i have one of these for more than 10 years and it still works great.I only use it for sodas and beers and the temp for both is perfect. The memsahib can,t complain that I'm clogging her fridge.
I don't know how I missed this one. I absolutely want one!! Put it in my room and put some fruits in it, that I can use to bring to work, for lunch and stuff too.
Yeah it's worked exceptionally well, I've had it running practically non-stop since I got it, but I think tomorrow I'm going to finish whatever's in it and shut it down for a while. My Aldi still had 1 or 2 left--you never know, you might get lucky. Stop in.
Just bought mine from Aldi today. We go fishing a lot and road trips. For camping we can connect it to my generator for the 120v power. Only downfall is I wish it had a button u can press and wheels pop out on bottoms for easy moving for a petite person like me lol!
Wheels would be nice, but are generally found on larger coolers. I have a bad back so it's hard to carry much weight, and I can carry this thing fully loaded. Wheels also would get scuffed and scratched up, and wouldn't work well on sand.
Back when I had my soft sides, one of them had a optional voltage cutoff unit. Kick off at 10.5 volts. Which I still have, usually it took about 6 hours for kick out.
That could potentially be useful for something like this. Personally I like to pack it the night before, leave it plugged in the house, and take it with me right when I leave. At that point, it gets plugged in the car until I get to my destination, when it's plugged back into AC again.
Thanks! I'll give you the follow-up here: I bought this one a year ago. It's worked perfectly through and through. I've taken it on road trips in the car and used it for other things to keep them cold in the house, especially great if you just happen to have to fit something in your fridge and it's just not having it, this can double as another. It's a lot roomier than you'd think, I've fit an entire watermelon inside! It currently is serving as a drink cooler in one of my "man caves", there's a few "special" bottles in there for an out-of-town visitor that will be arriving. Everything I said in the video still holds true. Freezer ice packs will only help it, if you have them and the room inside. Also works really so much better when the stuff is already cold, so if you're packing lunches for a picnic or something, make it the night before, put it in the fridge, then pack the cooler before you go. I've been thoroughly impressed with this. Besides regularly cleaning the inside and outside when needed, it's a good idea after it's been used for an extended period of time (like mine, which has been running for about 2 months straight now) to clean the dust out of the vent on top. Best and easiest way to do that is with compressed air. Shut it off first and blow it all out. The cans of compressed air will work, but much better if you have a real air compressor with a blow gun, it works much much better. Aldi only has these for a limited time, mine was down to 3 left today, and they won't have them for another year most likely. If you're on the fence, go and jump, you won't be sorry. If absolutely nothing else, it will still act as a regular cooler if and when it ever dies, so you can still use it in the traditional manner. Hope that helps!
jaykay18 Thanks for that update. I will buy one tomorrow. I saw them at my Aldi today was very hesitant. But after watching your video and reading this update, I’m sold!😀
Yes they do! These specialty items come around once a year for about a week. I love this thing, it works really well and it's very solid, I've used it quite a lot, even on trips in the car.
Good review. Aldi has these again in 2020., But there is no dial control on the new model. It only has a “mode” switch for heat/cool. It is way quieter than I expected.
Jodi Sellers I plugged mine empty into an AC outlet and put my digital thermometer probe ( the kind with a long silicone coated cable) in the bottom. It started cooling right away and got as cool as 44 degrees in a 76 degree room. It never dropped below 44 although running for an additional hour. Next time I shop I plan on cooling it in my home before plugging it into the car. Hopefully opening it to put food in will not let out all the cooled air!
Thanks very much! Yes, they've changed over the years slightly. Mine only cools and it works very well. I often "jumpstart" it overnight by plugging it in the house before I leave on my trip the next day. Also if you have those reusable ice packs they're great to throw in as well, also gives it a jumpstart. It may actually get a little colder in the car; these are Peltier Junction cooled. They require straight DC current, which the car can provide. From the house it has to rectify the AC to DC, and it's not perfect. By "jumpstarting" it (and I mean fully loaded with all the stuff you're going to take with you), everything's cold when you leave, and stays cold during your trip. I'm very glad I got mine and continue to use it time and again when I go on trips.
I have one half the size and you can heat by reversing the plug. It draws quite a few amps so you have to be careful you don't drain your 12v car battery.
I used to have a small "refrigerator" shaped thermoelectric cooler that also could be a warmer in the same way. I ended up giving that away years ago. The power outlets in my car are controlled by the ignition, so there's no way to leave it running "without the key". Even though my car is pushbutton, it will prevent you from locking the doors if it's in accessory mode, and I will NOT leave my beer vulnerable to being stolen!
jaykay18 That is so true. If you are in the desert and all you have is a $100 bill and a can of beer (ok, warm beer), guess which is more important to you.
any idea how many amps it uses? My Aldi has one left and I might go get it tomorrow. Doing research on it tonight! My plan for it is to leave it in our camper (seasonal resort) and so it would be plugged into an outlet & mainly running from Fri-Sun to keep beverages cold. My fridge in the camper just isn't big enough. We are on 30 amp service so have to be careful with not running to many things!
Around the 4:30 mark when you were showing us the fan not kicking in untill eco mode, I think that is because it has a thermostat in it, so it's probably a nice temperature in your house, but if you went outside and it was 100° then that fan will be running on even tho lowest setting. Even if you left it on low in your house it would probably still kick in once the inside of the cooler got too warm.
Great theory, although it's incorrect. There's definitely no thermostat. That control is a PWM control for both the fan and the Peltier junction; the more you turn it up, the more juice both get. If it were plugged in via the cigarette lighter cord as I show at 6:48, it runs at full speed, regardless of where that control is set, it runs on high always. The reason it does that is Peltier junctions love to run on pure DC; they need very clean power. It actually runs a bit cooler in the car than it does on AC power because the output of its built in adapter cannot provide pure DC. And, a PWM is very easy to implement with a switchmode power supply, such as what this unit has.
@@jaykay18 You are right. It contains an adjustable PWM voltage regulator. The lower the setting, the lower the voltage (and the lower the current). The fan needs a minimum voltage, so you need to crank it up to the minimum voltage the fan needs for it to start turning. A 12V fan typically starts running slowly above 5-6V. Below it might move a bit, but the power is too low to move it beyond the next magnet. I wanted a Peltier cooler to take with me on my e-bike running from an e-bike battery. It should be quite small in size for that reason. It's about 5.5 liters (6 quarts). I built it myself from cheap stuff and left-overs from other builds. I added a thermostat for fun, but you are right thermostats on Peltier-coolers are nonsense. It's best to run them for full all the time because they are very inefficient. With the 4 dollar Chinese thermostat I can read the inside temperature and I can make it start if the temperature of the pre-cooled things warmed up, but after that it will keep running because the cooling capacity is quite low. It helps, but it costs a lot of energy to keep things cool at 10% or so efficiency. Listening to your video the fan of the Aldi cooler is pretty loud. Mine uses a bit more power, but it is much more quiet. I suppose the Aldi Perltier is a 12705 and I use a 12706 which uses 20% more current at 12V.
Thanks Czar! Yeah, the fan in this thing is kind of droning. In the car, with driving noise and music on, it's not really noticeable. In a quiet house though, it permeates!
@@jaykay18 It's all about priorities, isn't it? I would just crank up the music and drink a cold beer instead of ... well ... being quiet with a hot beer.
Ice keeps it colder, for sure. But this is rather convenient as well because there's no saving up or going and buying ice. For a backyard party there's nothing like a cooler filled with ice and water. But for on the go, I think this is certainly a good option.
So it doesn't charge up for portable use? Asking before I buy lol. Has to be plugged in to run right? Or does it just stay cold for a while? How long will it stay cold after unplugging from votage? THX!
There's no battery in the world that would power this thing for any reasonable amount of time, so yes, it doesn't charge because there is no battery. Has to be plugged into the house or car to stay running. How cold it will stay is a question that can't be answered, such as "how many pages can I write from this Bic pen?" There are too many variables involved. Those would include how cold it was to start with, how well-packed it is, if you have any other additional cooling like reusable ice packs inside, what the temperature outside the cooler is, whether it will be in direct sunlight, the list goes on. So to keep it the coldest, have everything ice cold before you put it in, pack it well, use ice packs if you have them, keep it out of direct sunlight and in the shade.
Is it still working? Any chance you can post a decibel reading? If you don't have a decibel meter, and you do have a smartphone, there are free db meter apps.
Yes, it is still working, and working fantastically! Honestly if you're that concerned about the noise, don't buy it. But because you asked the right person, and I also happen to have a decibel meter, I measured it with the microphone about 6 inches away from the vent, A-weighting, and it read about 65dB. 12 inches away was 60dB.
i have one of these for more than 10 years and it still works great.I only use it for sodas and beers and the temp for both is perfect. The memsahib can,t complain that I'm clogging her fridge.
Yes, this thing works great. It never ceased to amaze me how well it really does work!
I don't know how I missed this one. I absolutely want one!! Put it in my room and put some fruits in it, that I can use to bring to work, for lunch and stuff too.
Yeah it's worked exceptionally well, I've had it running practically non-stop since I got it, but I think tomorrow I'm going to finish whatever's in it and shut it down for a while. My Aldi still had 1 or 2 left--you never know, you might get lucky. Stop in.
Just bought mine from Aldi today. We go fishing a lot and road trips. For camping we can connect it to my generator for the 120v power. Only downfall is I wish it had a button u can press and wheels pop out on bottoms for easy moving for a petite person like me lol!
Wheels would be nice, but are generally found on larger coolers. I have a bad back so it's hard to carry much weight, and I can carry this thing fully loaded. Wheels also would get scuffed and scratched up, and wouldn't work well on sand.
Back when I had my soft sides, one of them had a optional voltage cutoff unit. Kick off at 10.5 volts. Which I still have, usually it took about 6 hours for kick out.
That could potentially be useful for something like this. Personally I like to pack it the night before, leave it plugged in the house, and take it with me right when I leave. At that point, it gets plugged in the car until I get to my destination, when it's plugged back into AC again.
Great review! To the point and no repeating yourself! Thumbs up. Would like a follow up-after using it for a while.
Thanks! I'll give you the follow-up here: I bought this one a year ago. It's worked perfectly through and through. I've taken it on road trips in the car and used it for other things to keep them cold in the house, especially great if you just happen to have to fit something in your fridge and it's just not having it, this can double as another. It's a lot roomier than you'd think, I've fit an entire watermelon inside!
It currently is serving as a drink cooler in one of my "man caves", there's a few "special" bottles in there for an out-of-town visitor that will be arriving. Everything I said in the video still holds true. Freezer ice packs will only help it, if you have them and the room inside. Also works really so much better when the stuff is already cold, so if you're packing lunches for a picnic or something, make it the night before, put it in the fridge, then pack the cooler before you go. I've been thoroughly impressed with this.
Besides regularly cleaning the inside and outside when needed, it's a good idea after it's been used for an extended period of time (like mine, which has been running for about 2 months straight now) to clean the dust out of the vent on top. Best and easiest way to do that is with compressed air. Shut it off first and blow it all out. The cans of compressed air will work, but much better if you have a real air compressor with a blow gun, it works much much better.
Aldi only has these for a limited time, mine was down to 3 left today, and they won't have them for another year most likely. If you're on the fence, go and jump, you won't be sorry. If absolutely nothing else, it will still act as a regular cooler if and when it ever dies, so you can still use it in the traditional manner. Hope that helps!
jaykay18 Thanks for that update. I will buy one tomorrow. I saw them at my Aldi today was very hesitant. But after watching your video and reading this update, I’m sold!😀
Aldi has them again this year right now for $49.99. Great item!
Yes they do! These specialty items come around once a year for about a week. I love this thing, it works really well and it's very solid, I've used it quite a lot, even on trips in the car.
Where are the cords stored.
Just picked 2 up yesterday. Nice little cooler
Yes, these perform excellent. I have been using this one since I got it.
Good review. Aldi has these again in 2020., But there is no dial control on the new model. It only has a “mode” switch for heat/cool. It is way quieter than I expected.
I just got one myself. I haven't opened it yet but was wondering about the controller. Does it seem to be cooling ok? Thanks
Jodi Sellers I plugged mine empty into an AC outlet and put my digital thermometer probe ( the kind with a long silicone coated cable) in the bottom. It started cooling right away and got as cool as 44 degrees in a 76 degree room. It never dropped below 44 although running for an additional hour. Next time I shop I plan on cooling it in my home before plugging it into the car. Hopefully opening it to put food in will not let out all the cooled air!
Thanks very much! Yes, they've changed over the years slightly. Mine only cools and it works very well. I often "jumpstart" it overnight by plugging it in the house before I leave on my trip the next day. Also if you have those reusable ice packs they're great to throw in as well, also gives it a jumpstart.
It may actually get a little colder in the car; these are Peltier Junction cooled. They require straight DC current, which the car can provide. From the house it has to rectify the AC to DC, and it's not perfect. By "jumpstarting" it (and I mean fully loaded with all the stuff you're going to take with you), everything's cold when you leave, and stays cold during your trip. I'm very glad I got mine and continue to use it time and again when I go on trips.
jaykay18 The cold packs are a great idea. I will be sure to add some frozen water bottles before I leave for groceries.
I have one half the size and you can heat by reversing the plug. It draws quite a few amps so you have to be careful you don't drain your 12v car battery.
I used to have a small "refrigerator" shaped thermoelectric cooler that also could be a warmer in the same way. I ended up giving that away years ago.
The power outlets in my car are controlled by the ignition, so there's no way to leave it running "without the key". Even though my car is pushbutton, it will prevent you from locking the doors if it's in accessory mode, and I will NOT leave my beer vulnerable to being stolen!
jaykay18 That is so true. If you are in the desert and all you have is a $100 bill and a can of beer (ok, warm beer), guess which is more important to you.
wtam69 That depends. If there's a 24-hour convenience store there, and chances are there probably would be, that $100 will buy a lot more beer! ;-)
any idea how many amps it uses? My Aldi has one left and I might go get it tomorrow. Doing research on it tonight! My plan for it is to leave it in our camper (seasonal resort) and so it would be plugged into an outlet & mainly running from Fri-Sun to keep beverages cold. My fridge in the camper just isn't big enough. We are on 30 amp service so have to be careful with not running to many things!
@@lisafischer7898 5 amps at 12v.
Around the 4:30 mark when you were showing us the fan not kicking in untill eco mode, I think that is because it has a thermostat in it, so it's probably a nice temperature in your house, but if you went outside and it was 100° then that fan will be running on even tho lowest setting. Even if you left it on low in your house it would probably still kick in once the inside of the cooler got too warm.
Great theory, although it's incorrect. There's definitely no thermostat. That control is a PWM control for both the fan and the Peltier junction; the more you turn it up, the more juice both get. If it were plugged in via the cigarette lighter cord as I show at 6:48, it runs at full speed, regardless of where that control is set, it runs on high always. The reason it does that is Peltier junctions love to run on pure DC; they need very clean power. It actually runs a bit cooler in the car than it does on AC power because the output of its built in adapter cannot provide pure DC. And, a PWM is very easy to implement with a switchmode power supply, such as what this unit has.
@@jaykay18
You are right. It contains an adjustable PWM voltage regulator.
The lower the setting, the lower the voltage (and the lower the current). The fan needs a minimum voltage, so you need to crank it up to the minimum voltage the fan needs for it to start turning. A 12V fan typically starts running slowly above 5-6V. Below it might move a bit, but the power is too low to move it beyond the next magnet.
I wanted a Peltier cooler to take with me on my e-bike running from an e-bike battery. It should be quite small in size for that reason. It's about 5.5 liters (6 quarts). I built it myself from cheap stuff and left-overs from other builds. I added a thermostat for fun, but you are right thermostats on Peltier-coolers are nonsense. It's best to run them for full all the time because they are very inefficient. With the 4 dollar Chinese thermostat I can read the inside temperature and I can make it start if the temperature of the pre-cooled things warmed up, but after that it will keep running because the cooling capacity is quite low. It helps, but it costs a lot of energy to keep things cool at 10% or so efficiency.
Listening to your video the fan of the Aldi cooler is pretty loud. Mine uses a bit more power, but it is much more quiet. I suppose the Aldi Perltier is a 12705 and I use a 12706 which uses 20% more current at 12V.
Thanks Czar! Yeah, the fan in this thing is kind of droning. In the car, with driving noise and music on, it's not really noticeable. In a quiet house though, it permeates!
@@jaykay18
It's all about priorities, isn't it?
I would just crank up the music and drink a cold beer instead of ... well ... being quiet with a hot beer.
Sure, when that's possible! After Hurricane Sandy we had no power for a week and a half. I had to teach myself to drink room temperature beer.
what is the outside dimensions? Want a smaller cooler for the back of a jeep. Thanks
15.5" in length (across) X 11.5" deep (front to back) X 18" height (top to bottom).
Just bought one from Aldo. Mine keeps freezing up.
If the fan is working, that should theoretically be impossible.
looks nice. I'm old fashioned. I like the ice.
Ice keeps it colder, for sure. But this is rather convenient as well because there's no saving up or going and buying ice. For a backyard party there's nothing like a cooler filled with ice and water. But for on the go, I think this is certainly a good option.
So it doesn't charge up for portable use? Asking before I buy lol. Has to be plugged in to run right? Or does it just stay cold for a while? How long will it stay cold after unplugging from votage? THX!
There's no battery in the world that would power this thing for any reasonable amount of time, so yes, it doesn't charge because there is no battery. Has to be plugged into the house or car to stay running.
How cold it will stay is a question that can't be answered, such as "how many pages can I write from this Bic pen?" There are too many variables involved. Those would include how cold it was to start with, how well-packed it is, if you have any other additional cooling like reusable ice packs inside, what the temperature outside the cooler is, whether it will be in direct sunlight, the list goes on. So to keep it the coldest, have everything ice cold before you put it in, pack it well, use ice packs if you have them, keep it out of direct sunlight and in the shade.
Is it still working? Any chance you can post a decibel reading? If you don't have a decibel meter, and you do have a smartphone, there are free db meter apps.
Yes, it is still working, and working fantastically! Honestly if you're that concerned about the noise, don't buy it. But because you asked the right person, and I also happen to have a decibel meter, I measured it with the microphone about 6 inches away from the vent, A-weighting, and it read about 65dB. 12 inches away was 60dB.
Thanks, too loud . Might drown out the dogs, but they will probably just get louder to compensate. Cheers
Yep, I figured! Well anyway it wasn't all bad, I got to replace the 9V battery in the decibel meter.
39db stated in the manual
sorry to bother again, from the picture are there tie down points or places to strap it down? thanks again! Great review
There are no real tie down places on it. Best I would say is a bungee cord wrapped around it.
Thank you🙏🙇♂️
You're welcome.
@@jaykay18 is yours still running? Just wondering on longevity of these things
Yes, I made this video 4 years ago and indeed mine still works.
That thing definitely did well for keeping those Cokes cool!
Kept a little more than Cokes cool, my friend!
need to try it out with the cony island hard rootbeer I will be drinking while over there.
lexmarks567 I'll have plenty of that, I actually finally found it! Hopefully they'll still have it when you come out here!
+jaykay18 if you go to the cony island brewing co website you can find out which places carry it.
lexmarks567 As I figured, it gave me 43 locations, I've been to 12, and 2 of them have had it. I'll keep an eye out next month for it for sure.
I just found this exact cooler for free brand new
Excellent, it's great and really keeps stuff cold!
I have one similar but mine's older and I keep and I got it out of my neighbor's trash when she was cleaning her garage
You keep this up you'll never have to buy anything ever.
+jaykay18 I have almost everything I need already
An iceless cooler? Wow, what's next... matchless light bulbs? A horseless carriage?
Yes, definitely had a strange name. Maybe it was an odd translation from German. Into Chinese...and then back to English.
ooh 720p
Yeah, high end stuff!
And now it's dead.
Consider it more "down for the count". I have a way of resurrecting things from the dead. Parts have been ordered.