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coleman 40 quart thermo electric cooler?

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/04/2004 : 18:35:43

According to my measurements and calcualtions, this can be installed in my hanging closet across from the head with a little work (I don't have a sink).

I could plug it in AC while at the slip and DC when cruising.

Does this unit have a thermostat, or does it run all the time? According to one web source, it draws 5.25 amps at 12 VDC. That's a ton, if it is on all the time. What I am thinking is it's on 1/2 the time for 25 amp hours per day? which would mean a 3 amp flexible solar panel (about $300) to keep up with demand on my 3 week cruise (added to the 2 flexible panels I already have plus the 6 amp outboard).

Buy the unit, the AC adaptor, the solar panel for about $450 total.

But oh to have cold (cool) beer, cheese, sandwitch meat, hot dogs, hamburgers, bread, cndiments, for my 3 week trip ..... priceless?

If it cools to 45 degrees below ambient I could reasonably expect it to cool food to into the 40s. I don't expect the boat to be much over 80 inside.

What do you think (solar panels backed up with 2 group 24 75 amp hour gell batteries).

Indiscipline 1978 FK SR #398

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/04/2004 : 19:06:49

I have a refrigerator stuffed back in the quarter berth, a fan clipped to the shelf provides circulation for it. The Air Conditioner in the quarterberth/sail locker bulk head still has clear air in front of it. While at the dock it freezes stuff in the freezer while running on AC, while sailing that frozen stuff provides residual cooling to the contents. It cost under 1 BU. Of course I do not sail the length of time you do so the DC feature is not important to me. Now that I have my queen size bed in the salon the quarter berth is just found space to me.

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Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 06/04/2004 : 21:13:40

I have the same unit.....love it. Pre cool it in the house, then plug it into the 12V outlet in the back of the 'Burban, then on 12V during the day and 110 at night on shorepower. It keeps things cool, or cold depending on OAT (outside air temp). In fact, if it's sixties outside you can get some freezing in there.

No thermostat, so it runs all the time. Could, during the heat of the day, get a little warmer than acceptable for e-coli burgers and salmonella wings. But I'm a veg-head so I don't care about that.

Oscar
Catalina 250WB#618 Currently FOR SALE:
http:www.woodenshoemusic.com/C250WB

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RichardG
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 06/05/2004 : 02:36:20

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">draws 5.25 amps <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

That's a lot of juice (and full time juice as Oscar indicates)!

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">on my 3 week cruise <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

During that cruise, is it possible that you will be no more than 4 days between locations where you can buy blocks of ice? If so, another solution is to spend about $20 on some syrofoam sheets (including one glued to the underside of the lid), some tape and a can of spray insulating foam to significantly beef up the insulation around your existing ice box. The previous owner of my boat did it -- I can get about four days on each block (more if I use 2 blocks, but then there's less room). It also seems to help if I cover everything in the icebox with a $3 space blanket, folded up (which I learned several years ago from this forum).

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2004 : 11:51:30

One issue with these coolers that I have heard mentioned in other forums is that they take a long time to re-cool after the door has been opened. In other words, they don't work very good in situations where you are frequently opening them, like to get a beverage every hour or so. I also suspect that their energy efficiency is poor, compared to a eutectic refridgerator/freezer with a high capacity holding plate. Of course these are very expensive and only practical on boats with inboard diesel engines to power them.

For storage of meat and similar foods where baterial contamination is a real concern on an extended cruise, I would check into the Coleman "extreme" ice chest that has extra-thick insulation, and use dry ice (-150ºF) if available. When using dry ice to keep meat frozen, you plan your meals a day in advance, remove the meat for tomorrow's meals from the dry ice cooler and put it to thaw in a regular ice chest with the milk, cheese, and other non-frozen cold foods. As the meat thaws, it helps cool the other stuff in that ice chest.

Dry ice is pretty expensive too, but for a once-a-year vacation, it might be worth it for you. With dry ice, you can also keep ice cream; a nice treat on a boat cruise where you would usually have to give up such small food pleasures that require "hard" freezer temperature (0ºF is the ideal temp for ice cream). Try to limit opening of the dry ice chest to once or twice a day, so the dry ice lasts as long as possible.

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ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2004 : 15:18:50

For quite a few years we used a large cooler with added insulation stuck inside, into this we put seventy-five pounds of block ice (3 blocks), then packed frozen meats, etc around the ice. On a number of occasions we threw out reduced blocks after two weeks when we returned, never tried lasting three weeks. We had another cooler (smaller) for ice for drinks, which we renewed whenevber we got to a dock for fuel or overnighting along the way. The admiral will NOT go without ice, so I have had to learn to adapt, fair winds, ron srsk Orion SW FL

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oldsalt
Admiral

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USA
578 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2004 : 15:49:57

If you're considering using dry ice, there's lots of good info on the site: dryiceinfo.com.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2004 : 22:42:22

http://homepage.mac.com/fhopper/PhotoAlbum51.html

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Ray Seitz
Captain

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USA
416 Posts

Response Posted - 06/08/2004 : 12:54:51

I too use this cooler on our boat and follow almost to the letter Oscar's guidelines. However, it will (as I have found out by experience) drain the battery in a few hours. I use frozen water in a milk jug in the opposite end of the cooler from the thermo unit to keep it cool and unplug the unit when I am not using the motor. It fits in the space that Catalina provides for a cooler on the 250 and I always use it with the top opening up so all the cold air does not escape.

Edited by - Ray Seitz on 06/08/2004 12:57:25

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