What kind of thermo electric cooler works best?

Thermoelectric coolers are horrible and don’t work well. For not much more you can get a Dometic portable refrigerator.

 

I had a Koolatron for 10 years, replaced motor once I recall. I think I got the motor locally. It pays for itself very quick

 

Colman is garbage now days. They used make the best. Koolatron is top of the heap now.

 

One trick to keep the freezing to a minimum is to keep a layer of paper towels on the bottom.
They must be dry.
The more the moisture that builds up inside, the sooner everything freezes up.

 

You got lucky with that one, most Colman coolers don't make it 12 months anymore.

 

The TA in Commerce City, Co. has my coolatron on sale for $69 now.

 

Those Koolatrons are actually better than Colman ever was. I was very impressed with the one I had for awhile.

 

That is likely due to user problems, not with the cooler.

The main problem is with the front fan and heat fins.
Over time the fins collect a lot of dust and hair, If it is not cleaned problems can arise.

As far as I can tell the cooler itself has not changed at all over the past several years. And I have been using them for 7 years.
I had one in that time that the power plug went bad, one that the inside fan went out, and one that the motor failed. I have replaced the main fan a few times.

But a couple other coolers that I have tried failed more quickly, and I could not replace even the fan.

The most common problem with any of these coolers is the front fan going out. The Coleman is the easiest to replace because it is a common computer fan, and you can use more than one size because of how it is mounted on the heat fins.

 

I got tired of replacing parts on the Colmans. Never had to do that with the Koolatron and they cool better too.