Those Colman coolers are ThermoElectric Coolers (TEC, aka peltier.) From what i've found on the always true internet is that they use ~4 amps which is half of one of the peltiers i'm experimenting with, im thinking 6 of the peltiers i'm trying might be able to replace the ice at a whopping 50 amps of power usage. 6 might not be enough though. Either way, If the colman coolers have a cigarette lighter power as its power inlet the cooler is way too small to try to do what the ice is doing. Yes, it will help keep it cold longer but dont expect a lot. They probably have it set up a bit more efficient than my test setup is currently but at absolute best I'd expect it to have 30 watts of cooling. I'd give a lemony guess it could extend cold time maybe 10-20% but its probably less than that. That might be helpful to some teams though to match their cold capacity to their fuel capacity.
On a different note, has anyone using the bilge pumps tried to make a bypass hose y off the shirt feed hose and dump back into the cooler to allow less load on the pump? It could be done in the cooler. Allowing it to flow may help get the water going enough for it to start easier too. A simple barbed Y fitting and a big fish tank valve or some adjustable tubing clamp like http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.a … ;catid=858 or possibly http://www.fibreglast.com/product/Flow_ … ging_Tools to limit flow enough that its still forced through the shirt but not overloading the pump. The other option is a beefy resistor or maybe a house dimmer to drop the power to the pump to help control temperature. They sell the cfl/led dimmers with an adjustable low limit if the standard household dimmer drops off too low at the low end. I havent tried any of this, just some ideas/workarounds for you guys using these large bilge pumps.
Oh, if anyone is trying to profit from these ideas previous to me mentioning them here just pm me and tell me to keep quiet. Im planning on sharing my results of the setup im working on for everyone if it works with part #s and stuff. It will definitely be power hungry though.
I'm thinking now i may have gotten the wrong voltage peltiers, getting 2 7.5v chips per branch wired in series would bring voltage closer to their rated max and maybe make better use of their power. We're only talking a 3% difference though. It would mean more water blocks going this route which isnt necessarily a bad thing except for cost and weight.
I dont know how peltiers do with quick voltage spikes, hopefully the starter solenoid collapse spike doesnt kill them...their use in a lot of automotive cooler/heater stuff makes me think they're ok. Looking into if something is needed to keep them alive.
-Killer B's (as in rally) '84 4000Q 4.2V8. Audis never win?
