| Author | Message | ||
     Don Wilbanks (Asphaltgypsy) New Member Username: Asphaltgypsy Post Number: 33 Registered: 06-2002 |
Has anyone tried, or know anything about these: http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=5640B807&categor yid=8570&submittingpage=subcategory.asp If so, I'd like to hear about it. Thanks Don | ||
| Andy Thoma (Andythoma) Senior Member Username: Andythoma Post Number: 305 Registered: 01-2003 |
I have one. Does it work, well for the most part. It is designed to keep things 30 degrees lower than the ambent temp outside of the cooler. As long as you keep it running. It work great here in Utah during the fall and winter. But get a hot spring or summer day and it doesn't work that well, if it is 105 in the car than the coolers inside is 85, not good. I got it because I worked at REI and got one on a coleman promo deal for $25. If I had to pay full price I would get; http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/subcategory.asp?CategoryID=8580&Source Page=category_main.aspinstead. Save your extra $40 for ice or a engle fridge. Engles or ARB's are quit expensive, but worth it if you use your cooler alot. See; http://www.expeditionexchange.com/engel/index.htm Also I use mine with ice (which coleman says never to do) and the ice seems to last forever inside when I run it. I just use ice packs and doubled bagged cubes or blocks I had an engle my wife and I got as a wedding gift. We sold it pay tuition for my wifes graduate school.  But I will buy another one as soon as she is done, they are quite nice. | ||
| Don Wilbanks (Asphaltgypsy) New Member Username: Asphaltgypsy Post Number: 34 Registered: 06-2002 |
So it sounds like if I use it where I intend to, in the sleeper of my truck (which I keep at 70 degrees F 24/7), it should work okay. I'll take your advice about using it on extended trips in the Rover though. Thanks for the feedback! Don | ||
| Brian Dickens (Bri) Senior Member Username: Bri Post Number: 454 Registered: 08-2002 |
I have the ARB, same freezer/fridge as the Engle. A very handy item, that will freeze icecream in the summer. | ||
| Andy Thoma (Andythoma) Senior Member Username: Andythoma Post Number: 313 Registered: 01-2003 |
Yea, I miss the engle, but my wife and I won't be able to do long trips when she's in school so a cooler that can hold food for 5 days is all we need for now. The issue with the coleman is outside air temp, if your using it in 70 deg weather than you should have no problem. The heat of utah in summer it just doesn't work that well. Also, this is true of the engle/arb too, make sure the fan intake and exhaust isn't covered. When they vent heat, if the hot air out let is covered or it has stuff packed tight up against it, it will not work as well. This more true of the coleman as the fan exhaust is its method of cooling, the engle/arb works like a real fridge, so if covered it just has to work harder. | ||
| marc olivares (Pugs) Member Username: Pugs Post Number: 84 Registered: 12-2002 |
i also have a coleman that was given to me, and like andy says, it works fine for cool to mild ambient temps but when it gets hot outside you have to get creative. i pre-run with the 120ac plug the night before i go out to bring the cooler temp down then fill the bottom with ice packs. once the ambient temp hits 100 it will barely keep a coke can cool. hey andy, ran AF canyon before the snow hit on friday. ya up for a few sat mornin' runs? i'll keep you in the loop. marc | ||
| Andy Thoma (Andythoma) Senior Member Username: Andythoma Post Number: 315 Registered: 01-2003 |
Sure, I'll send you an email Marc. Other key to the coleman is to live in Utah where you can get lots of snow in the middle of June.  Man do I love mountains! | ||
| Lewis Jones (Cutter) Senior Member Username: Cutter Post Number: 330 Registered: 10-2003 |
i've got one of the coleman extream coolers, works great! of course I WANT an ARB fridge! If you can't swing the price on the ARB, the colemans will work very well. | ||
| Axel Haakonsen (Axel) Moderator Username: Axel Post Number: 638 Registered: 02-2003 |
I have an Engel, and love it. Sure, it's not cheap, but it keeps it's content cool (and dry, which is an issue when you use ice), no matter how hot it is outside. I justify the price of the Engel by convincing myself that it will have payed for itself with the money I save from not having to buy ice, sometime around 2035...... - Axel | ||
| Rob Davison (Nosivad_bor) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Nosivad_bor Post Number: 1373 Registered: 02-2003 |
same here ax... i had no idea how cheap normal freezers were until i was at best buy this week and 3x3x3 cube sized freezer for $150. plus and inverter and thats only $300.. still nothing like ice cream on a hot summer day. anytime you want it rob | ||
| dennis clifton (Flyor) New Member Username: Flyor Post Number: 13 Registered: 05-2003 |
Rob, how long would it run off the invertor and a good deep cycle battery? | ||
| Will Cupp (W_cupp) Member Username: W_cupp Post Number: 244 Registered: 07-2003 |
With the engel fridge, how long does it take to run down the car battery? If I go camping will the battery be dead in the morning when I wake up? | ||
| Rob Davison (Nosivad_bor) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Nosivad_bor Post Number: 1376 Registered: 02-2003 |
here has been my experience with one standard battery. day one, engel is installed and runs overnight whenever it feels the need to turn on. next day, car starts fine. i drive to work one mile. turn car off. go to work while the engel is still doing it's thing. 8hrs later come out and start car drive home one mile. live life and goto sleep. wake up next day with dead battery. seems that i dont drive long enough to work to recharge the battery. my yet to be installed solution will bew a dual battery system using a dry cell deep cycle battery. this way if my engle decides to run all night i'll still be able to start the car in the morning plus i wont damage the battery dennis i dont know if that was a practical solution it would be just a little bit too big for me and draw a lot more amps. | ||
| Craig Kobayashi (Koby) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Koby Post Number: 783 Registered: 02-2002 |
Got Engel? http://www.expeditionexchange.com/ics2/PA260100.jpg | ||
| Rob Davison (Nosivad_bor) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Nosivad_bor Post Number: 1377 Registered: 02-2003 |
sucka | ||
| Steve Cooper (Scrover) Senior Member Username: Scrover Post Number: 602 Registered: 09-2002 |
rob, just drive to work in low, that should charge it | ||
| Blue (Blue) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Blue Post Number: 965 Registered: 04-2003 |
alright, that's two humiliating pics posted recently. Santa's gonna drop down your chimneys and kick some holiday ass | ||
| Greg Hirst (Gregh) Senior Member Username: Gregh Post Number: 401 Registered: 10-2002 |
My experience is the same as Rob's. I bought an Engel just last August for a camping trip up and back down the West Coast. (Not in the Rover but in my VW Eurovan with family) I learned to leave it plugged in during the day while driving and either plugged it in via extension cord at night if 110 avail. or just left it off at night-No probs with battery and kept it COLD! It's worth the money for the convenience and lack of hassle IMHO. | ||
| Marc M (Mosi) Member Username: Mosi Post Number: 42 Registered: 09-2002 |
I have an ARB 35 model and hardwired the power cord to the truck. I too had a problem with testing it over night and it drained the battery. I had the temp set WAY too low so it pretty much ran all night. I dropped a thermometer inside to see what the difference in settings were. With an outside temp of 75, setting 1 was about 42 degrees,setting 2 was about 32 and down 10 degrees for each level. I now normally run it between 1 and 2 somewhere depending on the outside temp with the highest being 3 when it was 100+ outside. The insulating bag also seems to help out quite a bit. Also, I attached a low voltage disconnect so it will shut the freezer off before the battery's voltage drops too low to start. So far, I haven't had any problems in the field with it. | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 585 Registered: 05-2003 |
Axel is so right about the Engel/ARB staying dry. It's amazing. When I got mine I was sure it was going to be a totally gross mess with our heat and HIGH humidity. No problems at all! At first, I was skeptical and would throw a pelican dessicant in whenever it was turned off for extended periods of time. Even that is not necessary - that little frig/freezer is one amazing peice of equipment! I VERY reluctantly purchased the ARB (42?) in preparation for my (delayed) Hole In the Rock trip. I really thought it was a waste of money, but trusted the advice I was given that it would make the trip much easier. I also (reluctantly) purchased the transit case for it. I fell in luv with it once I purchased and installed the transit slide lock (on plywood flooring) from Expedition Exchange. I leave it in my truck most of the time because it is so darn heavy and cumbersome to get it in and out of my truck. (I can only manage getting it in and out and pulling it to and from my garage by using a huge, very strong antique wooden wagon that has metal circles around the wheels (modern wagons don't level themselves out under strain like the old ones do!) I've gotten pretty spoiled by the frig. Now, I don't know how I ever managed without it and use it on a regular basis. It's amazing how convenient it is carrying cool fluids onboard. It also makes grocery shopping in the heat more convenient for my schedule. I'm sure that the transit case makes all the difference in keeping it cool. I have used mine consistently in extremely humid 90 degree temps (even hotter in closed parked truck) and have kept it plenty cool by plugging it in to AC power (just for the afternoon) every 3 days. Occassionally, I plug in the 12V DC cord while driving - but, not very often. I always keep the thermostat about 1/3rd of the way between frig and freezer. Even when powered, it doesn't have to kick on to cool itself frequently. With the transit bag, it is so quiet that I have to touch it to confirm that it is on. I don't leave it unattended while powered to my battery using 12V because I probably would forget about it and drain the battery. Mark, the voltage disconnect is a really cool idea. Where did you get it? Thanks, Jamie | ||
| Axel Haakonsen (Axel) Moderator Username: Axel Post Number: 666 Registered: 02-2003 |
Mine was connected continously for two weeks during the Rubicon/Dusy Ershim trip, and I never had a dead battery. I do turn the thermostat down to 1 overnight, but that is mainly because I sleep in the truck. I also had a battery charger for the camcorder connected during that trip. And no, I don't run dual batteries. - Axel | ||
| Marc M (Mosi) Member Username: Mosi Post Number: 43 Registered: 09-2002 |
Jamie, I got a Surepower low voltage switch from http://www.wranglernw.com/ (site seems to be down right now) . The model # is 130512 and it will handle a 20amp load which is plenty. http://www.surepower.com/pdf/ebr_lvd.pdf I think it was $70 | ||
| Jack Quinlan (Jsq) Senior Member Username: Jsq Post Number: 511 Registered: 10-2002 |
My Engel has been on almost continously since I bought it from EE (~4 months). My truck isn't my daily driver and often sits for a while. I have two optima yellow tops wired in parallel and the batteries have never died. The longest it has gone without being driven is 6 days. The Mean Green spun the truck to life no prob even with that long sit. |
