Salvation in the hot summer heat: 5 popular car refrigerators

In the wide range of products of the Mystery company there are a lot of useful devices for motorists. First of all, the public involved in driving trips is in demand for the brand's car acoustics and radio recorders. Car coolers breathe into their backs, which come to the rescue both in hot and cold seasons.

Seemingly unsightly in appearance, the MTC-26 model has a huge capacity (26 liters) thanks to this, it is designed to become an indispensable companion in outings to a picnic with a large company. Judge for yourself, several kilograms of meat for barbecue, fresh vegetables, sauces and ketchups, soft drinks are placed in a plastic container with polyurethane insulation, and there is still room for something delicious. If necessary, the products are easily separated from each other by a removable partition.

The supply of the life-giving power of electricity to the box can be arranged both from the on-board 12 V car network and from the 230 V network (both types of power cords are presented in the "out of the box" configuration). However, you can't call the car cooler the most effective in the class: it provides maximum cooling by about 10-15 °C below the ambient temperature and works to heat the contents to a temperature of about 50 °C. In a situation with maintaining cold, additional cooling elements are slightly helpful, which will need to be purchased in a separate order.

For most possible situations, the "strong" Mystery MTC-26 turns out to be quite enough. It keeps soft drinks cold, and, for example, fried chicken — warm, which naturally lifts the mood. To top off the overall positive picture, the model takes its moderate cost, offering large capacity and good versatility for little money.

Auto coolers and thermal bags are produced under the auspices of the Chinese brand Thermo. The company's products captivate with a favorable combination of "delicious" price and high quality, which is once again confirmed in fact by a detailed study of the Thermo TR-124A model.

The 24-liter plastic thermobox is able to take on board a considerable amount of provisions, which can be maintained both chilled and heated (up to a temperature of 65 °C). The choice of a specific mode of operation of the car cooler is carried out using the Cold/Hot toggle switch on the front panel. He is accompanied by an electric current switch: 12 V for powering the device from the socket of the car cigarette lighter and 230 V for energizing from a conventional outlet.

The entire "filling" of the Thermo TR-124A is concentrated in a fully removable lid. It also managed to allocate a piece of free space for a built-in fan that accelerates the flow of cooled or heated air around the perimeter of the box, and three cup holders. In addition, the model is equipped with a removable lattice partition, which allows you to separate some products from others, and also ensures the creation of an air gap between the bottom of the contents when the car cooler is loaded tightly.

Reviews of the owners of the refrigerator box indicate its excessive noise during operation. However, you should not worry too much about this. You can safely close your eyes to this nuance of operation due to the democratic cost of the model and its faithful service for the benefit of keeping the products fresh or warmed up for a long period of time.

The car cooler with the MTC-16 model index from the American company Mystery is somewhat different from most of its colleagues on the shop floor. First of all, with its form factor (the thermobox is disguised to match a large armrest), and secondly, with a cooling method without using a fan.

The principle of operation of Mystery MTC-16 is based on the Peltier effect — the occurrence of a temperature difference when an electric current flows. To do this, thermoelectric semiconductor wafers are embedded in the front wall of the model. In the cold generation mode, their internal parts are cooled, and the external parts are heated. When the current direction changes, everything happens exactly the opposite.

The threshold of temperature differences claimed by the manufacturer during the operation of the cooling box is up to 18 °C from the current microclimate of the environment. In the heating mode, the temperature inside the thermal container is set to 65 °C. The strongest cooling or heating effect is observed at the front wall, where, as mentioned, thermoplastics are located.

The car cooler can be powered from an on-board car network of 12 V or a regular household outlet with a voltage of 230 V. Both types of cords are provided in the complete set of the model, and one of them is hidden in a special niche, which is located in the cover of the device. Convenience in handling the Mystery MTC-16 is added by a shoulder strap for carrying and a tandem of cup holders on the upper face of the model, where aluminium cans with soft drinks, thermal mugs or disposable cups with coffee or tea become without problems.

Ezetil has long specialized in the production of everything related to mobile cooling. The brand's car coolers are in high demand among the public, in particular, the Ezetil E 27 Turbo model, which is good in literally everything.

According to passport data, the internal volume of the box is 27 liters, which means that you can put a lot of products in it in one sitting. In addition, the car refrigerator turned out to be not the smallest in height — 6 two-liter bottles with soft drinks become into it without any problems. The body of the thermal product is made of high-strength plastic with a convenient carrying handle, which simultaneously acts as a locking mechanism.

The difference between the outdoor and indoor temperature when Ezetil E 27 Turbo is used to cool the contents can reach 18 °C. The device also has a heating function (up to 60 °C). Switching modes of operation of the model is carried out using the "cold / heat" toggle switch. In both cases, the built-in fan contributes to the uniform distribution of air flows around the perimeter of the car cooler chamber, which ensures uniform cooling or heating of products.

The mini-refrigerator is powered by energy from the socket of a car cigarette lighter, and during a stop on the way it can be connected to a 230 V network. The power cord is hidden unnecessarily in a special compartment built into the lid. Thus, Ezetil E 27 Turbo is a practical and convenient device for regular use on trips and outings to nature, when you need to take a large amount of provisions to your destination with full confidence that the food will not spoil.

Dometic CoolFreeze CDF 18 is a representative of the kind of compressor auto—coolers that borrowed the principles of operation from large domestic counterparts. "Under the hood" the model has a compressor that circulates the refrigerant through the cooling circuit with minimal power consumption (about 35 watts).

The device has responsibilities for cooling and deep freezing of products in a wide temperature range — from +10 °C to -18 °C. A figure similar to the last value also appears in the useful volume of the model's camera, which is equal to 18 liters. The space of the inner chamber can be divided into zones for storing various provisions by means of a removable partition.

The Dometic CoolFreeze CDF 18 design provides a convenient folding carrying handle. However, the car cooler itself weighs a lot (almost 10 kg without taking into account the weight of the contents), respectively, not everyone can handle its transportation. To increase the convenience of delivering chilled products to the destination, the brand's model range has a close relative of the instance in question — the Dometic Cool Freeze CDF 18T with a frame and a trolley for transportation on hard surfaces.

The car cooler is powered by power from 12/24 V DC networks. In addition, its assets have a car battery protection system from the discharge. And although you can't call the price tag of the model particularly democratic, in terms of functionality and efficiency of maintaining cold, regardless of the external temperature, you can count the device's equals in the same volume on the fingers of one hand.