1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Car cooler for 2010 Prius (putting in trunk)

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by MegaPrius101, Jun 9, 2019.

  1. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2009
    5,596
    3,770
    0
    Location:
    So. Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Another vote for ice packs and a good quality cooler.
     
    jerrymildred and milkman44 like this.
  2. bobzchemist

    bobzchemist Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2016
    507
    342
    0
    Location:
    Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I'd be really interested in how long it takes for that battery to run down. Let me know?
     
  3. MegaPrius101

    MegaPrius101 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2018
    57
    31
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    On this date , June 11th 2019 at approximately 11am, Igloo cooler was plugged into a fully charged OEM battery ..

    I will keep it running continuously until battery dies ..I will update when battery dies.. hopefully it will be a long time ..
     
    SFO and bisco like this.
  4. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    7,035
    2,780
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    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.
     
  5. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    7,035
    2,780
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    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.
     
  6. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2018
    5,837
    3,137
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Must be nice to have money and time to throw away. :)
     
    bisco likes this.
  7. bobzchemist

    bobzchemist Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2016
    507
    342
    0
    Location:
    Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    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.

     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    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
     
  9. MegaPrius101

    MegaPrius101 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2018
    57
    31
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Alright .. just unplugged cooler.. waiting to get another stronger battery that can be recharged a lot..

    I’m open to recommendations .

    I don’t know what I was thinking after someone mentioned dome light thing ..
     
    bisco likes this.
  10. MegaPrius101

    MegaPrius101 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2018
    57
    31
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Alright .. just unplugged cooler.. waiting to get another

    I may be able to return it for full refund despite that or pay a small fee for that
     
  11. bobzchemist

    bobzchemist Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2016
    507
    342
    0
    Location:
    Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    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:
     
  12. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    2,233
    1,595
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    You would be better off with a high quality cooler without power, but with good insulation, and some dry ice.
    Or dry ice.
     
  13. bobzchemist

    bobzchemist Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2016
    507
    342
    0
    Location:
    Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    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.
     
    SFO likes this.
  14. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2009
    5,596
    3,770
    0
    Location:
    So. Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    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...... :confused:
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  15. MelonPrius

    MelonPrius Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2017
    809
    504
    0
    Location:
    Las Vegas
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    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.
     
  16. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    7,035
    2,780
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    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
     
  17. MegaPrius101

    MegaPrius101 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2018
    57
    31
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    I know a lot of people have been recommending various forms of icing..

    But I’m going to proceed with the cooler .. I may sell this 2nd battery I have as I was talking to the car audio installer the other day while he was installing something and I brought up the point of me having a Optima Yellow top that was totally dead and couldn’t be recharged .. turns out, it was still under warranty from Autozone and I got a free replacement (I went there trying to find out in hopes they could recharge it as I thought my charger was too weak).

    I just purchased aforementioned deep cycle battery from Amazon.

    Honestly , I see very little danger in doing this with a deep cycle battery as the car audio installer did an excellent job with wiring and made everything clean and safe.
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    a marine battery, like for a trolling motor, is the right tool
     
  19. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    7,035
    2,780
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    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.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  20. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,490
    14,095
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    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?
     
    Salamander_King, bisco and jb in NE like this.