Koolatron P85 cooler

[Lorelei L]

Anyone have a Koolatron P85 12 volt cooler? How do you like it?

[Terry R.]

Lorelei, since no one seems to have responded, I will tell you how we like our Coleman cooler. It is the same type cooler as the Koolatron. I do not know if it is the brand you are interested in knowing about or type.

We have used our Coleman for years, not only for camping, but at home when we have a lot of company and need addition space for keeping things cool. When we have been forced to stay in hotels, we have taken it for keeping things like milk, sandwich fixin's, and fresh fruit, as we travel.

If it is extremely hot, it won't stay cool enough to keep food safe without a little extra care. Keep it in the coolest, shadiest spot you can find. I have a large white towel, I keep wet at all time on the top, when the heat is too much. The evaporation helps cool the cooler. I am also careful to monitor what things I keep in it. In a pinch a throw in some blue ice as it does fill the cooler with water as it melts.

The other side of the coin is, if it is too cool, it can start to frost up, and positioning of the food can be important if you don't want it to freeze.

Would I buy another? Yes.

Hope that helps. terry r.

[Carol H]

The topic of 12v coolers comes up fairly often. Here are a few of the older threads that may help you:

Koolatron 12v Coolers

ac/dc Koolatron Fridge uses 6 amps on DC

Fridge 12 Volt

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Lorelei L

How do you like it?

I have an older Koolatron P75 that I used in my Compact Jr. I discovered that I could not "permanently" use it in the trailer because it would not cool adequately. I had to carry it in the car plugged in to a 12 volt port with the car's air conditioner running for it to cool sufficiently while on the road, then use the ac adapter brick plugged it to a campground pedestal for it to maintain cool while parked. It is totally useless for boondocking as it can take a group 27 battery from 13 volts down to 8 volts within 6 hours.

[Terry R.]

Frederick made a good point. Leave it in a car for 2 hrs. and you will have a dead battery. It is fine to run in for a quick stop but don't leave it. terry r.

[Carol H]

As most of the 12v style coolers are only capable of keeping the cooler at anywhere from 35 to 40 degrees below the outside temp and use up a lot of power doing so I would seriously consider spending my money on a really GOOD basic ice cooler such as a Yeti. A block of ice in a really good cooler can last a week or more in the warmest of weather.

[bbuehler]

....both worlds.
I am usually a fair weather camper, docking up to electric in the state parks. Years ago, I took out a worthless 35 year old Compact II icebox and installed an IGLOO, that converts from 12/v to 110v with an adapter. You can also take this cooler/heater out of your trailer for use at outdoor concerts, or any other events. I have never had a problem with it not keeping my food cold. However if a fragile food like lettuce leaves, is kept on the rack right underneath the fan, it can freeze the lettuce.

I just returned from a month-long boondocking trip from Oregon to Arizona and back. As Frederick points out, my brand new battery was worthless.
Lucky me, that I had also taken along a traditional Igloo cooler, that sits outside my trailer. With a block of ice, in the Arizona sun, my block lasted for 4 to 5 days.
What I learned from my boondocking trip:

In BOONDOCKING, SOLAR is where it's at. I will be buying solar panels for my future trips. I would have no trouble running my small Igloo fridge, inside my 13' trailer, off of solar. I could even shut it off for the night, turn it on during the day and still have my milk unspoiled when making my morning coffee.

Everybody has very distinctive needs and not all fixes will work for all people. Hopefully, you will find your own FIX.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by bbuehler

In BOONDOCKING, SOLAR is where it's at. I will be buying solar panels for my future trips.

Glad to hear Barb that you have seen the light!

[David Tilston]

B, Is your IGLOO cooler a compressor type of fridge or a solid state, (peltier) cooler? I have never heard of a sold state cooler freezing anything.

[Lorelei L]

We have an Igloo super cooler that will go along for drinks & salad stuff. I just don't want to be on a quest for block ice everyday. I don't mind having the 12v cooler in the car while we are driving. We definitely are going to upgrade our solar, and put in a Danvoss compressor 12v fridge, but no fridge this year. I just can't put another $800-1000 into the camper this year.

[bbuehler]

David,
I had no idea what-so-ever, whether my Igloo was a compressor or a Peltier type cooler. It made me feel ever so much better when my friend Steve, also had no idea!!
I then read a bit about the two systems on a Google search and now know mine is a Peltier.
I have the same little rectangle (built into a special cabinet in my 13' trailer), that would match the size of a normally used dometic fridge. My Igloo is stood up on it's side, pushed into it's cabinet hole, where you have the fan venting on the top of the cooler and the former top of the cooler, becomes the door which swings out (more like a fridge than a cooler!
Right under the fan vent, on the inside of the cooler, you have a shallow fridge shelf, where I used to put leaves of lettuce. They froze only once or twice, before I decided not to use the shelf for anything but hardier stock such as hot dogs, cheese, mustard/ketchup or butter.
Thanks for putting a new set of facts in front of me! It always feels so empowering to learn something new.
Barbara
PS Is I true that all the way up in the frigid zone of Canada, you have ABSOLUTELY no NEED for any FRIDGES (Peltier or Compressor)...!!!

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by bbuehler

PS Is I true that all the way up in the frigid zone of Canada, you have ABSOLUTELY no NEED for any FRIDGES (Peltier or Compressor)...!!!

I wish! It is ironic to me that a large chunk of my electrical bill is to power an appliance that cools food when it is well below freezing outside. I have said before that I wish I had a fridge that had vents to the outside. Just have a thermostatically controlled fan to bring the cold in from the outside. Makes sense to me, but apparently not to the manufactures of fridges.