Coleman cooler repairs info

Yes they are a step up from ice but I would take it a step further if one is going to live on the road.

The way I see it is you start out trucking with limited choices and have no choice but 12V appliances. As you gain experience you move to a better company that allows inverters and hopefully an APU to boot. Then instead of spending $100-120 on something that will last only one year and do a half arse job chilling, spend $185+ on a real fridge that lasts 7+ years and does and excellent job chilling and even freezing.

After my experience with the melt down I'm scared to own one of them things again.

 

First of all if your driving for a company that is against inverters and does not equip there trucks with an APU, you are working for a awful company.

As for the plugs melting I've had to replace my plug 4 times so far. The last time I used the plug off the 12v sauce pan Pilot sells. Its such a heavy duty plug it doesn't even get warm. Of course its not fused so I replaced the fuse in the fusebox with a 5amp just in case it shorts the fuse before the cord melts. Ive already had an inverter fire trust me ... Me jumping out of the truck buck nakkid in broad daylight did not end well.

Also there a DIY tutorial on YouTube how to build your own peltier cooler and achieve -50 Celsius. Just thought you all would like to know that.

 

Does the cord have to be a 2 pin or 3 pin 12 volt plug?

 

Dump it and buy a real fridge with a compressor.

 

How do you have room for that?

 

AC/DC Portable Refrigerators | Products | Thetford Corporation

Portable the have okes similar size to thermo electric cooler.

 

Had my Coleman for 5+ years... Probably on the 4th or 5th plug but its still kicking. Once a month or 2 you need to clean out the fins and fan on the outside. Take off the plastic cover you will find dust bunnies smothering your fan/fins.. I use my seat air blower to get all the bunnies out.

 

The best way to make a coleman cooler last is to remove the restrictive cover over the outside heat sink, giving it much better heat dissipation potential. I have gone though 3 colemans in 9 years and on the forth one I decided to enhance and improve it myself. The peltier cooler that comes with the coleman is rated at 6 amps at 12 V. I replaced it with a 10 amp at 15V cooler which runs at around 8.5 amps at 12V. Amazon.com: Bigstone TEC1-12710 Thermoelectric Cooler Peltier 154W: Computers & Accessories Thats the one I used. I also replaced the exhaust fan on the outside with a much more powerful one. Amazon.com: Swellder Delta FFB0912VHE 92mmx38mm High Power Cooling Fan Ball bearing fan DC 12V Brushless Fan -0.75A- 85 CFM: Electronics As well as the internal fan. Amazon.com: Gdstime 8cm 80mm X 80mm X 15mm 12v Brushless Dc Cooling Fan: Electronics also remove the internal fan shield so the bigger fan will fit. You'll have to mount the fan diagonally but it works just fine and it moves more far more air without moving to much to inhabit cooling ability. I also put a potentiometer in line with the outside fan to control its speed, to essentially have the fan control the temperature of the cooler. RioRand Low Voltage Dc 1.8v 3v 5v 6v 12v 2a Motor Speed Controller PWM - - Amazon.com I also put in a thermostat to keep things from freezing because this setup will run cold enough to freeze your food. 2013newestseller New Dc12v Heat Cool Temp Thermostat Temperature Control Switch Thermometer -50-110°c - Household Thermostats - Amazon.com Install the thermostat to control the internal fan. and by far the most important upgrade was to the power supply. Amazon.com: BINZET AC 100-240V to DC 12V 10A Converter Adapter 120W High Power supply LED Driver Transformer with 3-Prong Plug for 3528 5050 SMD LED Lamp Light Strip With 5mm DC Output Jack: Electronics This setup has work flawlessly for me for a long time and it only uses 90 watts of power so its not even close to power hungry enough to run your batteries down over night.

 

What is the number of times you can do this? They cut me off at 4 exchanges.