Anyone have any experience with the Igloo Plentikool? What do you think of it? Any problems running it off of the X's electrical system?

i havent used one but i wouldnt see the point in spending i think they run like $100 or so on a cooler, if your going for just the day ice will do, if your going for a long time im sure the cooler would drain the battery eventualy?? thats just my guess.

Thanks for trolling!

It is a great cooler, especially on extended trips. You can also use it as a warmer (my model you can). No probs with the X electrical system...I am not sure what the watt/amp useage is, but I have never had problems and I have run it for like 1 hour without haveing the truck running.

If you have a deep cycle Gel Cell battery such as a yellow top Optima, you can run the thermo electric coolers for 7-8 hours with the truck turned off (assuming all other accessories are off!) and the truck will still start. Expect maybe 4 hours with the regular battery.

Frankly, I'm not impressed with the thermo electric coolers. They are fine if you're just cooling pop or beer, but the reality is they don't keep things cold enough, so in my experience perishables spoil very fast. For a weekend trip it's fine, but using one for an entire week of wheeling is an excersize in rotten food, blown fuses, and melted wires. I found myself often adding blue ice packs and such with my perishables to help keep them cold. It also takes about 6 hours for them to cool so you need to turn them on the night before you leave or make sure everything you put in there is cold to begin with.

Remember, at best these types of coolers cool to 40 degrees below ambient temperature and that's really pushing it (in reality it's more like 30 degrees). They have very poor insulation too, so once they turn off they warm up inside very quickly.

I have one of those 5 day coolers or whatever they are that takes ice and it works much better than the thermo electric.

However, I have now graduated to an ARB Freezer/Fridge. IMO, it is totally worth the expense. It will freeze food and it only takes 1/2 an hour to get to refridgerator temperatures. It also draws less power than the thermo electric coolers and is better insulated so it stays cold when turned off...especially if you get the insulation bag for it. Yes it's heavy and expensive, but so is rotten and unedible food!

Thanks for the good info lincoln and Chuck.

Any link to the model you bought??

Chuck,

I researched the PlentiKool some more, and it looks like it is well insulated. Are you basing that comment on the PlentiKool specifically, or another brand of cooler?

For our needs (day trips), none of the other downsides you mentioned are a factor. But that one is, and in a big way. We would absolutely need the cooler to have good insulation, as there will be 3-4 hour periods where the unit is not powered.

Thanks,
JAS

The Igloo and Coleman are basically the same. They work great for weekend trips. I have had mine over a year.

I have the Igloo Kool Mate, but they are all pretty much the same idea. My best suggestion is to just prechill everything that's going in and if you are taking meat or such that you are not using the first day then freeze it first before putting it in the cooler. Not only will that help it survive an extra day or so, but it will act like a block of ice and help keep things cool. Basically, if everything is well chilled to begin with you can probably let it sit 3 or 4 hours, but not much longer than that. They are insulated, just not nearly as well as something like the 5 day Xtreme ice coolers or the like.

If you are just doing one or two day trips you should be fine. I was fine with mine for short trips too unless it was super hot outside. It was my week in Eastern Oregon last August while it was 85 plus outside with no tree cover that really got me thinking about a better solution.

FYI, I saw some of those plug-in Igloo(s) at Costco for less than $50 recently.

Yup...same here...$45 to be exact...they did look pretty nice too...

I have the coleman one. No complaints and I have used it for a week at a time without meat spoiling. Of course it was inside in Colorado where it wasn't hot anyway but it works great for my needs so far.

I bought the Coleman RoadTrip thermoelectric cooler at Walmart for $67 and used it during our weekend at Seqouia. I left it connected overnight with the engine off so the next day, my truck won't start. My hiking buddies just got a regular cooler and used dry ice. Not only does it work well, it's hell of a lot cheaper too! I'm returning the Coleman and probably get the ARB freezer/cooler in the future. But in the meantime, buy dry ice. I'm also replacing my batteries to an Optima Yellow Top.

yeah im sorry i should make comments like that!! at least i said something about the topic!