the cheaper ones is less, so take a close look at the dimensions to ensure you can fit everything you need. On the plus side for space, these fridges won't need ice packs and many have a freezer function too.
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Sorry I’ll try a search, peltier is the name given to the common technology which most plastic active cooler boxes use to remove heat from inside the box. It is cheap and simple but uses a lot of power to do quite little.
I just wondered whether it was worth spending more?
I've got a couple of Peltier electric coolboxes from many years back, a 3-way (Mains, 12v and gas) camping fridge that I've had a good few years now, and a more recent 12v/240v compressor camping fridge.
The Peltier coolboxes really don't get used on camping trips anymore, only picnics/days out where the 'electric cooling' extends the life of iceblocks for an hour or two in a hot car. The 3 way fridge has been used on all 3 power sources, but is now reserved for camping 'off grid' these days where it runs on gas. The compressor fridge gets used in the car on 12v if I need a 'proper' fridge/freezer, or on mains in the caravan if I need more fridge/freezer space than the inbuilt fridge provides.
FirstClassMale's description of Peltier Coolboxes as 'Coolboxes with a little help' is spot on. Really not a great improvement on an ordinary coolbox. Sort of OK at extending life of iceblocks by a hour or two but little other benefit.
They draw a LOT of power, too much to be run off a 12v battery (you need the vehicle engine running - most have a battery protection device, so they won't run for more than minutes before they shut down due to dragging the battery voltage below cut off point!). They take 'forever' to cool down. The fan is often too noisy to want the thing in a tent with you and running off EHU when you want to sleep. They can only ever cool to 18C below ambient because that's the limit of the Peltier technology - in a tent with sun on it, that can easily mean internal temp can reach 14-16C, which is no good (unsafe!) for perishable foods. I'd never buy one now. Far better off investing the cost in a REALLY good Igloo or Icytek passive cool box that has far better insulation and can keep iceblocks frozen for days if not opened too frequently.
It depends how you like to camp, but I consider a proper fridge near essential for my kind of camping, it cuts down on your shopping trips, which otherwise would be near daily for perishables, it extends what you can store too, as part used stuff is OK for days on end. And of course, the really important stuff, wine and beer are properly chilled! Even though I've got my 12v/240v compressor fridge/freezer, I won't get rid of my 3-way fridge as the running on gas feature still makes it useful on some trips.
Of your 3 options.
Peltier Coolbox. Not very good at cooling - can't really maintain safe (0-4C) storage of perishables. Not suitable to running off 12v battery. Noisy fan. Expensive for a near 'ordinary' coolbox.
3-Way fridge. Absorption technology the same as many caravan/MH fridges, with 'heaters' as the driving force. 'Proper' fridge that can safely store perishables. Consumes too much power to be run on 12v battery alone, but fine with vehicle engine running, no thermostat on 12v so running flat out. Can't be run on gas inside a closed space (main room of a tent - but ok in a isolated from main room unsealed (open or no SIG) porch), no thermostat on gas but 2 power settings. Full thermostatic control on 240v power. Silent running so not intrusive if in main tent. Moderate cost new, but s/h not much risk as no moving parts and very reliable.
Compressor Fridge. Proper fridge, and most will also freeze. Relatively low power demand so can be run off 12v battery for 2 or more days with judicious use. Quite expensive for 'Chinese' obscure brands to VERY expensive for premium brands!
4th option! A really good quality Igloo or Icytek type passive coolbox. No thermostatic control, so variable temps. Can keep ice/iceblocks frozen for days with limited opening! Quite expensive. Requires replacement/replenishment of iceblocks/ice every few days.
Thank you everyone for your responses and sorry for raising yet another cooler box thread, I did do a search following Fiona W’s comment and immediately realised that there were more than enough threads! Again, sorry.
I really need it for keeping milk, bacon and sausages in a fit stat for a couple of days so your cool box idea may be OK.
I’ve been spoiled by a three way fridge and ice box for too long!
It is expensive for a thermo-electric coolbox, however, it is able to cool to 30degC below ambient whereas the cheaper ones would only cool to 20degC or so below ambient - BIG difference for food safety point of view when meats even bacon need to be kept below 8degC to be safe.
I had camped in a tent when the ambient temperature outside was above 25deg, even hotter inside the tent, and my cheapo thermo-electric coolbox struggled even when I kept it in the shade outside my tent. I had to supplement the cooling with ice packs!
If money is no object, and one can lift the weight, then I would strongly recommend a compressor fridge freezer. I can just about lift a 35L or so compressor fridge freezer when it is empty, hence it is not suitable for me as I camp on my own.
Nowadays, I take a 28L cheapo thermo-electric coolbox from Lidl to keep drinks and salad stuff chilled, as my van's fridge with a small freezer compartment would freeze the latter when it is nice and cold for storing meats.
All based on my own experience and preferences etc...
DK
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I used to use a Coleman xtreme, it's a passive cool box with a drain plug so you just put 1kg bags of supermarket ice cubes in and drain the melt water out. Worked very well, the ice would last 5 days if I didn't put anything uncooled in. If putting warm beer in it would need ice every other day.
Compressor boxes are best though if you have the budget, they are cheaper than they used to be.
Thank you Fleck2 and Ewen c, its good to hear of your experiences, whilst cost matters, payload is the greater challenge for me which may sadly preclude the compressor fridge idea.
Our pettier was always intended as a short term solution. I had all other ideas/combinations which may be useful to consider. This was all rendered moot by catastrophic engine failure of our van.
Ultimately, I wanted to have a domestic fridge running off the van power. It would either have been running unmodified via an invertor on 220v or a combination aided by YouTube vids where the thermostat was 12v.
As a temporary measure, we kept using the 12v cool box but also purchased (Aldi again) an ice maker.
The ice maker was £59 and then connected to our Vtoman power bank via the invertor. Not only were we then able to top up the ice in the cool box when parked up on sites, we had ice on demand for drinks. It had very little power draw and once the ice cubes were produced (about 20 minutes) it could be switched off again.
So you could essentially buy a good non powered cool box as others have recommended and have the ice maker to supplement its cooling.
------------- J3 TUL if you see it on a site come and say hi
I would take another look at compressor cool boxes before ruling them out.
Some of the cheaper 20l compressor fridges start from £130 and can be run from leisure batteries or expensive vtoman\jackery\bluetti power packs. Some reportedly use about 6amp hours a day so something like a 100ah DCHouse lifepo4 battery (£150) would run it easily for a fair while. They can cool very quickly 32c to 2c in 8 minutes.
If you are spending big and at all concerned about manufacturers support, warrantees etc., choose brand and supplier carefully.
There is a lot of cheap Chinese stuff on the market (I mean sold by Chinese brands, rather than simply manufactured in China for a big name, as most is), with not a lot of hope of any backup. That will be solely on the good will of the retailer, and potentially a struggle.
There are 'grey' imports of well known brands that the manufacturers are not interested in, because it was purchased through a non-approved outlet, and/or out of intended market area. A few of us on here bought Mobicool fridge-freezers from Amazon Germany a few years back, at a VERY good price. One was faulty on delivery, and the buyer had a Devil of a job getting either a refund or a fix, not sure that it resolved well in the end! - Amazon were a nightmare because of effective 'international' transaction involving shipping, duties and taxes!
There are laws that are supposed to protect purchasers, and in principle they sort of do, but it can be a long drawn out process and involve further expense before you get anywhere, and a risk of failure. They don't work well on international purchases! For me, lesson learned, not buying from international traders again, only genuine UK stock from accountable retailers, even if it does cost a little more! ... and use a Credit Card to get the Section 75 Consumer Credit Protection as a backup.
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Topic: So..can we talk about camping fridges?
via mobile 21/4/2025 at 9:41am
