12v Igloo Iceless 40 QT Cooler

[Hannah.Taylor]

The 12v Igloo Iceless 40 qt electric cooler (left side) is a game changer for storm chasing. It keeps your food cold without the hassle of buying ice and dumping the water every day. No more soggy food.

Igloo recommends pre-cooling the cooler a few hours before you put your food and beverages in it.

Amazon.com

You can get the adapter for it off Amazon that lets you plug it in to a standard plug at the hotel. (I actually have two of these. One I keep in my chase vehicle. The other in the garage).

I take the cooler in the hotel and plug it into the wall outlet with the adapter.

Adapter

Amazon.com

And it nevers hurts to have a spare 12v cord on hand either.
Amazon.com

 

[JamesCaruso]

That’s pretty cool. Do you have to keep it connected to power while on the road, or does it hold the cold for the day until you plug it back in at the hotel at night? I would imagine that might allow the temperature to fluctuate too much, which is bad for the food.

I couldn’t do this anyway, since I fly out to chase, but it seems like a great idea. I used to buy a cooler once I got here, and then would just give it away to the front desk person at whatever hotel I stayed at last before flying home. I chalked it up as another chase expense, and theoretically the cost was offset by buying food in a supermarket instead of at a convenience store or fast food restaurant. (Not to mention the health benefits, and avoiding coming home 5 pounds heavier ) But it was the constant draining and replenishment of the ice that led me to abandon that practice. Also on down days I’d prefer to eat at restaurants, but still had to maintain ice in the cooler and the food might not stay fresh enough until chasing started again. But just for cold drinks alone this would be great!

 

[Sean Ramsey]

I use a mini-fridge for my chasing/traveling as well. Very convenient for cold drinks, etc. plus my meals on the go are always PB&J when I'm out in the middle of nowhere to tied me over until dinner and I always need to keep the jelly cold. I've thought about buying individual packets of jelly but they're expensive. Anyways, we always use our mini-fridge on long distance trips because it helps save a ton of money from dining out (three or more and the bill gets a little high, especially day after day). It's paid for itself more than 10 times over if not more since I've had it.

 

[Hannah.Taylor]

That’s pretty cool. Do you have to keep it connected to power while on the road, or does it hold the cold for the day until you plug it back in at the hotel at night? I would imagine that might allow the temperature to fluctuate too much, which is bad for the food.

I couldn’t do this anyway, since I fly out to chase, but it seems like a great idea. I used to buy a cooler once I got here, and then would just give it away to the front desk person at whatever hotel I stayed at last before flying home. I chalked it up as another chase expense, and theoretically the cost was offset by buying food in a supermarket instead of at a convenience store or fast food restaurant. (Not to mention the health benefits, and avoiding coming home 5 pounds heavier ) But it was the constant draining and replenishment of the ice that led me to abandon that practice. Also on down days I’d prefer to eat at restaurants, but still had to maintain ice in the cooler and the food might not stay fresh enough until chasing started again. But just for cold drinks alone this would be great!

It's 12V. You plug it in the cig lighter while in the car. Then you plug it into the adapter at the hotel and plug the adapter into the standard 110v outlet in the hotel to maintain cold continuity. You can leave it unplugged for 45 mins to an hour and it will retain its cold if you dont open the lid and let the cold air out.