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allied35 · 08-02-2008, 05:22

I had a Coleman Stirling power cooler on my boat and I loved it!!!!!!!
I had one 75w solar panel and 2 house batteries that would barely hold a charge and that was enough to run the cooler on it's coldest refrigerator setting (it has 2 more "freezer" settings). Coleman claims it uses 4 amps but I think that is only when it is on its coldest setting and the unit is out in the sun. I think the way I used it, on the coldest non-freezing setting and inside the boat where its cooler, it used only about 1 or 2 amps.
The cheapest place by far to buy one is at Costco online. I paid $390 there when Coleman's website wanted nearly double that.
You would have to be mentally retarded to buy a "marine" refrigeration unit after seeing one of these beauties. This technology makes compressors, cold-plates, refrigerant etc obsolete. Why spend thousands on some overpriced "marine" piece of crap that you know won't last more than a year or 2 before needing expensive repairs when you can buy one of these, plug it in and you're done for less than $400!
Plus the Coleman unit has no wearing parts and no freon to leak out.
I "installed" mine by cutting a hole in the bulkhead between the sail locker and the old ice-box and sliding the Stirling cooler in. That way when I'm in the galley, I just lift the lid of the ice-box, then open the top of the Stirling cooler and there's my cold beer! The controls can be reached from the top, it's a bit awkward but it's not like you need to use them often.
Buy one and tell all your cruising friends too.
I sold my boat in August but will definitely have one on my next boat too!

08-02-2008, 05:22	#6
allied35 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 10	I had a Coleman Stirling power cooler on my boat and I loved it!!!!!!! I had one 75w solar panel and 2 house batteries that would barely hold a charge and that was enough to run the cooler on it's coldest refrigerator setting (it has 2 more "freezer" settings). Coleman claims it uses 4 amps but I think that is only when it is on its coldest setting and the unit is out in the sun. I think the way I used it, on the coldest non-freezing setting and inside the boat where its cooler, it used only about 1 or 2 amps. The cheapest place by far to buy one is at Costco online. I paid $390 there when Coleman's website wanted nearly double that. You would have to be mentally retarded to buy a "marine" refrigeration unit after seeing one of these beauties. This technology makes compressors, cold-plates, refrigerant etc obsolete. Why spend thousands on some overpriced "marine" piece of crap that you know won't last more than a year or 2 before needing expensive repairs when you can buy one of these, plug it in and you're done for less than $400! Plus the Coleman unit has no wearing parts and no freon to leak out. I "installed" mine by cutting a hole in the bulkhead between the sail locker and the old ice-box and sliding the Stirling cooler in. That way when I'm in the galley, I just lift the lid of the ice-box, then open the top of the Stirling cooler and there's my cold beer! The controls can be reached from the top, it's a bit awkward but it's not like you need to use them often. Buy one and tell all your cruising friends too. I sold my boat in August but will definitely have one on my next boat too!