Igloo Iceless Thermoelectric Cooler, Portable Cooler Electric, Plug-in 12V Camping Fridge Cooler, Electric Ice Chest, Hielera Electrica

We do a couple of multi day trips per year. While our kids were growing up, we used a Coleman Extreme cooler. It worked well. You would pack it up good and it would hold for days and days. The cooler was big and the sides were thick, but it still held plenty for us. It took up a lot of room in the car and it was a little bulky and I would typically leave it outside in the car, even if we stopped at a hotel or a motel on our journey. I would take it out of the car and sit it on the ground before heading out for the day to drain out the water using the drain spout. Periodically we would grab a bag or block of ice as needed when we stopped to get gas or supplies.In recent times, as our kids have grown up, we have found ourselves not really wanting to tote that big cooler around and deal with buying ice and draining water. Sometime back, on some trip, we didn't have a cooler with us because of this, and we had some stuff we bought that we needed to take home, so we bought a super cheap Styrofoam cooler somewhere. The cheapest of the cheap. No shell, no hinges, no latch for the lid, but it was small and easily stashed behind the front seat where it could be easily reached while driving. Even though we had similar sized plastic coolers, we would generally just use that one, because we figure we don't really care if it didn't make it home, or if we ended up giving it to someone.We were recently about to embark on a several day trip. One of our adult children was going to join us, so we didn't think that cooler would be enough. We didn't want to bring the big Coleman extreme, because we were going to need as much room in the car as possible on the return trip. We had been looking at these iceless coolers for awhile, both the thermo electric coolers and the compressor based refrigerators.I weighed all the pros and cons. I came very very close to buying a compressor based cooler instead of this one, but I finally settled on this one, with the knowledge that everywhere I would be using it, would be less than 75 degrees, either my air conditioned car, or a hotel, or an inn, or a Bed and Breakfast. It was designed to fit perfectly on the floor behind the front seat, and I already had a converter so I would be able to keep it powered in the car and in our rooms. The fact that it is less efficient and uses more power wouldn't be an issue. I also got this because it seemed there was less to go wrong with it than a compressor based unit, and because it didn't have the compressor, there was more usable interior volume for the same size exterior. Also most, not all, of the compressor based units, don't appear to have handles and are much more expensive, at least ones from a known brand. I would not say that having a compressor based cooler is not still in my future at some point, but I didn't think I needed one for this trip.With all that said, I just completed my first 4 day trip with this cooler. It worked Perfectly. I plugged it in in the house, the night before our departure. That morning I filled it with cold items from the fridge. A full 12 pack of bottled water, several 6 packs of 8 oz sodas, and some snacks. I was really surprised how much it could hold. Because it has a smaller base, it is taller, and it can make it a little challenging to reach stuff on the bottom when it is full, but it is as big as it can be and still fit behind the seat, and the extra height helps you maintain some of the volume you have to sacrifice to maintain that smaller footprint. Also the fact you don't have to give up any of the interior volume for ice helps a lot as well.Because of the fans on top, you also lose the ability to use it as any kind of seat, or to sit anything on top of it while packing your car. Again, small sacrifices for the convenience, and you don't want to bury it anyway so you can access it easily. We kept it plugged in for the 10-12 hour drive to our destination. It kept everything inside nice and cold. We would turn off the car for maybe an hour at a time at rest areas, or when we ate. When the car was off, our car cuts the power automatically, so we didn't have to worry about it draining the car battery and didn't need to unplug or turn off the cooler. It maintained the coolness no problem during these times it was not powered. Upon arriving at our destination, we brought it inside our room and plugged it in. Even though the room came with a refrigerator, we didn't even bother using it. Everything was cold enough in the cooler, there was no reason or need to transfer anything to the refrigerator in the room. Two days later, we moved to a new location, about an hour away. I didn't even bother plugging it in for that trip, but plugged it in again on arrival. The following morning, we again plugged it in in the car for another 10 hour or so drive.So all in all, for this type of trip, this worked perfectly for us. Note there was no time here, where the cooler had to be away from power while exposed to a warm environment, for more than an hour or so. I don't know how long it could stay cold if you had to leave it in your car while you were on a hike or seeing some sights. I would imagine you could keep some icepacks inside to help it through those times. For this initial trip we made, we knew in advance, we were not going to have those situations, so we didn't bother to bring any icepacks, and they were indeed not needed.I particularly remember at one point, a friend of ours was heading out to look for a convenience store so they could buy some more ice for their own cooler. They asked as they were leaving if we would like them to pick us up some ice for ours, an offer I likely would have taken them up on before. I was like, no, we are all set, our cooler doesn't need ice. It was a good feeling.So, there are definitely times were we have used our Coleman extreme ice chest, where this cooler probably wouldn't have been a suitable replacement. Like camping at a campsite without power for a few days. Leaving it in the hot car all day while the family is at an amusement park. For trips like we just did though, a road trip where it can be plugged in while driving, with a room with electricity as the final destination, and this cooler works like a champ.

I've had this cooler for 8 years now and it's still running well. I travel a lot so have put it to good use and highly recommend it. It's even better now that I have an EV so I can keep it plugged in to the 12v overnight (camping or at a hotel) and if the car's 12v battery needs a charge the main battery will automatically charge it.

So I bought this about 6 weeks ago and it has been wonderful! First time we used it for a roadtrip and hotel stay. A lot of times the hotel fridges are too small or don’t really cool down. So this was so nice to have in the van and then at our hotel.Then a week or so later a good friend was admitted to the hospital for three weeks. His wife was staying by his side the whole time. Our Church group took turns delivering meals to them, because they eat a special diet and also because hospital food is not that great. Besides her meals wouldn’t have been provided by the hospital so she would’ve had to pay for meals at the hospital for three weeks. Instead she was able to use this cooler to refrigerate leftovers and any other refrigerated items. She had it plugged in and running for the entire 3 weeks! They had to move rooms three times, and this cooler was so handy.Tips:- Start with some cold things and maybe even an ice pack or two. It’s not going to keep things frozen but it will keep things cool. I put a fridge thermometer in the cooler with some cold things and one frozen thing and took the temp after a few hours, it was 37 degrees.- Buy the cigarette charger converter (sold separately) to be able to plug it into a regular outlet in your home, hotel, or hospital.

This is a great little cooler to keep in the semi. Keep in mind it only cools so much below the surrounding temperature. I like to throw an ice pack in just to keep it colder if I’m running heat in the truck. I got this new in December, and it quit working before the return period was up in January. Not really sure if it was the cooler or the cord. It blew the fuse in my truck also. I checked my Amazon account and was able to do an exchange on the cooler, so I received the new one very quickly and was able to return the dud in that box (I didn’t keep the original). Great customer service! I like the design of this cooler better than the Koolatron I used before, and this one has an on/off switch and a light that indicates it is on. I’m considering purchasing an extra cord in the future to carry with me just in case - I have read that the cords don’t always have a long life. All in all it’s a really nice 12V cooler and has more than enough room to carry my food and drinks for 1 day or 3.

The media could not be loaded. First one had a loud fan. Can't be normal. See video. Exchanged that one and the second one arrived broken. See pics. First thing I saw when I opened then box was a piece of plastic broke off from somewhere. Then found the break as soon as I opened the lid. Didn't even try plugging it in to check fan. I know it isn't a $600 cooler, but I spent more than budgeted and bought a brand name instead of something cheap to try to avoid junk. I am quite disappointed in the brand. I will find something else to buy.