Car cooler for 2010 Prius (putting in trunk)

Another vote for ice packs and a good quality cooler.

 

I'd be really interested in how long it takes for that battery to run down. Let me know?

 

But this is the only one that really makes much sense.
3 or 4 other people have now said the same thing.

Alas, now that he has modified/damaged the cord, getting a refund might be a problem.

 

SIGH. It is REALLY hard on a normal battery to run it completely DEAD.
Do that two or three times and it likely won't come back.
In general, it should not go below 11 volts......which is about 80% discharged.

 

Must be nice to have money and time to throw away.

 

If you run this from the cigarette lighter (which turns off when the car is off), you should be fine, since you're not connected to the other 12V battery.

 

prius battery is the last one you want to run down. heck, a dome light can kill the thing.

it's not about how long the cooler will run, it's about the damage done to a battery that was not designed to be drained

 

It sounds like what you're looking for is called a deep cycle battery. It's designed to be able to deliver power at a low, constant level until it's about 80% out of charge, as opposed to a car starting battery that's designed to put out a high burst of power over a short period of time, but can't be discharged more than about 10% without harming it. The deep cycle batteries have thicker, heavier solid lead plates in them than starting batteries do.

Running a deep cycle battery completely to zero will diminish it's lifespan, but not by nearly as much as a starting battery, which can be killed by as little as 2 or 3 discharge cycles. If you want to charge a battery only occasionally, and not worry about how much power is left, deep cycle is the way to go.

The cost seems to be about the same:

 

You would be better off with a high quality cooler without power, but with good insulation, and some dry ice.

Or dry ice.

 

I have to apologize for even suggesting that it would be a good idea to let your second prius battery completely discharge. I let my curiosity get the better of me.

 

By "ice packs" I actually meant the reusable coolant packs. At $2-3 each, MUCH cheaper in the long run plus no worries about running out or extra runs to the dry ice store. The freeze packs we purchased 20 years ago to keep our infants bottles chilled are still used today for our lunches and/or bottle waters on trips. We still have the chilled "boo-boo bear" in the freezer for some unknown reason......

 

Sometimes we can overthink things. A high quality cooler with ice/ice packs would work better with little risk. I've noticed a big difference between coolers in keeping ice from melting, so don't skimp here.

Purchasing ice and ice packs too expensive and inconvenient? Then make your own at home for free. Take some empty water bottles, fill them 90% with tap water, freeze them overnight, and it'll keep things very cold in the cooler. At the end of your shift, put the same bottles back into the freezer. No cost and no mess.

Personally, I like really cold drinks, so I use both ice cubes and ice packs. The cheapest place I've found for bags of ice is at Costco.

 

No you aren't. Because most of the "recommendations" here have been to just use ice packs in a cooler.

Even a "deep cycle" battery is not meant to be run completely DEAD.......and the Prius changing system isn't designed to quickly recharge a dead battery either.

You are insisting on doing something that it was NOT meant to do

 

a marine battery, like for a trolling motor, is the right tool

 

You aren't listening .......or we aren't being clear enough.
How are you going to CHARGE this big battery ??
The onboard charging system is NOT designed to do that.

I quit. Good luck.
You now have wasted around $200, just guessing, to solve a $20 problem.

 

Such a waste of time and money. I'm starting to think this must be a government project. Who else would be so eager to make something dead simple and almost free into a multi-hundred dollar research project?