​​How to Use an Electric Cooler Without Killing Your Car’s Battery ​

It’s football season, and you know what that means? Saturdays and Sundays are for tailgating. Obviously, having a new truck or SUV makes it a much easier task when you can carry so much. But what if you don’t want to worry about having a cooler full of ice that you’ll have to dump and clean out later? Then you buy an electric cooler. Yeah, but how do you use the cooler without killing your car’s battery? Let’s talk about that.  

Electric Coolers Stay Chill 

You should know that most electric coolers will stay cool without power being supplied to them from your car or truck, provided that you have run it for a period of time that allowed it to reach its optimal temperature. Once the desired temperature is reached, thanks to good insulation, it will most likely stay cool for a few hours. But, depending on how long you plan to hang out with friends, it’s best to know that you can have it plugged in to stay cooler.  

Running Off the Vehicle’s Battery 

First things first, if you are going to be running anything off the 12-volt outlets or the AC power outlet that’s either inside the cabin or your truck’s bed, you’ll want to ensure that you’re mainly plugging in the cooler either while you’re driving or when the vehicle is idling. Most modern vehicles also have a power cutoff to the 12V outlets after a certain amount of time, so as not to drain the battery.  

Portable Power Station or Extra Battery? 

However, what if you’d like to run the cooler when your engine isn’t on? The simplest solution is to get either a portable power station that has multiple outlets or a deep-cycle battery with a relay isolator. A standard-style 12V battery that you would use for a car or a boat can be tied into the vehicle’s existing battery system. It’s not used to start the car or discharge the car’s regular battery either. Instead, it’s wired so that it gets a charge from your alternator but is able to run external accessories such as, in this case, a portable cooler, without hurting your main battery. A portable power station would also be able to run a cooler, but you will have to plug that into a wall outlet or a solar generator to get it fully charged between uses. Both applications will run you a couple hundred dollars or more.  

Portable Electric Coolers Are Smart 

Some portable coolers are smart enough to cut themselves off from a car’s power when it notices a drop below 12 volts, indicating that the battery is being depleted. Or, you can add a timer that you can program to turn the cooler off after a certain amount of time.  

Pre-Cool Your Items to Have a Chill Day 

As previously mentioned, it is best to pre-cool your electric cooler. Plug it in overnight before your festivities; this way, in case anything happens, it will maintain a lower temperature throughout the day. If you can keep the cooler in your vehicle in the shade and away from direct sunlight or a heat source, such as a grill, you’ll only be ensuring the cooler doesn’t have to work so hard to stay chill. Also, it’s best to keep all your cold items in the fridge or freezer before putting them into the cooler. This way, the cooler isn’t doing all the work to cool down room temperature stuff.  

Sharp Automotive Has the Perfect Vehicle for You 

If you are into hanging out on the weekends with your friends and need a vehicle that can withstand tailgating, camping, and the like, then Sharp Automotive has the right vehicle for you. Whether it’s a new or used Chevy, GMC, or Toyota, the expert salespeople can help you learn all you need to know to make the best decision for your budget and lifestyle.  

Why Choose Sharp Automotive  

At Sharp Automotive, we offer our customers some of the best prices and services around. With dozens of new and used vehicles to choose from, our excellent sales team and finance department will work hard to ensure you drive away happily. Our fantastic service department will take care of your new-to-you vehicle as if it were their own. 

We look forward to serving you soon.