Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I came across a guy selling these coolers locally, with the power cable cut off, at a price I could not resist - so I took the chance & bought one - brought it home, removed the "electronics cover" and added a power cable with cigarette lighter plug - tested it using an old 12V 4A AC adapter (it pulls just around 3.7~3.8A) - both fans ran, and it cooled. Now the correct way to test a cooler is to see if it'll keep your beer cold - so I went outside & got a couple of beers and put them in the cooler - please note these beers were at room temperature when I put them in the cooler - sure enough a few hours later I had cold beer - the cooler didn't just keep the beer cold - it cooled the beer down - yes, it will do that - but, because it's not designed to, it's not very good at it. Some of the other reviewers have reported "bad experiences" so I think I'd like to point out a few things - this is a "thermo-electric" cooler, not a refrigerator, so don't expect it to do the job of a fridge, (12V fridges are available, so if you need a fridge, buy one - expect to pay as much as 10x what this costs). Thermo-electric coolers are not energy efficient, they will drain your car battery if left running for more than a few hours with the car engine off, they will keep cold stuff cold, within stated limits - roughly 40*F less than ambient temperature - and please note ambient means outside the cooler, not outside the car you locked the cooler in - because temperatures in a locked car can get extremely high in the summer sun. A 12V fridge will do a better job at keeping your stuff cold in a locked car - it will draw around the same current as this cooler, but only do so when the compressor is running (see you do get what you pay for), but they will also drain your battery because the compressor will run longer in the heat. Read the manual (available for download from Coleman), it's a single sheet of paper printed both sides, so not a lot of reading, understand what it is you're buying, and you'll be almost as delighted as I am - the cooler will keep your cold stuff cold and do it just like Coleman claims, without the fuss & the mess of ice, there will be no melt water, so no soggy food - and just in case you're curious as to why you won't be as delighted as I am - I got mine at a really, really, good price.