How to choose the best travel cooler?

Nowadays, travel coolers can keep your food and drink fresh on long road trips. There are several types going from basic electric coolers to real mobile fridges which are of course much more expensive. But how to make the right choice? Find out here!

Electric coolers to suit everyone's needs

There are three types of portable electric cooler. To remain portable, they generally have a capacity of about 30 to 40 litres.

Coolers are usually plugged into the car's cigarette lighter (12 V or 24 V) or connected to a built-in power adapter 230 V AC.

TIP: to get the most out of your travel cooler, place food that is already cooled in the cooler if you can. Add freezer blocks from your freezer to start off.

1. Thermoelectric cooler

This reliable and very compact cooler is the least expensive of the three. Its performance however is sometimes a little disappointing.

Power: about 35 W to 80 W depending on the power source
Price: € 50 - € 250
Pros: relatively silent, although the constant humming may be a nuisance.
Cons: limited performances. It can only lower the temperature by 15 to 20°C compared to the outside temperature.

2. Absorption cooler

This cooler is more powerful and can also fonction on gas. It can even produce ice cubes.

Power: about 100 W
Price: € 200 - € 500
Pros: very quiet, reliable, powerful
Cons: energy-intensive, heavy, this three-way cooler must be well ventilated and placed completely horizontally. Its performance falls off above 32°C.

3. Compression cooler

This is a heavy piece of equipment. It even works in direct sunlight and can freeze.

Power: from 50 W
Price: € 250 - € 1500
Pros: powerful, fairly energy efficient, does not require any maintenance
Cons: relatively noisy, even though the noise is intermittent, pretty heavy, less wear-resistant

Will my travel cooler drain my car battery?

Yes! Avoid letting the cooler run for more than a few hours if the car's engine is switched off.

Example:

Suppose you plug your 40 W thermoelectric cooler into the 12V car's cigarette lighter. Theoretically this will provide you (12 x 40 =) 480 Wh.

In practice however, only 240 Wh will be available because a lead-acid battery cannot be discharged by more than 50% or it may be damaged.

The cooler can therefore only operate for (240/40 =) 6 hours without the engine running.