The Best Camping Fridges: Cool Boxes vs 12V Fridges for UK Campers
· Updated
There are only three kinds of cold box worth buying for camping, and they are not close rivals. A passive cool box with ice packs keeps food chilled for a day or two with no power at all. A thermoelectric cooler runs off 12V but only pulls the temperature 18 to 20 degrees below the air around it. A 12V compressor fridge is a proper fridge that hits 4 degrees or freezes to minus 18, whatever the weather, and it is the only one of the three that campervanners should consider.
Which you need comes down to how you camp. A weekend in the car park at a festival is cool box territory. A fortnight touring in a van, running off a leisure battery, is compressor fridge territory and nothing else will do. This guide is part of the complete UK camping gear guide from Camping Sites in Britain, where you can find and compare campsites, caravan parks and campervan pitches with electric hook-up across the country.
The three types at a glance
The quickest way to choose is to match the type to your trip length and power source. Passive cool boxes need no power but need ice. Thermoelectric coolers need constant 12V and give modest cooling. Compressor fridges need 12V or mains and give true refrigeration.
| Type | Coldest it gets | Power draw | Typical capacity | Rough UK price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passive cool box (ice packs) | Ambient, warming over 24 to 48 hours | None | 25 to 50 litres | £15 to £60 (premium £150 plus) | Car camping, one to two nights |
| Thermoelectric (Peltier) | 18 to 20°C below outside air | 4 to 5A continuous (around 50W) | 24 to 40 litres | £30 to £80 | Short trips, drinks, mild weather |
| Compressor 12V fridge | 4°C fridge, down to minus 18°C freezer | 30 to 50Ah per day (cycles on and off) | 15 to 75 litres plus | £150 to £900 | Campervans, long trips, hot weather |
Passive cool boxes: no power, but you are on the clock
A passive cool box has no motor and no wiring. It is an insulated shell that slows the ice packs inside from melting, and everything you put in stays cold only as long as they last. A cheap 25 litre box with two frozen packs keeps food safe for roughly 24 hours in British summer weather, longer if you pre-chill the contents and keep the lid shut.
Insulation is what you pay for. A basic Coleman or Halfords box costs £15 to £40 and gets you a day. A rotomoulded box such as a Yeti or an Igloo BMX, with thick walls and a sealing lid, holds ice for three to five days and costs £150 to £400. For a family weekend on a serviced pitch, the cheaper box plus a bag of ice from the site shop is all you need, and it never flattens a battery or hums through the night.
Thermoelectric coolers: cheap, quiet enough, but weak
A thermoelectric or Peltier cooler uses an electric current across a small solid-state plate to move heat out of the box. It plugs into a 12V socket and, on many models, reverses to keep food warm. The catch is that it can only pull the inside 18 to 20 degrees below the outside air. On a 25 degree afternoon that means about 5 to 7 degrees inside, which is fridge-cold, but on a hot day it struggles to keep milk safe.
The bigger problem is power. A thermoelectric cooler draws around 4 to 5 amps (roughly 50 watts) and, unlike a fridge, it runs constantly with no thermostat to switch it off. Left on all day that is well over 90 amp-hours, which will empty a standard leisure battery inside a single day. They are fine plugged into a running car on a long drive, or into mains hook-up, but poor for off-grid camping. Expect to pay £30 to £80.
Compressor 12V fridges: a real fridge that goes anywhere
A compressor fridge works exactly like the one in your kitchen, using a small Danfoss or Secop compressor to pump refrigerant. It reaches 4 degrees for a fridge or minus 18 to minus 20 for a freezer, and it holds that temperature whether it is 5 degrees or 30 outside. This is the only portable option that keeps meat and dairy properly cold through a British heatwave.
It is also far kinder to a battery than a thermoelectric cooler, because the compressor cycles on and off to hold temperature rather than running flat out. A typical 40 litre model uses 30 to 50 amp-hours across 24 hours in warm weather, and much less in cool conditions. Brands worth knowing in the UK are Dometic, Alpicool, Iceco and ARB. Prices run from about £150 for an entry-level Alpicool to £600 to £900 for a dual-zone Dometic CFX that runs a fridge and a freezer side by side. It is a real investment, and the reason to make it is simple: nothing else keeps food safe on a long trip.
Cooling power and power draw: the numbers that matter
Cooling power is the single biggest difference between the three, and it decides everything else. A passive box only ever gets as cold as its ice. A thermoelectric cooler is tied to the outside temperature, so it fades exactly when you need it most, on a hot day. A compressor fridge sets its own temperature and ignores the weather.
Power draw sorts the two electric types cleanly. A thermoelectric cooler pulling 4 to 5 amps non-stop is the thirstier of the two despite being the weaker cooler, because it never switches off. A compressor fridge draws more (2 to 4 amps) only while the compressor is actually running, then rests, so its real-world daily total is lower. If you are camping away from mains power, that difference is the whole game.
Running from a leisure battery or electric hook-up
How you power the fridge matters as much as which fridge you buy. On mains electric hook-up, power draw barely matters and any type will run happily. Off-grid on a battery, only a compressor fridge is realistic, and even then you need to do the sums.
UK campsites usually supply electric hook-up at 10A or 16A, which is 2,300 to 3,680 watts at 230 volts, far more than any fridge needs. If your pitch has a hook-up, a compressor or thermoelectric model with a mains adapter, or a dedicated mains cool box, is the easy answer. Our guide to electric hook-up camping covers cables, adapters and how to avoid tripping the pitch supply. If you want a pitch with power, you can filter for it in the Camping Sites in Britain directory.
Off-grid, do the maths on your battery. A 110Ah lead-acid leisure battery gives only about 50 to 55 usable amp-hours, because draining it flat ruins it. A compressor fridge using 30 to 50Ah a day will run roughly a day, maybe two in cool weather, before you need to recharge or top up from a solar panel or the vehicle alternator. A lithium (LiFePO4) 100Ah battery gives nearly its full capacity and comfortably lasts two to three days. A thermoelectric cooler at 90 amp-hours a day would flatten the same lead-acid battery before lunch, which is why it is a poor off-grid choice.
Capacity: what size in litres do you need
Capacity is measured in litres, and bigger is not always better because a large empty fridge wastes power and space. As a rough guide, allow around 10 to 15 litres per person for a weekend, and remember that tall items like two-litre bottles need models with a decent internal height.
| Capacity | Roughly holds | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| 15 to 25 litres | A day of food for one or two, or drinks only | Solo camper, back seat of a car |
| 30 to 40 litres | A weekend for two, or a few days for one | Couples, small campervans |
| 45 to 60 litres | A week for two, or a family weekend | Families, larger vans |
| 65 to 75 litres plus | Long family trips, dual fridge and freezer | Big vans, off-grid touring |
Car camping vs a campervan: which type suits you
For car camping, a passive cool box is usually the right call. Trips tend to be short, you are often near a shop for ice, and there is no permanent 12V supply to draw from. A cool box is also lighter, cheaper and silent, which matters if you are already packing carefully. If you are trying to keep your load down, our guide to the best lightweight camping gear is worth a read, because a full compressor fridge is heavy and rarely worth it for a one-nighter.
For a campervan, buy a compressor fridge and do not look back. It is built to run continuously off your leisure battery, cycling to save power, and it keeps food safe for weeks rather than a day. Fit it where it gets airflow around the vents, wire it to the leisure battery through a low-voltage cut-out to protect the battery, and consider solar to keep topped up. Keep the rest of your kit dry alongside it with one of the best waterproof camping bags, and you have a setup that will happily tour Cornwall, the Highlands or anywhere else you fancy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a cool box and a camping fridge?
A cool box has no motor. It keeps food cold using ice packs and slowly warms up over a day or two. A camping fridge, whether thermoelectric or compressor, uses power to cool actively, so it holds temperature for as long as it has electricity.
Will a 12V fridge flatten my car battery?
A compressor fridge run off your starter battery with the engine off can flatten it overnight. Wire it to a separate leisure battery with a low-voltage cut-out, which switches the fridge off before the battery is damaged. On the move, the alternator keeps it charged.
How cold does a thermoelectric cooler get?
Only 18 to 20 degrees below the surrounding air. On a mild 20 degree day that is fine, giving roughly 2 to 4 degrees inside, but on a hot day it cannot keep dairy or meat properly cold. For reliable cold in any weather you need a compressor fridge.
Do I need electric hook-up to run a camping fridge?
Not for a compressor fridge, which is designed to run off a 12V leisure battery. Hook-up is essential for a thermoelectric cooler on a longer stay, because it draws too much to run off a battery. Many UK campsites offer hook-up pitches at 10A or 16A.
What size camping fridge should I buy?
Allow roughly 10 to 15 litres per person. A 30 to 40 litre fridge suits a couple for a weekend, while families or week-long trips want 45 to 60 litres. Avoid buying far bigger than you need, as an empty fridge wastes power and space.
Are expensive rotomoulded cool boxes worth it?
Only if you camp off-grid for several days with no power. A rotomoulded box holds ice for three to five days rather than one, but costs £150 to £400. For serviced pitches near a shop, a £30 box and fresh ice is far better value.
The short version
Cool box for car camping and short trips, compressor fridge for a campervan or any long trip in warm weather, and thermoelectric only when you have mains hook-up and a small budget. Match the type to your power source first and the litres to your group size second, and you will not go wrong. When you are ready to book, find a pitch with electric hook-up in the Camping Sites in Britain directory or read more in the complete UK camping gear guide.
