Customer Reviews

Wagan EL2296 10.5 Liter Personal Fridge and Warmer

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Plugged the unit in a few weeks after I purchased it. I was heading down to VA. for a reunuion (8 hr. trip). Set it up facing "backwards" so the kids could make use of the cup holders from the middle seats of the minivan. The unit cooled quickly and kept the sodas, cheese and veggies cool throughout. The unit is quiet, didn't really know it was running unless I had the engine off. Could be a little roomier but you can only do so much with the space between the front seats. Overall got what I paid for and the unit worked as advertised.

The only drawback to this unit is that if you start out with warm items that you want to cool, you need to be very patient. Stock it with cold items and it will keep them cold.

Product performs as per advertised,only one suggestion, manufacturer should provide with AC power pack as part of the deal.

purchased the Wagan EL2296 10.5 Liter Personal Fridge and Warmer a month ago. I keep it behind the drivers seat full time, We used it several times when we picked up refrigerated items while we were running errands but did not get a chance to use it on a trip until this weekend. The outside temp was over 90 both days, even when we left the car several hours the Wagan kept our drinks deliciously cold. This is the third cooler we have purchased, & the first one that kept our drinks cold. It is also the first one that would hold more than a 6 pack. I am very happy with the Wagan & at this point would not hesitate to recommend it over the other brands I had purchased earlier. I did not have to purchase the AC adapter to use it in our room because i had one from a previous cooler. However you should know that this is not a refrigerator, it will cool to about 50 degrees below the outside temperature, in an Air conditioned car it works fine, If you are going to put it in your trunk or an un-air conditioned part of your vehicle you may not be as happy with the results.
Woodcarver

I bought this to but in the mini van. I recently took it for a 10hr road trip up to Washington. I must say this thing was great. It kept my food and drinks cold which help the drive to be a lot better. It made the drive shorter since we don't have to stop as much. What I also like about this product is that it gave my friends a nice armrest and two extra cup holders

My new company assigned semi didn't have a built in refrigerator like I'm used to so I ordered this unit to keep the food stuffs and drinks I bring from home while on my 3-5 day runs. I pack it at home and the shoulder strap makes for easy transporting to my truck when I'm ready to leave.

It has molded in seat belt slots under the lid that allow strapping it in to a seat with seat belts if that is your choice. Since it is relatively narrow I personally place it on the floor neatly between my front seats making for easy access. The two molded in cup holders in front of the lid keep drinks in easy reach. The top of the lid is softly padded and has a small tray molded in.

Like some of the other reviews it was noted it is not a refrigerator. It is just a cooler. In my use it cools room temperature warm drinks down pretty quickly and keeps my food cold enough that I haven't had any issues with spoilage. The switch has cool, off, and heat settings but I haven't used the heating yet. The switch has green and red LED light making it easy to know if it is on.

In my personal pickup it fits perfectly in the middle of my 40/60 bench seat strapped in with the middle seat belt making easy access and the soft top makes a good added arm rest. The fan is a little noisy if nothing else is running but if engine or radio is playing I can't hear it at all. A detachable zippered CD/DVD pouch hooks to the side and is a nice added touch for storing music and video discs.

For me this has worked out well and I would recommend it to anyone needing small trasportable food/drink storage in their vehichle.

The power cord has failed within 3 months of purchase w/ only occasional use. There is apparently no warranty at Wagan's website. Just a "tech support" email input screen. I don't know that I would purchase this item now knowing the warranty support is virtually non-existent. I guess we'll see how that works out.

This is an excellent product. We used it on a 3-week road trip from VT to CA and back. It functioned perfectly during all that time, both in the car and in the hotel room when needed (I purchased the AC adapter). We drove at least 12 hours per day and sometimes the cooler would be on 24 hours per day (if in the hotel). There is nothing bad to say about this product. It kept all our food and drinks cold and allowed us to picnic many times, thus saving us money compared to restaurants. In fact we kept the same pack of butter from the start of the trip to the end! Several previous reviews mention that the plug is fragile; I think this is true though I haven't had any problem with it yet. One simply has to manipulate it very gently when plugging it in an out, and avoid plugging in it and out repeatedly and carelessly. Oh, it is also VERY quiet. We had bought another cooler at a large store previously and returned it two hours later: the noise made us feel like in an aircraft at takeoff.

Like the Fridge and it works very well. It's a little smaller than I imagined from the picture, but cools very quickly. The DVD holder comes off and I don't use with the cooler, but do use to store DVD's in the house. It's like a little bonus gift. I have not tried the warmer as I have had no need for it yet. Very happy with this purchase.

PROS- The cooler cools very well and keeps things really cold. Plus its easy to operate and a very convenient design. CONS- Designed with some cheaper and weak components. If you are handy its easy to fix any of the shortcomings. The first one we got had a bad hinge on the latch. Easy return though. The replacement one's fan went bad within a month of 5 day a week use. The good thing is its very easy to replace the fan. Remove 6 screws from the front and the two that hold the fan to the cooling fins. Replace with a computer case fan, I used a 120mm rocketfish fan that ran about $15. It now runs almost silent and works better. The cord does get warm in the middle but not near nor on the plugs on either end. It does not get hot but I am keeping an eye on it. If it does start concerning me then I will either shorten the cord or replace it with a larger gauge wire, both of which are an easy fix.