It has both power supply leads—one for easily charging in a cigarette lighter and stored for transport in the rear passenger footwell. The inside power lead is about 1m long, so you need to plan where your electrical mains adaptor is in your tent. When buying Plug-In, the quality of the product is going to be one of the factors that you really scrutinise before you commit to buying.

Price – as you’d expect the price of a product can be an instantly recognisable factor on what sort of quality you can expect. Whoever came up with the phrase “you get what you pay for” pretty much hit the nail on the head. Whilst it’s not always the case and there are many bargains to be had, you can as a general rule, expect the higher priced products to offer better quality than a the cheapest option. We’ll dive into the price of Hi-Gear 45-Litre 12V 240V Cooler in more detail in a moment. It has two divider sections to divide your drinks: frozen and fresh food. So using them will reduce the effectiveness of using your food to maintain the coolness inside. There are however some methods that you can use to determine a product’s quality without needing to physically have it. Your cables’, switch controls and storage facilities are hidden at the rear of the cool box. Here you can choose either the max or eco setting, which controls the temperature and the energy consumption. Max will keep your food cool between 18 – 25°C below the ambient temperature. However, the eco setting will reduce energy consumption but not keep food cool. There are also standard hot/cold settings. The handle, which can also help keep the lid in position when you need the box open, is super-strong and handy. As for the interior of the Hi-Gear, it isn’t partitioned – however, as a result it can easily be cleaned using water and a small piece of cloth without any fuss.Quite frankly, few items are as important in a camp environment as having a top-performing electric cool box. From our experience, it is important to carefully examine the features of a particular product to make sure it will match up to the conditions under which you will be using it. Many people do not consider the importance of a cool box. We all assume that any cool box will be okay. In reality, that is not the case.

It has a hot/cold, eco and max setting. The switches are at the top of the lid under the round cover, where the power cables are concealed. However, if running from a car battery, it will drain it on average in under 8 hours. However, if you’re only off for a picnic or a few days of camping, then a standard ice box should be perfect. Ultimately, cool boxes can make for an excellent addition to your arsenal of camping equipment, and could well make your shopping list when you’re identifying the camping essentials. Why shop at Halfords? Raise a toast to the cool bag. These cool camping accessories keep food and drink ice-cold, whatever the weather. Store your beer, burgers and butter in one of these beauties and you’ll be a happy camper. Cooling is by the thermoelectric effect and again is a little limited. It will get you to around 10°C in our experience on a standard UK spring day (i.e. not too hot outside). Vonshef actually suggest 12°C as the minimum temperature which is way off from where we would prefer to be – around 5-6°C. Still, it can definitely chill and is great for cooling drinks in this respect, when you don’t have to be completely ice cold.

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Bottles can stand upright, and there is a moveable grid divider, so it is easy to separate bottles or items.

The cold setting will keep food frozen for up to 3 days, but not entirely. However, this depends on how often the lid is left open and the outside temperatures. One of the main issues is not always how your cool box will be powered, it is the capacity. How much food can you store in a cool box? Our buyers’ guide explains the capacity and how much food and drinks you can place in each size. Also, detailing the four different types of cool boxes available and if they are suitable for everyday family camping.There is no drainage plug for water collection in the base. It seems to collect more water, but it’s not a major issue. The material the product is made from is often a sign of the quality for Plug-In. Take a look at the product details over at Go Outdoors to get a feel for this.

If you are undecided on the type and size of cool box you should buy, don’t rush as you do not want to waste your money. Compressor fridge – this is like your electric fridge at home which uses circulating refrigerant inside which expands to provide cooling. They are heavier than thermoelectric fridges and also more noisy because the compressor is a mechanical engine in effect. However, they produce exceptional chilling and can have the temperature adjusted accurately using a thermostat. The warm setting will increase the warmth inside a cool box, matching temperatures outside. Due to a cool box being an enclosed airproof container, the temperature will be higher than the outside on a warm day. The fan will reverse, drawing the warm air from the outside via another vent. Are electrical cool boxes worth buying?Electric coolboxes use the 12v power from your car to keep things cool. If you’re heading away for a longer journey, perhaps for anything from a few days to a few weeks, then these devices are perfect for you - and larger capacity electric coolboxes are better suited to longer trips. Thermoelectric cool boxes will not freeze food. Food will gradually defrost. However, it can remain frozen for 3-4 days, depending on the following factors. Hot and cold settings on electrical cool boxes allow you to control the temperatures inside. The cold setting will reduce temperatures inside 18°C below outside ambient temperatures. It works by drawing out warm air from the inside via a fan. The size of the EcoCool is 52 x 32 x 43 cm and it weighs around 8kg which is fairly substantial. There is a great swing handle for lifting the box and it does not struggle with a fully laden fridge. A removable gridded divider in the middle slides into the grooves on either side. It is solid and will remain in place. However, I often remove it to store more food and keep it cold.