Koolatron Voyager Thermoelectric Cooler - P-27 Review

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(More customer reviews)Before retiring I drove a tractor trailer cross country for over 20 years, and used a Koolatron chest cooler nearly all that time. When on the road it would be on 24/7 sometimes for weeks at a time, with very few problems. Koolarton has been around for a long time and makes a great cooler. This cooler is a Canadian product, and still made in Canada to my knowledge. These things work great if you use them properly. Unless you are willing to wait a long time for things to cool down, you must cool items down before putting them in the cooler (The colder the better). Also if you cool the inside of the cooler first, that would help even more. That's where a AC/DC converter would come in handy to cool the frig in your house before you place it in your vehicle. This type cooler is extremely slow at cooling down warm items, but great at keeping cold items cold.
A trick I learned when in my truck was to bungee my cooler on the passenger seat and direct my AC vent at the fan side of it, that would keep it super cold inside even on one of those 100+ degree days they get around Phoenix AZ. CAUTION:::Everything will start to freeze in there doing this if you don't watch it and open the door regularly. On a hot day with the sun shining on the cooler its a good idea to keep it covered " Newspaper works " to keep the sun off of it. Note::: Keep everything away from the fan, air needs to circulate in that aria. Also don't pack the food to tight in the cooler, air needs to circulate there also.
I have never had an occasion to used it to heat or keep food hot. But I guess if you wanted to transport hot food to Grandma's or a friends house this would work quite well since it does get quite worm in there. Caution !!! Make sure you know what cycle " Hot or Cold " you are on before you start on a road trip. I personally know it is very easy to have it set on heat when you thought it was on cold if you don't double check it.
This P-27 cooler is a medium sized cooler and has a 29 quart capacity, probably the best all around size for the average family. Two liter bottles and milk containers will stand up inside of it. They also come much larger such as the Coolatron P-95 cooler, with a 45 quart capacity. They even come larger than that, if you have a super large family like on some of those TV shows. Of course they come smaller also, I have one that is mentioned at the end of my review.
If traveling a AC/DC Converter is a must if you need to keep things cold in a motel, or for any extended stop that has a 110 Volt wall outlet. Using the converter with your travel frig at home for extra cold drink storage for company might come in handy also. The Black & Decker CV6B / Vector VEC004 / Travel Mate / Rubbermaid / 6.0 Amp AC/DC Converter will do the job nicely.
I would not let the cooler run with your engine off for much more than a couple of hours, " Enough time to stop for a long lunch or dinner while you are traveling but not to much longer " unless you are ready to have your car jump started. I don't know precisely how long your battery would last, that would depend on the condition and size of it. I do know I have left mine on for over 2 hours with no problems whatsoever.
If used for very long periods of time, dust will accumulate around the fan aria and cut down on it's efficiency. Just remove the fan cover every 6 month's or so and clean out the dust if needed.
I still have a Koolatron chest cooler,that I use for longer trips. But I also have a smaller Black & Decker TC212B Travel Cooler & Warmer which also works well. I use this for day or weekend trips, when I don't have to take to much with me. Check out my review on it for more tip's. Before you leave how about a thumb's up for this review; lots of good advice for you. Thanx

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Ideal for road trips, camping excursions, boating trips, tailgate parties, and just about any other away-from-home activity, the Koolatron Voyager thermoelectric cooler keeps your food and beverages cool without requiring you to stock up on ice cubes every few hours. The Voyager plugs directly into your car's 12-volt cigarette lighter, where it draws less power than your headlights. Once plugged in, the cooler's thermoelectric cooling module--which takes up less space than a matchbook--maintains a constant temperature of approximately 40 to 45 degrees F lower than the temperature of the surrounding air. At a temperature of 80 degrees F, for example, the contents of the cooler will stay at 38 degrees F. As a result, you can store cool drinks for weeks on end, preserve leftovers for a couple of days, and even keep ice cubes whole for three or four days longer than traditional coolers. No more costly stops for soda or snacks, saving you both time and money while on the road. As an alternative, you can also use the Voyager to heat food up to 130 to 140 degrees F--hot enough for a potluck dinner or a picnic. Or you can split the difference and keep infant food and bottles warm while on the road.
Explaining Thermoelectric Refrigeration Thermoelectric refrigeration uses a principle called the Peltier effect to pump heat electronically. Named after a French scientist who discovered it in 1834, the Peltier effect describes the process of electrical currents passing through a series of tiny metal cube junctions, thereby transferring heat from one metal to the other. When connected to a heat-absorbing device on one side and a heat-dissipating device on the other, solid-state thermoelectric modules are capable of transferring large quantities of heat. The Voyager cooler applies this technology through its internal aluminum cold plate fins, which absorb heat from the contents (food and beverages), and then use the thermoelectric modules to transfer it to the heat-dissipating fins under the control panel. The only moving part is a small 12-volt fan that disperses the heat into the air. Thermoelectric modules--which are completely environmentally friendly--are ideally suited to recreational applications because they are lightweight, compact, insensitive to motion or tilting, have no moving parts, and can operate directly from 12-volt batteries.
Voyager Benefits The Voyager offers a number of benefits to anyone who travels frequently in a vehicle. While it's not quite as portable as a traditional cooler, it still offers plenty of on-the-go freedom, making it great for day trips, long overnight journeys, pleasure boating, fishing, and camping. It's also extremely efficient, continually reducing the temperature within the first three hours depending on the contents of the unit and the surrounding air. And because there's only one moving part (the 12-volt fan), virtually nothing in the cooler can wear out. The Voyager also proves invaluable as an extra fridge in a recreation room or basement bar, the main fridge in a dorm room, as a medical cooler for samples or temperature-sensitive drugs, and as a storage case for heat-sensitive camera and film equipment in extreme climates.
Specifications:
Capacity: 29 quarts, or up to 48 12-ounce cans
Power usage: 12 volts / 4.5 amps DC
Interior dimensions: 12 by 12 by 12 inches (W x H x D)
Exterior dimensions: 16 by 15.5 by 17 inches (W x H x D)
Weight: 13 pounds

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