The Fridge

Fridge. Initially we thought that a simple thermoelectric (peltier effect where a thermal gradient will push electrons through a semiconductor or vice-versa) cooler would be effective so a Coleman 15 litre cooler was bought in California and shipped back to OZ. Their price here is somewhat over $200 ($US64 we paid). They are speced at 13 volts and 4 amps to maintain a 15 degree difference within 3 hours of turning on. We carried out a number of tests and found that it was nowhere near these performance figures so in desperation Rod headed out to the camping store in Belconnen and tested a camping fridge, compressor, the real thing. And real thing it was getting down from 20 to 0 degrees in less than an hour. The price, $550 and 10.5 kilograms compared to the 3.5 kilograms for the Coleman. Strange that price weight and performance and linearly related, sort of like Sumo wrestlers but cooler.