Keep Travel Cool with a Car Refrigerator
Whether you're traveling to a nearby picnic or across the country, a car refrigerator is a helpful device for keeping drinks and food cold and fresh without the hassle and mess of ice in a cooler. Rather than the ice of a car cooler, a 12v hooks up straight into the cigarette lighter for ease and convenience. Consider the right portable car refrigerator for your purposes from large selection available on eBay.
What differentiates a car refrigerator from a cooler?- Cooling style: A car mini fridge uses a compressor to cool down the interior while a cooler uses either ice or a trickle of electricity for thermoelectric coolers.
- Maximum temperature difference: Standard coolers can only drop the interior temperature to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit below the ambient temperature while a fridge for cars can keep your food and drinks at the same temperature as your home refrigerator if not colder.
- Duration of use: A travel refrigerator is good for up to a week at a time whereas a cooler is best suited for day trips.
The smallest portable car refrigerator is good for a six-pack, which is perfect for a picnic or a car ride where drinks alone need to be kept cold. The largest go up to about 100 quarts. These versatile larger fridges take up more space, but they can keep groceries cold and fresh on the way home from a long trip on a hot day as well as keeping travel food safe and ready to go on long hauls. Larger sizes are helpful as portable refrigerators for camping. Many affordable size options are available on eBay.
What kind of power plug is used?eBay offers new and pre-owned car refrigerators with cords that plug right into a cigarette lighter socket. For vehicles that have AC outlets available, separate adapters will have to be purchased to make use of them. Most vehicles have several cigarette lighters to make the standard option far more convenient than the AC power alternative.
Do car fridges drain the battery when the engine's off?Most models of mini-car refrigerators have battery drain protection. This means they monitor the amount of charge left in the power source, and if it drops below a particular voltage, the car fridge will automatically turn off. This feature ensures that you will not return to a dead car battery just for the sake of cold snacks and beverages.