Cooler ideas

[mike hatton]

Hey chaps,

Was really impressed with Gav's Waeco at Lincomb, notably its very low draw.
I'd really like one myself but being a tight git I'm on the lookout for a cheaper option.
There's a waeco 3 way cooler that doesn't boast quite the same specs as the fridge but will run on gas aswell as 12v and is less than 1/2 the cost. Anyone tried one? I dont need to freeze things but it would be nice to have a cold beer at the end of a long weekend without having to mess with ice.
Another thought was to nab a fridge from an old caravan and build it into a box, could be a little awkward but it would be cheap.

 

[Chris]

Mike, shame. Just sold a Waeco like Gav's.

The Tristar fridge things are really good for the money. When they are working. If they worked flawlessly, then I wouldn't bother with a Waeco frankly. But they can be a bit temperamental. On 240v they work almost spot on. On gas they have a tendency to go out or be hard to light. Sometimes they light and don't cool. On 12v all they do is hold temp for a bit.

I have one sitting here doing nothing. Can't bring my self to get rid of it as I'll put the Christmas beer in there. They do say that if you have a prob, turn it upside down for an hour. Folks do say this works. I haven't tried that yet.

Chris

 

[mike hatton]

Doesn't sound ideal to be bouncing round in the back of the truck. I assume the 3 way ones all work on the same system... There's thermo electric, absorption (the 3 way ones) and compressor (caravan fridges and propper waeco's).

 

[Chris]

Not a clue. All I know is the difference between warm beer and cold beer. When working on gas they are megga!


Chris

 

[fast but dim]

don't overlook traditional coolboxes. i've got a 3 way waeco, but tbh for weekends i tend to use my coleman xtreme. in france this year it kept everything cool in the back of the car for 3/4 days without fresh ice. it's a lot less hassle and smaller than the waeco.

the two market leaders are coleman xtreme and igloo maxcold, both of which keep ice for 5 days at 30 dec C, nothing to break, and won't drain your battery. they are expensive ( for a cooler ) but are superb.

http://www.mobilegas.co.uk/mobilecoolbo ... /index.htm

not the cheapest supplier, but it's the first site i found stocking igloo and coleman.

 

[Gav Peter]

Its a shame the Quest fails to perform on 12v but on 240 & gas, they are brilliant - we use it as the overflow booze fridge fulltime these days as Chris suggested & when we go out caravanning...

I've got to say, I forgot we had a Coleman coolbox & I'm sure that would be fine for weekending with enough ice/freezer packs in it.

If you wanted to try the Quest route, I know someone trying to get rid of one - you could run it on gas in the back of your ZooZoo whilst driving non?

All else fails, dip yer hand in yer pocket tight wad!!!