Koolatron Compact Kooler

Useful to keep drinks and food cool while traveling
We bought the Koolatron Kooler a year ago and find it very useful to keep food and drinks cool while traveling.

To use this effectively both the cooler and the items to be placed in it should be cool to begin with. The empty unit will cool about 10 degrees an hour to about 40 degrees lower than the ambient temperature around it, and maintain it's pre-cooled contents at that temperature as long as it powered on. Warm items placed in a warm cooler take much longer to cool, (the manual says up to 12 hours or longer).

We purchased the optional AC power adapter, so the night before we leave on a trip we plug the unit in and pre-cool it. The morning we are leaving we load it with a few soda and water bottles that have been cooled in the refrigerator. We also put in 2-4 plastic food containers that have been chilled in the refrigerator. One or more of those we fill with ice. The more space that is filled with cool/cold items the better the cooling process for...

If our experience is any indication, please be careful!
We were very sorry that this item broke down for us - even after we returned the first and then tried a brand-new second one. We purchased the first in June for a 3-week road trip in July. We also purchased the AC adapter, especially given that the manufacturer recommends when you're on the road to keep the unit going at night with the adapter so it remains cool. The first two weeks, it was fine. Then it all of a sudden, with no warning, stopped working. Whether using the cigarette lighter outlet in the car or the AC adapter - it was dead. We returned it to Amazon when we got home and they were wonderful about sending us a new one to replace it very quickly. Then we went for a 3-day trip with the new one over Labor Day. This time the new one lasted maybe 10 hours on the first day and also died. Amazon allowed us under the circumstances to return both cooler and AC adapter (minus 20% which I can't kick too much about). However, our experience leads me to question whether Amazon should...

Finally, A DC-Powered Cooler/Warmer That Works!
After going through a bad experience with trying to buy and then (in some cases) buying first a Vector, then a RubberMaid, then a Wagan Tech, and now a Koolatron, I can tell you that it's a relief to find a well-designed, well-built DC-powered cooler/warmer that actually works! Our Canadian neighbors to the north have done a great job with this unit.

I worried about its 17" height and depth, but once it was decided that it was going to live behind the passenger's front seat, those concerns became non-issues. In fact, its height is a benefit as long as it doesn't interfere with the seat back when you lift the lid, as you can reach right in from the driver's seat and get a can or a sandwich without much effort if you pack it well.

I also worried about all the ads that portrayed it as being only a cooler. But after having so much trouble with other companies' cooler/warmers, I decided to forget warming and bought the Koolatron without it (or so I thought). So when...

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