Re: koolatron 12v cooler drain my battery

"lbbs" <lbbs @dadffo.ca> wrote:

>I saw koolatron 12v cooler for the road.   Just wondering how many hours can
>you run on the battery before it could be damaging effect on the battery.
>

These things are best run only with the vehicle engine on.  If they are of any
size at all, they require a surprising amount of power, and running one while
running the lights and AC could overpower even the battery and alternator.  Car
batteries are not designed for loads like this over any appreciable length of
time, and higher powered (ambulance or RV grade) alternators are expensive.  In
most cases, you are better off with a well insulated ice box and some soda
bottles of frozen water to keep things cool.

That said, our van has a refrgerator along with the inverter and marine deep
discharge battery needed to run it.  It works great when getting frozen items
at the store or on extended trips.  I had originally tried a large peltier
cooled chest, but quickly relized it actually was a bigger drain on the battery
than the refrigerator and didn't work as well.