Small 12 volt cool bag/box

[EMBEE]

Would anyone know if a there is such a thing as a small 12 volt cool box available that could be accommodated on a motorcycle? It is not for end of the day evening cocktails but to maintain medication at a prescribed temperature.

[markharf]

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...nt-vital-52978

The information given is old (~13 years), so specifics might have changed. However, the approaches people describe remain as valid as ever. Much will depend on the temperatures required, your style of traveling (Camping? Hotels?) and ambient air temperatures (Mid-winter Siberia? Mid-summer Sahara?).

I traveled a bit with one of the posters in that thread, and his home-made medication cooler definitely worked well. No idea if he's still around here.

You don't say whether you've done any research aside from asking here, but I Googled "medication cool box motorcycle 12 volt" and got the usual multiple millions of results, including at least one thread on ADVrider.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

[EMBEE]

Thank you Mark. I did search on line but he only items that were displayed (even using motorcycle within the search) were coolers for cars or vans, which are not suitable due to their size. I shall look at the link you provided and on the ADV website.

[AnTyx]

Lots of 12v cool bags available on the likes of amazon, including in sizes that could certainly fit in a pannier/topbox (or even just used as a tailbag, they're often ballistic nylon, but I am assuming you would want to give it a bit more protection).

The limiting factor, I think, is how good the cooling element can be with just a 12v power supply and small size. I don't think you can reasonably expect to keep medication at e.g. 10C when it's 30C outside.

As a nuclear option, might I suggest: https://shop.funraniumlabs.com/produ...f-science.html - a mug that is literally made out of a liquid nitrogen container. (The guy who sells these is a health physicist who audits research facilities that work with radioactive materials for human safety.)

Quote:

This is, for all intents and purposes, the very best thermos you're ever going to find. It is quite common to fill these with liquid nitrogen, let it sit on the lab bench, and when you come back three days later there will still be liquid nitrogen in it.

[backofbeyond]

We took a medium size one with us across the US on a trip about 6-7 yrs ago ( it rode pillion on a solo bike). As a rule of thumb it cooled stuff by about 10 - 12C. That was ok when it was 20C (east coast) but when it was in the mid 30’s C further west it struggled. Better than nothing but they have their limits.

[Turbofurball]

Originally Posted by backofbeyond

We took a medium size one with us across the US on a trip about 6-7 yrs ago ( it rode pillion on a solo bike). As a rule of thumb it cooled stuff by about 10 - 12C. That was ok when it was 20C (east coast) but when it was in the mid 30’s C further west it struggled. Better than nothing but they have their limits.

I guess at that point you would have to put one running off the bike inside another running off a battery ... or augment the insulation around the outside to make it easier for the cooler.

[Surfy]

There is a lot of junk around. You need a compressor fridge to be able to keep temperature as low as needed for carrying meat, milk, cheese over days.

For a bike they seams to be too bit bulky and heavy?!

If I look to the really overlanding bikers, equiped with tent, sleepingbag, cooker, food - they seems to travel already not very lightweight.

Alpicool, 12l Fridge, 7kg, around 160$

Engel MHD13 is too made for carrying medicinal stuff, around 1000$ and weight 14kg. (my favorite brand)


It is not just the fridge, it is too the stuff you will start to cool down: , meat, chease, butter who will bring additional weight.

So - guess it has a reason, that we dont see bikers who are travelling with a fridge..

Surfy

[backofbeyond]

Originally Posted by Turbofurball

I guess at that point you would have to put one running off the bike inside another running off a battery ... or augment the insulation around the outside to make it easier for the cooler.

We would have done that but carrying the spare bike as parts meant we were short of space. It was only used for the 5pm sundowners anyway.

[normw]

I've been travelling for years with a biologic medication that needs to be kept quite cold. I've accumulated various types of small coolers including evaporative (no power required) and 12 volt powered ones. None of them really work well enough for me to to be useful over lengthy periods in hot weather.

I've defaulted to old fashioned frozen gel packs. I use a well padded camera bag to which I add extra layers of insulation. I fill it with lots of frozen gels including a type made by a company called Med Active which reliably stays frozen longer that the typical pharmacy types. I've used this arrangement in Sicily and in Africa under temperatures exceeding 40 degrees centigrade.

Of course, this arrangement does depend on spending every night, or at least every second night, somewhere where refrigeration (with a freezer) is available to use.

You haven't mentioned which type of medication you are dealing with. At least some biologics (e.g. Humira) are capable of surviving unrefrigerated for a significant period of time as long as the the temperature is below 25 degrees centigrade. Humira is good for 14 days. Hadlima, a biosimilar of Humira, will go for 28 days. This extends the travel friendliness of these medications considerably. I don't know what the situation is with insulin or with the many other biologics which seem to be flooding the market. Obviously it's key to check the data provided by the manufacturer.

On one motorcycle trip in very hot weather, knowing that I was going to use it soon, I simply kept an injector pen in a normal thermos bottle in which I also kept a small, ordinary frozen gel pack. I was confident that the contents would stay below 25 degrees for the required time.

A few years back a young engineer (in Ireland I think) posted here, I think, about a project he was working on to develop a powered cooler for motorcycles. Might have been on Advrider.

It's a hassle really but just a nuisance when you think about how many of these drugs are great scientific achievements.