12v cigar lighter cool box
12v cigar lighter cool box
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Classic Grad 98

Original Poster:

26,063 posts

182 months

Friday 30th December 2011
quotequote all
...I was given one for Christmas- a thoughtful gift because of all the time I spend in paddocks and fields wishing I had some sandwiches and cool water!
My question is, how much drain will it put on my battery? Should I only use it with the engine on? If the engine is off, how long could I leave it plugged in without draining the battery?
I appreciate there is a degree of 'how long is a piece of string' about these questions but I thought someone might have a rough idea...

eldar

24,842 posts

218 months

Friday 30th December 2011
quotequote all
I think about 40w at 12v. Get a 12v supply at home, so its cool when you start and bung a cool block in from the freezer, and it will keep cold for 8 - 12 hours.

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

277 months

Friday 30th December 2011
quotequote all
The one we have takes about 5 amps. Probably not something you'd want to leave running for very long without the engine running, though an hour or so would be ok.

2 sMoKiN bArReLs

31,704 posts

257 months

Friday 30th December 2011
quotequote all
Can drain a car battery very quickly. As said..good for the journey!

Garvin

5,501 posts

199 months

Friday 30th December 2011
quotequote all
eldar said:
I think about 40w at 12v. Get a 12v supply at home, so its cool when you start and bung a cool block in from the freezer, and it will keep cold for 8 - 12 hours.
This. We have one with a 240V ac/12V dc converter which is used to cool the box down overnight in the house. Couple of cool blocks from the freezer and then the box is good for the whole day and is only powered when the engine is running.

Eggman

1,253 posts

233 months

Friday 30th December 2011
quotequote all
Mine's in the loft - I thought it was absolutely rubbish. (It's a 'Ring', fwiw)

In fairness, it would probably be OK for keeping cans cold if you were doing something where the engine was running most of the time, like a courier or tractor driver. For applications where you drive somewhere, park the car up then think about lunch later on, I think an ordinary coolbox is preferable because they're better insulated.

Piglet

6,250 posts

277 months

Friday 30th December 2011
quotequote all
Eggman said:
Mine's in the loft - I thought it was absolutely rubbish. (It's a 'Ring', fwiw)

In fairness, it would probably be OK for keeping cans cold if you were doing something where the engine was running most of the time, like a courier or tractor driver. For applications where you drive somewhere, park the car up then think about lunch later on, I think an ordinary coolbox is preferable because they're better insulated.
^^^ This you're better off with something like a Coleman 5 day coolbox which is much better insulated. Or go for a 3 way fridge and run it on gas in the Paddock.

You'll probably find that the 12v sockets won't work without the ignition being on anyway.

Eggman

1,253 posts

233 months

Friday 30th December 2011
quotequote all
Piglet said:
Or go for a 3 way fridge and run it on gas in the Paddock.
3 way fridges are top notch for camping, but they're a bit bulky for carrying a sandwich and a bottle of pop.

On the other hand, they can be bought very cheaply indeed on Ebay from people breaking caravans. I'd imagine this is a pretty good time of year to buy one, too.