Customer Reviews for Koolatron Compact Kooler

Koolatron Compact Kooler
by Koolatron

	List Price: ~~$99.99~~ Our Price: $90.75 You Save: $9.24 (9%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $74.99 (click here) Category: Major Appliances See more product details

Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Koolatron Compact Kooler

Customer Review: Keeps things cool. Makes some noise.
Summary: 4 Stars

Product seems well made and arrived in good order. The only thing that I have found bad about it is the fan makes some pretty loud noise. I think it may bother me when I have it in a motel room (I also bought the AC adapter).
I have some experience with this type cooler and the others I have used did not have as loud of fan.
On the plus side: It fits where I wanted it behind my drivers seat, so my front seat passenger can reach back and open it easily. Quality feel to it and it is not too heavy.
The instructions say only use in heat mode 'up to 45 minutes' if that makes a difference to anyone.

Customer Review: Koolatron Compact Kooler
Summary: 3 Stars

Koolatron Compact KoolerI ordered a new Koolatron Compact Kooler but received a factory rebuilt instead. Amazon adjusted the price but the cooler would not work. I attempted to contact Koolatron via telephone and email without success. I finally repaired the cooler myself and it now works fine. The warranty is worthless!

Customer Review: Koolatron Compact Kooler P 20
Summary: 4 Stars

I ordered, as a package, both the P20 Cooler, along with the Koolatron Muti-Purpose Adapter 110VAC to 12VDC, March 10, 1907 I checked to see both item were in stock, both were.

The Cooler arrived promptly on March 16, 2007. However, the 110VAC Adapter was back-ordered. With the Adapter on back-order, there was no way to check the Cooler's function. There was no way to pre-cool the unit, since the recommended time was about 12 hours, and it is not to be powered by vehicle battery for longer than 4 hours without the engine running. Furthermore there was no way to keep the contents cool at night while in the motel room, unless one wanted to let the engine run all night. So for the first 2 months the Cooler was useless!

The Adapter finally arrived on May 10, 2007, a full two months after the original order was placed. (This slow delivery is the reason for the 4-stars.) With the Adapter it was finally possible to test out the unit.

The unit was completely empty, outside air temp. was about 80 degrees. I was impressed by the cool-down time; a little over an hour to reach 40 degrees. Certainly the unit was not pre-cooled enough to fill with food, but the fact that it reached 40 degrees so quickly was encouraging. The adapter is somewhat cumbersome, but is easy enough to use and connect.

I have used the unit on several trips and have found it quite adequate, provided items are cold when they are introduced to it. Warm items take forever to cool down; twelve hours is not usually long enough. While the product may be cool-er it certainly is not cold. Extra frozen ice packs and/or freezer containers filled with frozen water help a great deal. They add extra cold air to the inside of the unit while frozen. Even thawed, they are still maintained at about 40 degrees. They fill up empty space within the unit, a REAL Killer: Each time the unit opens any empty space fills with warm air. This unit, being a top-loader, is a little better than others that are front-loaders. Since cold air tends to sink, more cold air stays in the unit when opened. Front-loaders spill ALL their cold air as soon as the door opens.

The unit is well constructed, and seems to perform quite well within its design capabilities. A few things to remember:
1. The unit is a COLD PRESERVER, NOT a REFRIGERATOR. Put it in cold it will come out warmer but still cold. Put in warm? Well, let's hope it is canned when you put it in.
2. The unit is a small heat-pump, (removing heat from the air to cool the inside of the unit) and it will do just that no matter what the outside air temp. is. This unit cools to 40 degree below the outside air temp. and if it is 32 degrees outside, it will cool to 40 degree BELOW that.
There is no thermostatic control, while it is plugged in, it is cooling.
The unit is insulated, but not real well, so it does no better job keeping cold out, than it does keeping it in. Water still freezes at 32 degrees, F. Transporting the filled unit in a trunk or other unheated space, in cold weather, is not the best idea. If you do, a least unplug it! If you are transporting medication which must be refrigerated, but not frozen, keep the unit in a heated area, so the unit can cool properly.
3. A small indoor/outdoor thermometer is a great idea. They are reasonable in price. They allow you to monitor both inside and outside temp. without opening the lid. Small units can be mounted outside on the top or side with double-stick tape, with the outdoor sensor inside. Ideally this would have been installed by the manufacturer, but it is a simple fix.

Customer Review: Koolatron Compact Kooler is great
Summary: 4 Stars

I have used this on two trips, one 800 miles and one over 3000. I pre-cooled it overnight and filled it with cold items such as a half-gallon of milk, vegies, yoghurt, etc. I like the way the fan is protected from being crowded and thus overheating. It had ample room for our needs. It is easy to carry, and to plug in in the vehicle and in motel rooms. For the latter I purchased the Wagan AC Power Adapter Wagan 5 Amp AC to 12V DC Power Adapter. This does get uncomfortably hot---tho not dangerously so---so I restricted it's use to the bathroom where I could put it on tile instead of carpet. Excess moisture did not accumulate on contents. Another nice feature is the clever way the cord wraps up so it doesn't catch on things like doorknobs. BEST OF ALL ---we were not schlubbing ice in, nor sloshing water around, nor emptying the cooler daily so it could be refilled, and everything maintained temperature nicely. I've since purchased another as a gift. Change I would make? Product is not noisy but I wish it were quieter still.