Anker Everfrost on a road trip. Can it be left on inside a parked car?

#1

I just received my Anker Everfrost (which I’m very happy with) and I was thinking whether it is safe to use it in this scenario:

The idea is that we could be driving for a few hours where it would be on, inside the car, running on battery.
I’m hopping it is ok since we are not driving off road so the ride is going to be smooth.

Then at some point we will stop on this theme park and the car will be in the parking lot from 9 AM to 5 PM under direct sun light and outdoor temperatures that can get up to 90F.

While there Everfrost itself won’t be hit by direct sunlight (it will be in the trunk of the SUV) the ambient temperature will be really high and there won’t be any ventilation.

Would it be safe to leave it on in this situation?
We would come back, turn the AC on, the ambient temperature would drop in minutes and we would be on the road again.

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#2

If you have FB, you can join this group for additional information on the EverFrost or even contact Anker for potential suggestions on the max heat it should be in. There you will have more information from several that may have the product and different experiences with how the heat affected their product.

I think depending on who you talk to on the FB group, some will say it is ok and others will state issues that they have had with difference in temperatures.

A crack of the window, park near a tree or it being covered by luggage and stuff should help with it not getting the brunt of the heat. I think it is something no one wants to state it will be ok when we would not know.

So we can help you become more informed so that you can make the best decision on your own.

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#3

I completely agree with @Duane_Lester on all points.

Join the group if you’re into that: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everfrost

Here’s what I know from my direct conversations with the design and product teams: It’s OK to leave it in your car. Cover it with a light towel to protect the top and shield it from excess heat just to be safe.

Will you use more battery keeping it cool in a hot car on a hot summer day? Yes.

But when you consider how much lunch is for a family of four at an amusement park, then this cooler will be 1000 percent worth it.

Seriously, you should be just fine, and if you’re not … well, you’ve got a two-year warranty.

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#4

90F is ca 33C.
In the car it will be higher temperatures of course
First I would do, is protecting the cooler not to swelter in the heat by covering the cooler as
@Duane_Lester mentioned.

@AnkerOfficial : A wet towel would help (evaporation cooling) to protect it.
But you should ask the support .

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#5

The trunk is spacious and won’t it is covered so even though the car will be exposed to direct sunlight the cooler won’t be if that is the reason you suggested covering it.

I was also concerned with some sort of fumes or it exploding or catching on fire or something like that but I’m guessing those are things I shouldn’t be worried about?

Anyway, I will submit my question to support and see what they have to say. Thanks.

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#6

I don’t have the Everfrost but I know physics.

Firstly you should keep any such cold fridge device full, such as add bottles of water to make it full, as it will raise it’s internal temperature slower.

Secondly you should place what you want to be coldest lower down, and what can tolerate being warmer at the top. That way the upper items act as a cold blanker for lower items. As the fridge warms, it will warm the upper items faster than lower items. Typically you’d have food / medicine lower down and bottled water upper.

Thirdly get everything as cold as possible before you enter a hot period. So everything begins cold in home fridge/freezer, goes into the Evertfrost already cold, and then when driving have the Everfrost on maximum cooling (min temperature). That way when you stop the vehicle everything is as cold as possible.

Fourth, place the Everfrost as low down as possible opposite side from sun (typically to the north and to the east in the northern hemisphere as hottest part of day is noon to afternoon) , and under things which act as a blanket. Have the upper layer white / silver. You can also place reflective window covers to help keep the car cool.

Fifth, if you can park it so will be shaded, so something tall to it’s south / west.

If you’ve done all of that then you likely don’t need to leave the Everfrost powered on, or if on it will consume little energy itself.

Typical day would be the Everfrost has been on already to get itself cold, you then pack it from fridge/freezer, place in trunk of SUV say lower right side, and place other items around it and finish with a light coloured top (e.g a large white beach towel) , and drive and park up with front left of SUV pointing southwest so the Everfrost is opposite from the sun remembering the sun moves so at 9am the tail would be getting some sun but after 12noon it’s in shade.

What will hapen when you leave the car is first the outside of the car heats up, then the air in the car then it slowly works down through the layer above the Everfrost, then into the Everfrost itself, from top down.

This advice will work for an Everfrost or any type of cooler box, and will make a thing like an Everfrost work less hard and so last longer.

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#7

You know I was not thinking about this earlier but I was thinking if they are on a road trip, they are most likely have clothes and other smaller items that may be just stuffed in nook and crannies .

Since the Everfrost has venting to draw in air, they probably want to situate the vents to where it can get air easier and not totally closed off.

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#8

This is really interesting to me. When I asked if the 521, which has a the safer LiFePO4 battery chemistry, I was told that it should not be stored in a car. However, the battery chemistry in the Everfrost is NCM, which is less tolerant to heat, is OK to be stored in the car. Would love to get a straight answer on that if you have anyone’s ear there.

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#9

It depends on its efficiency. If the insulation around it is good then little heat gets to it for it then to pump back out.

Typically it’s something you put in immediately next to the rear vehicle door so it’s accessible that would clear at least one side of vents.

This is also why I go low-tech of bags of ice in a dumb insulated box on wheels with drain hole as that method works reliably with nothing to fail. If you keep heat from the cooler the inside is 0C for 2-3 days between ice resupply. That method clearly doesn’t apply for >3 days between ice supply contexts. I once did a road trip of leaving home, spent a night in Reno area, drove through Death Valley (110F) and then 2 nights in Vegas, and the cooler box was still 0C and I restocked ice from the hotel’s ice machine.

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#10

Yes, I completely agree – a little air flow keeps the cooler from working too hard.

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#11

You’re right. And now I’m going to ask product about this.

I’m hoping the insulation in the cooler is the factor here – the 521 doesn’t have any, as you know.

I’ll come back to this.

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#12

I mean, you’re not wrong. I’ve done A LOT of camping in the American Southwest. It’s a pain to leave camp to get ice when you’re so close to so much great riding.

We made it work, but I think if you want to be in the high country for days on end, leaving to get ice is just impractical.

And some people use insulin and other drugs that need to be kept at a specific temperature. Breast milk is like that, too.

I’m just saying … there are reasonable scenarios for requiring a not-dumb cooler:)

Full disclosure: I don’t own an EverFrost, I just work for them, haha.

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#13

You’ve gotten a lot of perfect advice here, @emb1.

The key ideas:

  1. Make room for airflow.
  2. Park with cardinal directions in mind.
  3. Cover with a damp towel, but remember there is no IPX rating on the EverFrost. Its vents are designed in such a way that moisture will roll down its sides, and not in through vents.

I’d probably make something for the windows or for the lid of the cooler with reflective bubble wrap, something I happen to have from the shipment of something or other. (Riding the recycle bicycle!) It’s extra, but might be nice to have just for privacy.

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#14

That’s what I suggested.
The cover should of course not be soaking wet.:grin:

Same could be done with beer barrels ect. to keep those cool.

Simple physics . : cooling by evaporation.
This simple trick could be important here in München at the moment.
Could be ca 34C today.

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#15

Agreed. But if an Everfrost were to cease to work (failure, or loss of power to it, etc) it then becomes a dumb cooler and so having habits accustomed to dumb coolers then is useful to Everfrost ownership.

Risk mitigation. Everyone in a “back country” should think that way. What if… SUV truck breaksdown … no cellular coverage …

What Everfrost does is a risk reducing. That’s not risk mitigation.

Also not an Everfrost owner but people ask me what should they buy so I’m understanding for when I’ll say Everfrost. Everything has it’s ideal use case and learning them is part of the fun.

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#16

Covering with a damp towel would make the Everfrost’s internal battery last longer as most of the cooling is from evaporation.

So old+new technologies work better together.

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#17

double post, sorry.
Could happen when ca 35C outside. :sweat:

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#18

Do you know about those vault cellars beer was stored in the 19th century?
In winter huge ice blocks have been sawn out from the frozen rivers and were stored with the barrels in those cellars.
Te keep these cellars cool in the summer chestnut trees were planted on the surca of the cellars.

And what do we have nowadays here in München?
Yes “Biergarten”
Often the names indicate this:
“Hofbräukeller”, “Augustinerkeller”, “Löwenbräukeller”…

I am sure you know about these. :grin:
Prost from München @professor

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#19

For sure. I 100 percent agree.

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#20

An art … and a science!

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