Coolest Cooler is Cool.

[IronWing]

2) Exactly how large of a battery are you planning on taking?

The battery isn't built in?

 

[Jeff7]

The battery isn't built in?

The battery for the blender, USB and lid light is an 18v NiMH battery rated for 3000 Mah. With our motor and current gearing it only takes around 10-15 seconds to blend up a pitcher of drinks so we'll have capacity for at least 6 gallons of drinks per charge, likely more.

The bluetooth speaker is removable, and the self contained battery has +1400Mah rating good for around 8 hours per charge. It charges separately.

The LED and USB draw very little power, and with the smart(er) circuitry you will be able to charge all day without an issue if needed.

18V 3Ah NiMH = 54Wh, assuming a reasonable draw rate.
15x low-end C cells would do that kind of power.
Or a good laptop battery.
:hmm:
So where the hell is my USB blender, huh?


Still.....I don't know. I was thinking to have something more like an 18Ah 12V lead-acid battery in there, or a comparable li-ion.
And if you're the only game in town as far as cellphone harging is concerned, both of those USB ports are probably going to be seeing a lot of action. 1A and 2.4A @ 5V = 17W, excluding conversion losses. DC-DC switcher converters can go from 74%-89%, depending on how much you spend. Let's say 21W actual draw.


So, I suppose, as long as you aren't blending ice, and only allow 0.5A charging per USB port, and don't leave the lid open.


(Also keeping in mind that far too many products have the battery capacity determined as an afterthought. "There, it's perfff....uck, it's supposed to have a battery, isn't it. Goddammit.")

 

[Red Squirrel]

I don't think it was smart to use 18 volts on something meant for camping/outdoors, at least use 12 volts so it can be charged with other potential lead acid battery based systems like solar or what not or just a RV charger or car alternator. They should have made it have a small gel cell with room to put a secondary one for more capacity (use a standard size, so it's up to the user to just buy one themselves) and have a terminals to put in jumper cables or something for charging it. Maybe an extension cable with jumpers on one end. Typically in a camp/picnic environment you'll have access to 12 volts fairly easily.

I guess I see why they went with lithium ion though, much higher energy density. I'm sure this is something they discussed and figured it was the best route.

 

[Jeff7]

I don't think it was smart to use 18 volts on something meant for camping/outdoors, at least use 12 volts so it can be charged with other potential lead acid battery based systems like solar or what not or just a RV charger or car alternator. They should have made it have a small gel cell with room to put a secondary one for more capacity (use a standard size, so it's up to the user to just buy one themselves) and have a terminals to put in jumper cables or something for charging it. Maybe an extension cable with jumpers on one end. Typically in a camp/picnic environment you'll have access to 12 volts fairly easily.

I guess I see why they went with lithium ion though, much higher energy density. I'm sure this is something they discussed and figured it was the best route.

Boost converter on the input.
Something I helped design at work has a boost converter circuit that puts out 17.4VDC. For the heck of it, I briefly powered the device with a 3.7V cellphone battery, though only for a little less than 2 seconds. It probably didn't appreciate the rather excessive current draw.

NiMH does at least seem like a reasonable balance of cost, weight, and energy density.

 

[DrPizza]

Sweet! A $30 blender, $25 cooler, $1 can opener, $10 speakers, $3 LED lights, some plastic ware from the dollar store, and a $1 bungee cord, all combined into one product for the low low price of $180.

 

[alkemyst]

Neat idea. Though it should have a solar panel or mini pop up wind turbine or something so it can be self sufficient. Would be neat to throw a peltier cooler in there too to help keep the ice longer. Though I guess all that would add to the cost.

Refridgerated coolers are overly bulky and rely on an external power source.

I would recommend better wheels, but without trying this cooler they may be sufficient.

 

[alkemyst]

Sweet! A $30 blender, $25 cooler, $1 can opener, $10 speakers, $3 LED lights, some plastic ware from the dollar store, and a $1 bungee cord, all combined into one product for the low low price of $180.

This can be said about almost anything manufactured.

Going to the beach all the day, this would be a great item to have and save having to carry multiple products and knowing where in a bag they are.

 

[RossMAN]

They're finally shipping, anyone here order one?

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/coolest-cooler-to-start-shipping-tomorrow-summer-not-totally-ruined/

 

[adairusmc]

My wife wanted one of these when we saw the first announcements, but I ended up buying a yeti tundra 125, much better cooler.

 

[Childs]

that thing must weigh a ton. myself? skip all the gimicks and get a 12v fridge. one of the most usefull things i have ever purchased in my life. No more soggy food or stoping for ice. low power consumption and when unplugged will keep food cold all day.

Just get some dry ice.

 

[UglyCasanova]

Get a Yeti instead. Much cooler.

 

[lxskllr]

Get a Yeti instead. Much cooler.

?

I think this would work better...

 

[Bubbleawsome]

That iPhone jab.
I like it though.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Nobody had bothered to re-invent the cooler before because the cooler didn't need to be reinvented. Its job is to keep stuff cool and it works. All that add-on stuff is garbage.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Refridgerated coolers are overly bulky and rely on an external power source.

Such as this:



Portable solar power pack with 12v plugs.

Though I kind of take what I said back, because a well insulated cooler with just ice is more than good enough for most trips under a week. A week would probably push it but you could make it work I think. Recently went on a camping trip, was going to bring a 12v cooler to run it off that solar system but did not end up needing it, had two big coolers with tons of ice, one for drinks and one for food and it stayed cold for 4 days no problem. Probably could have done a week TBH. Keep it in the shade and don't open it for no reason. Though the camp ground we were at did sell ice so we did add ice to them a couple times just to top it off but probably was not really needed. All the ice blocks I made in the freezer days prior were still in tact after the trip, just smaller.

For extended trips though a small 12v freezer would probably work well to make more ice as needed, something that uses a compressor vs a peltier, more efficient.

 

[ImpulsE69]

We backed and ordered one. Will report back when we get it. I'm sure it is overglorified (and crazy expensive) but meh, this forum blows money on stupid things on a daily basis . Backing was half the price they are going to be charging retail. Got to be honest, as cool as I find it, I think nearly $500 is a pipedream. Nearly $300 was pushing it and a "ahh fug it" purchase moment.

 

[Greenman]

Divider, better wheels, and the bungee cord were the real improvements to standard coolers, all the rest is foolish gadgetry.
It's a $49 dollar cooler with a $500 price tag. The guys in shark tank would have sent him packing.

 

[CZroe]

The removable Bluetooth speaker is a stupid idea. "Removable" means it has it's own battery, so why is it built in at all?! If you didn't already have one and it doesn't use the cooler's battery then you will probably be using it without the cooler far more often than you use the cooler, which means it likely isn't there when you need it. Just buy a dmaned outdoor Bluetooth speaker. It's not like there is a shortage and it's not like this one has something that makes it any better.

 

[Ken g6]

Solar panels are expensive, don't really put out that much wattage until they get decent sized and break easily, nothing good to add to the coolest..

Solar panels could automatically turn on the LED lights when you open the cooler if there isn't enough ambient light around.

 

[RossMAN]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/18/...r-amazon-kickstater-shipping-production-delay

 

[cKGunslinger]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/18/...r-amazon-kickstater-shipping-production-delay

Ouch.

 

[OutHouse]

13 million in donations??? damn.

 

[RossMAN]

Ouch.

It seems like 90% of Kickstarter/Indiegogo projects are vaporware or underwhelm, 8 months later.

 

[Jeff7]

13 million in donations??? damn.

...that's apparently been spent already.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Yea, I'm annoyed that they are selling them on Amazon considering how late they are and now with the strike issue, but on the plus side, I know that eventually it will arrive, someday..hopefully before I die