Chilled, not cooked - cool boxes for every temperature
Lukewarm beer at a barbecue by the lake tastes like sleepy feet. You need a new cool box. Here's the guide.
A cool box is a portable, solid and portable container for cooling various foods and drinks as well as other items that require cooling. Cool boxes are used for mobile leisure, sports and travelling. In addition to cool boxes, you will also find cool bags and cool rucksacks in our range.
And beer.
How long are you travelling
If you're travelling for long periods of time, you'll appreciate a freezer function that extends the shelf life of your food. A compressor cooler can cool down to -22 degrees Celsius.
For shorter trips lasting a few days or a week, an absorption cooler is suitable. With certain models, you can even store ice cubes in the evaporator component of the fridge. Although absorption coolers are not as powerful as compressor coolers, they still keep the contents cool.
A thermoelectric cooler keeps the contents cold instead of actively cooling them. It is therefore necessary to cool the contents before travelling. This solution is not recommended for journeys lasting longer than one or two days.
With a passive solution, you can usually spend a cosy day at the lake or in the park and always have chilled drinks and food.
Size matters
First of all, you should think about the available storage space in your vehicle. The questions of how many people will be using the cooler and how long you want to go without shopping are also relevant. Perhaps you are travelling to remote areas? And also remember that larger cool boxes consume more energy - is this additional power consumption really worth it?
The capacities - depending on the cooling technology - include around:
- Passive: 4 to 100 litres
- Absorber: 31 to 40 litres
- Thermoelectric: 8 to 37 litres
- Compressor: 10.5 to 88 litres
Hot on the outside, cold on the inside
When using your portable cooler, consider the climate in which you will be staying. Thermoelectric and absorption coolers cool to around 18 to 30 degrees Celsius below the ambient temperature. This is certainly not appropriate in regions with temperatures of 30 degrees and above. A compressor cooler is therefore recommended in hot regions. Here, the cooling capacity is so high that freezing is possible even at very high ambient temperatures.
Some compressor coolers are equipped with two independent cooling zones. This means that one zone can be used for cooling and the other for freezing at the same time. Some models can also keep the contents both warm and cool. However, these boxes are not designed to reheat chilled food. But if you put a warm apple pie in the cool box, for example, and heat it up to 65 degrees, the pie will stay warm for several hours.
At an outside temperature of around 40 degrees, you can achieve the following internal temperatures, depending on the model:
- Thermoelectric: 22 °C to 10 °C
- Absorber: 20 °C to 10 °C
- Compressor: 10 °C to -22 °C
Loud or quiet
Depending on where your cooler is located and how sensitive you are to noise, the operating noise of the appliance can be an important aspect. The noise level depends on the cooling technology used in the cooler:
- Passive: noiseless
- Absorber: noiseless
- Compressor: occasional quiet operating noise
- Thermoelectric: continuous fan noise
No dead batteries
The integrated battery protection on compressor coolers prevents the battery from discharging completely. As soon as the charge level of your vehicle battery drops to a preset value, the power supply to the cool box is automatically interrupted. Your drinks may then get a little warmer over time, but you should still make it home with a chilled drink.
Since absorption coolers can be operated with both electricity and gas, they are a good solution for protecting your vehicle battery. Some models of the thermoelectric devices also have a low-voltage monitor - this is also available as an optional accessory and protects the battery by automatically switching off at low voltage.
Of course, efficiency is just as important. Every cooler that runs on mains power must be tested for energy efficiency in accordance with the law. Absorption coolers are not subject to energy labelling as they are mainly powered by gas.
Four technologies
We basically distinguish between four different types: Compressor boxes, absorber boxes, thermoelectric boxes and passive boxes. These are cooled with the help of rechargeable batteries. The most important features are:
PASSIVE
- Classic cool box
- Special gel in the cool packs ensures low temperature loss
- Batteries are placed in an insulated box or bag
- Food and drinks are packed pre-cooled
All passive cool boxes at Galaxus
ABSORBER
- With gas cooling you can travel without a power supply
- Quiet operation
- The cooling capacity depends on the ambient temperature
- Three power supply options: 12 V DC (for operation in the car), 230 V AC and gas operation
THERMOELEKTRIK
- Low acquisition costs
- Lightweight
- Good performance, even when tilted
- Usually highly dependent on the ambient temperature
- Operation at 12/24 V DC and 230 V AC possible
To all thermoelectric coolers at Galaxus
KOMPRESSOR
- Good cooling performance even at extreme outside temperatures
- Powerful cooling enables cooling and freezing
- Low power consumption
- Good performance even in an inclined position
- Suitable for solar operation
- Integrated battery protection
- Operation at 12/24 V DC and 110-230 V AC possible
Our entire range of compressor boxes
The Queen
And then there's the queen of coolers. Our colleague Restin tested the Queen extensively back in 2018 and was pretty impressed by the compressor cooler. You can find his review here:
And you can find the entire range of coolers at Galaxus here
Want more advice? Follow my author profile here and you'll always be well advised. Well, almost always.
Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor
Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.chFrom radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.
