BODEGAcooler 12 Volt Car Refrigerator, 16 Quart (15L) Small Car Fridge / Portable Freezer Review

By Tony Casas | July 24, 2024

Just in time for the summer, our friends at BODEGAcooler have sent over a portable car refrigerator for us to review! Let’s keep those snacks cold on the road.

Car Armrest Refrigerator: This portable fridge is compact and lightweight, designed to be installed on the car armrest.

Easy to Carry: 12v fridge with an adjustable shoulder strap for chilling anywhere.

Fast Cooling & Energy Saving: Temperature range of -4℉ to 68℉. Energy-saving mode operates on less than 30W, even in MAX mode consumes less than 1kWh per day.

Battery Protection & Low Noise: Offers three levels of protection (H/M/L). Automatically powers off to prevent car battery depletion. Low noise design of less than 45dB provides a silent and comfortable environment while running.

https://www.bodegacooler.com/products/mini-car-fridge-15l-with-shoulder-belt

You can purchase your cooler from Amazon here or directly from the BODEGACOOLER website here.

Shipping/Unboxing:

Shipping on the BODEGAcooler car cooler was super quick. Delivered right to my door via UPS about 4 days after order was placed. The unit comes packaged in a thick, cardboard box with description, handling instructions, and images of the product printed on it.

After opening the box the cooler itself is wrapped in plastic and carefully placed in packing foam which covers all sides of the unit.

Each of the movable elements are taped closed and the manual, shoulder strap, and cable are all packed up and placed within the unit itself.

Setup:

Setting up the BODEGAcooler car cooler is just as easy as it was to take it out of the box. First, take all the contents from the cooler. Next, there is a note that instructs the user to make sure the cooler is kept upright for at least 6 hours before use. So let that unit sit so that the refrigerant and all its components can settle. After that, find the spot you want to set this up within your vehicle. I chose my back seat.

After that’s settled find your 12V outlet and run the power cord from the outlet to the front of the unit. A HUGE shoutout here to BODEGAcooler as the power cable is actually long enough to stretch from the front of just about any vehicle to the far back which would include even 3-level-seating SUVS.

Once you’re plugged in all you need to do is hit that power button and off you go! Note, you can also adjust the cooling setting to your desired temperate. I will touch a bit on that later in the cooling section.

Storage:

For what it’s worth, the BODEGAcooler had way more storage than I expected. Not only did they take advantage of every inch of the width of the cooler, but it’s as deep as you can get while still being comfortable enough to place your arm on. For reference sake, I was able to fit 18 x 12oz beer cans in the main compartment (2 stacks of nine). Add the front compartment and this cooler comfortable fits a total of 20 x 12oz cans. Note, this is also the storage capacity I do my testing with.

Cooling:

I went into the cooling functionality of this machine as a skeptic. Let’s see how it shakes out. First, as noted above, I testing this with a full load of 20 x 12oz cans. For the test, the ambient temperature in the car is 90 degrees while the cooler is set at 35 degrees. The internal temperature was measured at 74 at the start of the test. What I really wanted to know is how fast this cooler cools. After about 15 minutes I measured the internal temperature at a whopping 45 degrees. I let this sit for 15 more minutes and the cooler had successfully hit 35 degrees, and in fact read at 33 degrees. I also wanted to test the fluctuations over the course of 30 minutes. While the unit was set at 35, the unit would fluctuate its internal temperature between 33 and 37 which is a perfectly successful range. Honestly, I am impressed that such a small machine could cool so effectively.

Features/Convenience:

So the BODEGAcooler gets big marks in the cooling department. Let’s see how the features shake out. First, the panel on the top allows you to turn the machine on and off, as well as set the cooling temperature for the unit. The unit allows you to set anywhere between -4 and 68 degrees which is a massive range.

Once you open the cooler there is a small LED interior light that allows you to view the contents of the cooler with ease. There is also a chair that doesn’t allow the lid to open too far which is ideal for those using this in the front seat. The top of the cooler has a gripped texture so that you can place items on top, or rest your arm in it comfortably.

One last item is to make sure you consider the intake and exhaust fan for the cooling unit into consideration as you don’t want to cover either up. There is a large fan on the front of the unit and fans on the front of either side.

Overview:

The BODEGAcooler car cooler is a great little machine for your next road trip. The fact that you can actually add a battery to this machine also makes it the idea unit for those road trips that lead to camping or picnics. The cooling stands out as the most impressive while the machine also adds to the usability with its convenient features and workmanship. Again, if you’re interested you can purchase your cooler from Amazon here or directly from the BODEGACOOLER website here.