Koolatron Coolers

What Koolatron makes for campers and road trips

On this site, Koolatron covers three product types: powered coolers, hard coolers and one soft cooler bag. Inside them the lineup splits into five groups:

• 12V thermoelectric cooler/warmers: hard-sided, plug into a vehicle outlet
• Rolling cooler/warmers: the same idea on wheels
• 12V soft bags: plug-in coolers in a soft, collapsible bag
• SmartKool fridge/freezers: compressor cooling, 12V DC and 110V AC
• Ice chests and a soft bag: no plug, regular ice

Koolatron's own site also sells wine coolers, mini fridges, kitchen appliances and car accessories. This site doesn't list those. The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go, so I'll write about the groups and how they differ, not about how many are listed this week.

Most specs in the grid come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks them. Cooling numbers, power draw and care steps below come from Koolatron's own pages. Where a listing doesn't give a value, you get a dash. I'll take a dash over a guess. A guess is how I once planned the ice for six people and fed nine.

The Koolatron cooler lineup

12V thermoelectric cooler/warmers

This is the core of the brand, and most of the grid. A thermoelectric cooler cools with an electric module, cooling fins and a fan instead of a compressor (the maker's FAQ tells you to vacuum those fins and that fan), and it runs off a 12V outlet. Koolatron's own 12V cooler page names its models by series and nickname: the P9 Traveller, P20, P25 FunKool, P27 Voyager, P65 KargoKooler, P75 Kool Kaddy, P85 Krusader, P95 TravelSaver and the P40.

Sizes in the grid run from a small single-person box that sits on a passenger seat up to large chests for a family weekend. The maker's FAQ gives the cooling numbers that matter:

• About 40°F below the outside air for P-, D- and W-series coolers
• About 36°F below for the P25
• Roughly 38–48°F inside on an 80–90°F day
• No adjustable thermostat
• Warming to 130–140°F on P- and W-series models

Flip the power cord and most of these turn into a food warmer. The maker's FAQ says to bring food refrigerated and reheat it at your destination on long trips, and to follow safe food handling. More on the type is on the thermoelectric cooler page and the electric cooler page.

Several cooler/warmers in the grid are sold as "two-way design" models, and one maker model is listed with a dual opening and another with a reversible door. Read the listing to see which way the lid opens before you pick a spot for it in the truck. (Renee wants to know why the cooler has more ways to open than the glove box. I don't have a good answer.)

Rolling cooler/warmers

The W65 Kargo Wheeler and W75 Kool Wheeler, per the maker's names, are thermoelectric cooler/warmers on wheels. In the grid they show up as rolling cooler/warmers in two sizes. Same cooling, same plug, plus a handle and wheels for the walk from the truck to the campsite. The cooler with wheels page covers wheeled coolers across brands.

12V soft bags

Koolatron's D13 and D25 are plug-in coolers in a soft bag. The maker's D25 page says it cools to 40°F below the surrounding air, folds flat when empty, and has a padded shoulder strap and two handles. It comes with a 12V DC cord; an AC adapter is sold separately, per the maker. The grid also has an electric 25-liter bag with a shoulder strap whose listing says the 110V adapter is included.

These are the ones that fit behind a seat or in a crowded truck bed. A soft cooler bag without a plug, the D25 AZ, shows up in the grid as well. More soft options are on the soft cooler page.

SmartKool compressor fridge/freezers

The SmartKool models are a different machine. They use a compressor, like the fridge in your kitchen, and they're controlled by temperature setting rather than by distance from the outside air. On the maker's SmartKool 42-quart page:

• Range: -8°F to 50°F
• Cool-down: 90°F to 21°F in under 30 minutes
• Noise: under 40 dB
• Power: 12V DC cord and 110V AC adapter included
• Control: free SmartKool app over Bluetooth
• Battery: built-in low-voltage detection
• Incline: freezer runs on slopes up to 30 degrees

The grid has three sizes, the same three as the maker's SK30, SK40 and SK50. If you want to freeze venison on the drive home, this is the Koolatron group that can. Compressor models across brands are on the compressor fridge page, the portable freezer page and the car fridge page.

Ice chests

The ice chests are the plain-ice part of the lineup: vintage-style hard coolers, a smaller and a larger one in the grid. Koolatron's page for the 25-liter model lists:

• Capacity: 26 quarts, up to 32 soda cans
• Handle: locks in place to hold the lid shut
• Shell: injection-molded hard exterior, stain-resistant interior
• Ice: "up to 4 full days on ice retention testing," per the maker
• Divider: removable
• Made in: North America, per the maker

The larger ones on Koolatron's site list a bottle opener. A quart is a quarter gallon. The coolers page and the small cooler page compare ice coolers across brands.

Thermoelectric or compressor: the deciding question

My one opinion on this page: buy a thermoelectric cooler for drinks and lunches on the road, and a compressor fridge if you're keeping raw meat cold for days. Here's the checkable reason. The FDA says cold food should be stored at 40°F or below. Koolatron's own FAQ says its thermoelectric coolers reach roughly 38–48°F on an 80–90°F day and have no thermostat. On a warm September afternoon that's a coin flip on the right side of 40. A SmartKool lists a set range down to -8°F.

In a November truck the thermoelectric side gets easier. The FAQ even says that in air below 65°F a thermoelectric cooler can slowly freeze its contents (no ice cubes, though). So the answer depends on your season as much as your menu.

How to choose within the Koolatron lineup

Start with the power you'll have

• Truck running all day: any 12V model
• Truck parked at camp: plan for the AC adapter or a compressor model with battery protection
• No power at all: an ice chest

The FAQ notes some vehicles cut power to the 12V outlet when the ignition is off. Check yours in the driveway, not at the trailhead.

Then the capacity

Quarts in the grid come from the listings. Size for the food, not the drinks. The FDA suggests packing drinks in one cooler and perishables in another, so the food cooler gets opened less. That's a good excuse for owning two, which I'll be using.

Then wheels, bag or box

Wheels for long walks from the truck. A soft bag for tight spaces and storage. A hard box for the truck bed and a flat surface to set things on. The cooler with wheels page and portable fridge page are good next stops.

Then warm mode and extras

Most P- and W-series cooler/warmers warm too. The SmartKool adds an app and a freezer range. The ice chests add nothing to plug in, which is a feature on its own.

Power draw in plain numbers

Here's the ice math for people who don't use ice. Koolatron's FAQ says most of its thermoelectric models draw about 4.5 amps at 12 volts, which is 54 watts, and the small P9 draws about 3 amps, or 36 watts. A thermoelectric cooler has no thermostat, so it pulls that the whole time it's plugged in.

Quick electrician's math: 4.5 amps for 10 hours is 45 amp-hours out of a parked truck's battery. That's why the FAQ talks about a battery saver that cuts off at 11 volts, and why the SmartKool lists low-voltage detection. On the drive, the alternator covers it. Parked overnight, it's the battery's problem, and then yours.

One more number from the same FAQ: unplugged, the P25 keeps ice frozen for up to 3.3 days under optimal conditions. So a plug-in cooler still works as a plain insulated box if the power quits. Optimal conditions are a campsite I have never once found.

Care and setup for 12V coolers

Koolatron's FAQ gives a short maintenance list:

• Keep the vents clear, and set the AC adapter on a hard surface, not carpet
• Vacuum dust from the fan and fins every 2–3 months
• Defrost by switching to warm mode for 2–3 minutes, then wipe out the meltwater
• Seal any ice in a leakproof container, at the end away from the fins
• Use the 10-ft factory cord; long extension cords drop voltage and cooling
• Use Koolatron's own AC adapter; other adapters or trickle chargers may void the warranty

Cooling takes about an hour per pound of what you load, the FAQ says, so food that goes in already cold from the fridge saves the cooler a lot of work. Keep raw meat securely wrapped, per the FDA, so its juices stay off everything else.

Don't use a damaged cord, the FAQ says; check it for kinks and knots before each trip.

Koolatron facts

From the maker's own site:

• Since 1983: Koolatron's site describes the company as "Dedicated to innovation in manufacturing since 1983"
• Ice chest origin: the 25-liter ice chest page says made in North America
• Warranty: the site says purchases are backed by warranty protection but doesn't list terms on its warranty support page; contact the maker for the terms of your model

Plug it in the night before, load it in the morning, and check the outlet with the engine off before you need it. The cooler can't fix a dead outlet. Neither can I, and I'm an electrician.