New Mod! Replaced built-in cooler...

[brainpause]

On our last camping trip to Harrison Bay, Holly was studying (as usual), and I was playing with the fire (as usual). I don't know where the idea came from, but I guess I was just "chewing" on some thoughts, and the following came to me:
 
Our camper has a built-in cooler, and opens like a chest. It is fairly inefficient, requiring a couple of bags of ice for even a mild day. I decided to do a little measuring, and see if I thought a Coleman Powerchill (http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=5640B807&categoryid=8570&submittingpage=subcategory.asp)
would fit in the space. We bought a Powerchill last year, and just love it! It keeps our food/drinks cool, even when it is warm. Keeps us from having to buy so much ice.
 
Well, as it turns out, the space was plenty big for the Powerchill; the hole wasn't quite big enough, so I had to cut a couple of inches off the back side to make the hole larger. No problem.
 
There was already a hole in the floor for a drain hose for the old cooler, so instead of plugging it (immediately), I decided to use it to my advantage. I ran flexible conduit under the trailer to the other side (where the converter resides), and ran wire from the converter to the hole in the floor. I will caulk this hole before winter, but it kept me from drilling another hole.
 
I then carpeted the inside of the walls of the space, as our Powerchill sometimes gets noisy (fan shaft?). I then wired it all together!
 
I thought about putting a switch somewhere so I can turn it on and off in case the food Powerchill needs all the battery juice. The built-in Powerchill will be used for drinks, and the "free-standing" Powerchill will be used for food only. My MIL bought us the second Powerchill, allowing us to do the installation and still have a free-standing Powerchill.
 
As for the cabinet, I hope to make it look a little better this winter. The existing hole was longer than the unit, so a nice piece of paneling will fix that. I don't have any pics as yet, but will post to my website (and maybe here) when I get them.
 
There are two reasons we decided to do this: First, we love the Powerchill we already have. Second, with a second Powerchill, we can put drinks and food in the camper, and close it up the night before instead of having to wait until when we are leaving to buy ice. I had already installed another 12V outlet for the original Powerchill. So, now we can run both Powerchills while traveling to the campground. And save money on ice.
 
Cool, huh?
 
Larry

[cyclone]

I'm going to have to save this idea (or take a look at it if I ever make it to a TPUC trip).  The "new-to-me" pu has the useless ice box thing, too.  This sounds like a great mod.  In the meantime, it will serve as dry storage.  Please post pictures someday.

[JonesFamilyJayco]

That would be a great modification! I have an Igloo fridge that may fit in the space I have.  Just use my ice box to store pillows & towels.  Please post a picture if you get a chance.  Thanks for the idea.

[Ab Diver]

Larry, good for you. I love it when a new mod makes a guy happy. Guess you don't dry camp too often, though.

Question, though.... what's the amp draw of a Powerchill? Will the TV alternator and charge wire be able to handle the load of two Powerchills at the same time while going down the road?

[brainpause]

Larry, good for you. I love it when a new mod makes a guy happy. Guess you don't dry camp too often, though.
 
Question, though.... what's the amp draw of a Powerchill? Will the TV alternator and charge wire be able to handle the load of two Powerchills at the same time while going down the road?

I checked the specs, and one Powerchill will draw 4 amps at 12VDC. I'm sure my TV alt could handle the draw...IF I had it hooked up to the TV. We have the old 4-flat plug, with no charge wire. We just use a deep cycle batt mounted on the tongue. However, I have thought of putting in a charge wire, so the battery (and equipment) will get a full 13.8 volts while traveling.
 
As for that battery handling two Powerchills remains to be seen. No, we don't dry camp very often, but when we do, the battery can handle at least one of them. As a matter of fact, I may have to change the wiring or something already. The new cooler didn't cool very much overnight (and the cooler works properly). So I hooked it up to 120V today to make sure it does work properly, and then see if it can hold the temp when it is already cooled. Kinda doubt it will so, I may have to modify my mod. :mad:
 
Oh well...I still think it is a good idea...it just needs some "updating."
 
Larry

[mike4947]

Larry, as a satisfied owner of an original Koolatron pizeoelectric cooler that's now about 25 years old and still working fine here's a few tips.

1) They aren't really made to cool things off or to get things cold.  The will however do a great job at keep cool things cool and cold things cold. Load one up with a case of warm soda and expect it not to get drinking cold for up to 36 hours.
2) just like any cooling device it cools by removing heat from an area and putting it somewhere else. You need a vent to the outside of the cabinet or enclosure it's in. Oherwise the heat will just build up reducing the effiency of the cooler.
3) make any power line from the TV a lot larger wire size than any of the recommendations. Also increase the size of the ground wire.  It only take a tiny voltage drop to bring the TV volage level below what the trailer battery level is and then any draw comes from the trailer battery. Been there and had that happen on several trailers.

[brainpause]

Thanks for the tips, Mike. I have yet to hook the battery up to the TV, but that might be a winter project.
 
As I said, I hooked the cooler up to 120V today, to see if it is cool when I get home, since it didn't get cool overnight. Yes, I know it is still working off 12V really, but it does work better when hooked to the Coleman converter that is built for it.
 
However, I did notice that, even with a LARGE hole on the end with the fan, that it was rather warm in the cabinet. Was very surprised that it would get that warm in there with such a large hole (on the top, too, so that heat can rise). So, if it works better on the 120v, I might have to redo some wiring; if it still works ineffectively, I might have to make the hole bigger. Which might be easier than rewiring.
 
Larry

[tlhdoc]

No, we don't dry camp very often, but when we do, the battery can handle at least one of them.  
Larry

If you have a long distance to tow you will need the charging line.  A battery will only power one of the coolers for several hours before it is drained.  With 2 coolers it will drain a battery twice as fast.

[brainpause]

If you have a long distance to tow you will need the charging line. A battery will only power one of the coolers for several hours before it is drained. With 2 coolers it will drain a battery twice as fast.

Agree, but we rarely tow "a long distance." We might go 3 or 4 hours, but that is fairly rare. 2 to 3 hours is more common; the 9 hours to VA this summer was huge for us.
 
Larry

[brainpause]

I have posted pics to our mods page, but not all the pics turned out. Our camera goofed up, so there aren't but two or three.

http://www.larryandhollycrockett.com/modifications.html

Larry

[tlhdoc]

The cooler looks good.   I am glad people post their mods here. :W