I have found that the Rubbermaid cooler you are using is the best for this application. I will be basing mine on yours with a few alterations. 1. I am using a Kenwood marine deck and placing a waterproof marine wired remote on the end of the cooler. 2. I will be placing my battery with the terminals near the end of the cooler and angling my electronics mounting plate down towards the end of the cooler. This will enable the front aux and usb cords to work and give a small dry goods area.
Yes, all of those pieces are made from the same kind of kitchen cutting board used for the divider. The "L" shaped item is actually two small LED lights hot-glued to the underside of the top plate. They are not connected to one another, it just looks that way in the pic.
It was a standard cooler purchased at Target (I think). I made the divider from an acrylic kitchen cutting board. I cut it to fit snug, used a bit of hot-glue to hold it in place, and sealed both sides with Loc-tite.
I made it. The divider is an acrylic kitchen cutting board. I cut it to fit snug, used a bit of hot-glue to hold it in place, and sealed both sides with Loc-tite.
@TeaQue Yes, I use a trickle charger connected to a cigarette lighter plug. I plug it into the cigarette lighter receptacle in the cooler. Switching on the cigarette lighter/USB unit completes the circuit to the battery, thus charging it. I have a double ended cigarette lighter plug that I use to charge it away from home, I just plug it into the outlet in the back of my 4Runner. I made sure to buy 20 amp switches to pull this charging method off, 10 amp might have melted.
@Pesty1980 The binding posts allow me to add or remove any single piece of the unit without cutting any wires. Every power wire has a ring terminal that I can simply slide on/off of the posts. Without the posts, all of the wires would be soldered, crimped, or taped together. It would be messy and difficult to repair or change. in other words;It's just my preference. I like things tidy and I believe that a little more work now means a lot less work later.
Actually, I've done this. Build a similar box with a much larger battery, like a giant deep-cycle for boats (walmart sells a huge yellow one for like $90). Along with the stereo/amp and speakers, also install an inverter. You're going to need a good sized one depending on your projector(500+ watts). Laptop with DVD/BR and projector are powered from the inverter and audio from laptop is plugged into amp for sound. Totally portable movie theater.
@weettiddo007 The wireless transmitter uses a standard 3.5mm plug for it's input. I used a 3.5mm to RCA adapter plug and connected it to the front RCA outputs of the head unit.
I want to try to make a cooler like this but I have a 200W amplifier laying around and I also have a head unit which is also 200W but am not sure if I should just use the amp and buy an aux-RCA cable to connect to my phone or if it would sound better with the stereo. By the way.. yours is awesome!! It looks great and is also very practical, great job!
@JamesStickel Thanks! The divider plate is an acrylic kitchen cutting board, $10 at Target. And I sealed it with LocTite caulk. Use the good stuff, like $7-8 a tube. Cheap caulk won't bond to the cooler wall or the cutting board,I tried 5 types before I finally wen to the good LocTite stuff. I used is a riding lawn mower battery. It's built to accommodate a large deep cycle if I ever want to upgrade,but I doubt I ever will.I get about 6-10 hours out of this now,no need to double the weight.
@Pesty1980 It'll charge, just make sure your car is on too. If all of the power indicator lights come on when you plug it into the WaganTech, then it's charging the battery. If the lights don't change, something is wrong.
@emugamer I chose the slit-top cooler so I would never need to open the lid over the radio. Besides, the head unit is touch screen (ie. no buttons) minimal splashing is quite harmless.
I am thinking about something like this for my softball team i was considering doing something big but this is quite practical and i can still use the cooler for gatorade !!!
@TeaQue No amp, just using the head unit to power the speakers. And I'm using a small lawn battery from Wal-Mart (about $25). It's got a great weight/capacity ratio for the price. I can play it at a decent volume for about 6-10 hours.
@drinklikachamp Sure. When turned on, the WaganTech cigarette lighter port is simply a direct connection to the + and - terminals on the battery. You can pull 12v from it by plugging things into it OR you can input 12v to it to charge the battery using a cable like this: Search Amazon for this:"Schumacher SAC-109 Male-to-Male Connector" Start your car, plug one end into your car's cigarette lighter port and the other end into the WaganTech. Turn it on and you'll charge your battery. That's it.
Awesome boombox. Will use it as inspiration. Maybe copy it exactly. Radios now come with aux and USB on the front plate. I'm sure my wife will miss a cutting board! How do the wireless speakers work? My end goal is to create a portable sound system to do movie night outside. So, I need to figure out how to add a blue-ray player and a projector wirelessly. I will likely run a long extension cord for the projector. I suppose that i can do the sound via an FM transmitter. Don't you think?
It depends on your needs. If you want to play CDs or FM you should use the head unit. If you are just using your ipod than the amp would probably suffice. Personally, I would go with the one that uses less power. The amp may be louder but that doesn't mean much when it only lasts a couple of hours.
maybe you could use one of the 2din car stereos which have many features for external audio and video.. although I'm not sure if I know of any which supports blue-ray
@simonspectra ALWAYS use fuses. No exceptions. I've been in the consumer electronics industry for 20 years and owned a car audio store for a while. Believe me when I say that the #1 mistake self-installers make is not using fuses. And I don't worry about the condensation. I built this to take on camping and float trips. That environment has water,heat, humidity, dirt, and lots of physical abuse.I'm not expecting any of this equipment to last more than 2-3 years without needing to be replaced
@Musaffa1 when you say, "The cigarette lighter port is simply a direct connection to the + and - terminals on the battery"...when i looked up the Wagan Tech cigarette ligther port it has a Cigarette litghter at the end? how did you hook it up directly to the battery? did you splice it? i read about a trickle charger? what exactly does the trickle charger do and how does it come into play? sorry i'm a n00b. thanks so much for posting!
Great idea with the WaganTech charger. I'm placing one in my cooler build. Did you just cut the cigarette end off that came on it ? And how did you mount it--it's round and not sure how to secure it to the platform like you did?
A deep-cycle battery will last a little longer than a standard battery, but longevity is more about efficiency than it is about battery type. Choosing good quality components will yield better battery life every time, in particular, speakers. Buy speakers with a good efficiency rating and a high db output. These speakers will need much less power to be loud and sound good.Less power requirements means using a smaller amp or no amp at all.Most quality stereos will power good speakers quite well.
i all ready built a cooler with 2 -6,5" 200 w pyle speakers, a 8" 200 watts clarion subwoofer and a 400 watts marine amplifier, i whant to know if you can recomend me a car battery for this products, to run about 8 to 10 hour? i´ll appreciate your help....
thnks for your video..nice cooler btw...quick question how did u do the compartment? did you make it like that or did you buy it like that already...if u made it what did u use or buy?
@Pesty1980 Click the link in the description and look at the second picture. I ran a couple of bolts through the top as binding posts. I wired everything to them and then a single 8 guage lead from each post to the battery.
PLEASE HELP!! LOL I have the Wagan Tech charger and I need to to hook it up to my cooler, I have the 12v battery and have 2 6x9's hooked up, and have the switch to turn on and off the amp and speakers. I do not have a radio hooked up to it, just the amp, speakers, and battery. So now I want to hook up the Wagan Tech charger, I have the switch, but the way I am doing it, it is not working. Do I go directly to the battery or do I have to splice it somewhere in between?? Please help!!
Thanks for the video, how did you wire up that USB? i'm trying to figure out how to have a multiple USB ports so if we want to charge our ipod/phone whatever. How did you get power to that seperate USB chord? is that from the Headunit? If so, how did you wire up that wagan tech to the battery, as it seems on amazon it has a cigarette lighter at the end.
Any LED light that plugs into a cigarette lighter will work. Amazon, Walmart, Autozone etc. sell tons of them. Cut off the plug and wire it to a switch connected to your 12v battery.
It was too cost prohibitive to build for resale. This is just a hobby of mine. I'm sure using cheaper components could get it down to a couple of hundred bucks, but it wouldn't sound as good or last as long. Besides, the rise of portable Bluetooth speakers have killed any market that this cooler may have had.
Just the materials? If I had to buy everything new? maybe $400-$500 (without the wireless speakers and transmitter). I could have certainly built it cheaper, but I wanted those specific components for specific reasons. Install a Boss radio instead with some Pyle speakers and you could cut that price in half.
If you absolutely have to have amps and subs in your cooler I would suggest getting more efficient amplifiers. Get D-class amps for your sub and T-class for your speakers. T-class amps use very little power and are super clean but they generally don't make them powerful enough to drive a sub. They're also cheap, like $30 on Amazon.Try it, you won't regret it. Whatever you do, stay as far away from Class A-B as you can. They are horribly inefficient and will drain any battery very quickly.
Maybe i have missed it in the comments somewhere if someone else has brought it up, but do you have condensation problems? I would think the ice water next to an uninsulated but sealed compartment would condensate.
Hey Scott, nice work? I'm looking to do something similar only using the newer black 70QT Coleman cooler. Looks like kicker came out with a newer version of the speakers you used. What ohm are they 2 or 4 since your not running and amp? Sounds good!
ballpark? 400-500ish. I have a background in mobile electronics so I had some of this stuff laying around. Having the correct wire, connectors, and knowledge of materials kept the cost a little lower than most people would probably spend, but it was still quite expensive for what it is. Its a hobby I'm passionate about more than anything.
My questions are regarding the divider, what is it made from, how is it sealed, how did you get a tight top seal? Thanks :) Best home made one I have come across
That is some great work right there! Yours is a much more finished version of mine. Good stuff. Check mine out. Solar powered and still functions as a cooler like yours.
@acoustrix Please do! And please reply with video/pics. I'd love to see what you come up with. Also, do yourself a favor and check out motorboatyourself. com. It's an amazing community devoted to the art of making music come out of coolers. If you want inspiration and constructive criticism, you'll find find plenty of both there.
I have found that the Rubbermaid cooler you are using is the best for this application. I will be basing mine on yours with a few alterations. 1. I am using a Kenwood marine deck and placing a waterproof marine wired remote on the end of the cooler. 2. I will be placing my battery with the terminals near the end of the cooler and angling my electronics mounting plate down towards the end of the cooler. This will enable the front aux and usb cords to work and give a small dry goods area.
Thanks! They are one of my favorite bands.
Yes, all of those pieces are made from the same kind of kitchen cutting board used for the divider. The "L" shaped item is actually two small LED lights hot-glued to the underside of the top plate. They are not connected to one another, it just looks that way in the pic.
It was a standard cooler purchased at Target (I think). I made the divider from an acrylic kitchen cutting board. I cut it to fit snug, used a bit of hot-glue to hold it in place, and sealed both sides with Loc-tite.
I made it. The divider is an acrylic kitchen cutting board. I cut it to fit snug, used a bit of hot-glue to hold it in place, and sealed both sides with Loc-tite.
@TeaQue Yes, I use a trickle charger connected to a cigarette lighter plug. I plug it into the cigarette lighter receptacle in the cooler. Switching on the cigarette lighter/USB unit completes the circuit to the battery, thus charging it. I have a double ended cigarette lighter plug that I use to charge it away from home, I just plug it into the outlet in the back of my 4Runner. I made sure to buy 20 amp switches to pull this charging method off, 10 amp might have melted.
@Pesty1980
The binding posts allow me to add or remove any single piece of the unit without cutting any wires. Every power wire has a ring terminal that I can simply slide on/off of the posts. Without the posts, all of the wires would be soldered, crimped, or taped together. It would be messy and difficult to repair or change. in other words;It's just my preference. I like things tidy and I believe that a little more work now means a lot less work later.
Actually, I've done this. Build a similar box with a much larger battery, like a giant deep-cycle for boats (walmart sells a huge yellow one for like $90). Along with the stereo/amp and speakers, also install an inverter. You're going to need a good sized one depending on your projector(500+ watts). Laptop with DVD/BR and projector are powered from the inverter and audio from laptop is plugged into amp for sound. Totally portable movie theater.
@weettiddo007 The wireless transmitter uses a standard 3.5mm plug for it's input. I used a 3.5mm to RCA adapter plug and connected it to the front RCA outputs of the head unit.
Nice work man! I'm definitely gonna use this as inspiration for when i get around to building my own.. Favorited.
I want to try to make a cooler like this but I have a 200W amplifier laying around and I also have a head unit which is also 200W but am not sure if I should just use the amp and buy an aux-RCA cable to connect to my phone or if it would sound better with the stereo. By the way.. yours is awesome!! It looks great and is also very practical, great job!
Battery is from Walmart, about 20 bucks.
The battery gauge/cig lighter thing is from Amazon. Wagan EL2537-5. Was like 15 bucks.
@JamesStickel Thanks! The divider plate is an acrylic kitchen cutting board, $10 at Target. And I sealed it with LocTite caulk. Use the good stuff, like $7-8 a tube. Cheap caulk won't bond to the cooler wall or the cutting board,I tried 5 types before I finally wen to the good LocTite stuff. I used is a riding lawn mower battery. It's built to accommodate a large deep cycle if I ever want to upgrade,but I doubt I ever will.I get about 6-10 hours out of this now,no need to double the weight.
It runs off of a 12v riding lawnmower battery. There is a link in the description to some pics of the inside of it if you would like to see.
@Pesty1980 It'll charge, just make sure your car is on too. If all of the power indicator lights come on when you plug it into the WaganTech, then it's charging the battery. If the lights don't change, something is wrong.
That is amazing. Great job on that build
@emugamer I chose the slit-top cooler so I would never need to open the lid over the radio. Besides, the head unit is touch screen (ie. no buttons) minimal splashing is quite harmless.
I am thinking about something like this for my softball team i was considering doing something big but this is quite practical and i can still use the cooler for gatorade !!!
@TeaQue No amp, just using the head unit to power the speakers. And I'm using a small lawn battery from Wal-Mart (about $25). It's got a great weight/capacity ratio for the price. I can play it at a decent volume for about 6-10 hours.
@drinklikachamp Sure. When turned on, the WaganTech cigarette lighter port is simply a direct connection to the + and - terminals on the battery. You can pull 12v from it by plugging things into it OR you can input 12v to it to charge the battery using a cable like this: Search Amazon for this:"Schumacher SAC-109 Male-to-Male Connector"
Start your car, plug one end into your car's cigarette lighter port and the other end into the WaganTech. Turn it on and you'll charge your battery. That's it.
Awesome boombox. Will use it as inspiration. Maybe copy it exactly. Radios now come with aux and USB on the front plate. I'm sure my wife will miss a cutting board! How do the wireless speakers work? My end goal is to create a portable sound system to do movie night outside. So, I need to figure out how to add a blue-ray player and a projector wirelessly. I will likely run a long extension cord for the projector. I suppose that i can do the sound via an FM transmitter. Don't you think?
It depends on your needs. If you want to play CDs or FM you should use the head unit. If you are just using your ipod than the amp would probably suffice. Personally, I would go with the one that uses less power. The amp may be louder but that doesn't mean much when it only lasts a couple of hours.
Cut a hole, mount the radio sleeve, slide the radio in. Check out the build pics, link is in the notes.
Good choice of music!!
maybe you could use one of the 2din car stereos which have many features for external audio and video.. although I'm not sure if I know of any which supports blue-ray
@simonspectra
ALWAYS use fuses. No exceptions. I've been in the consumer electronics industry for 20 years and owned a car audio store for a while. Believe me when I say that the #1 mistake self-installers make is not using fuses. And I don't worry about the condensation. I built this to take on camping and float trips. That environment has water,heat, humidity, dirt, and lots of physical abuse.I'm not expecting any of this equipment to last more than 2-3 years without needing to be replaced
@Musaffa1 when you say, "The cigarette lighter port is simply a direct connection to the + and - terminals on the battery"...when i looked up the Wagan Tech cigarette ligther port it has a Cigarette litghter at the end? how did you hook it up directly to the battery? did you splice it? i read about a trickle charger? what exactly does the trickle charger do and how does it come into play? sorry i'm a n00b. thanks so much for posting!
Nice work! You gave me some great ideas.
I used a white kitchen cutting board and sealed it with Loc-Tite bathroom caulk.
Great idea with the WaganTech charger. I'm placing one in my cooler build. Did you just cut the cigarette end off that came on it ? And how did you mount it--it's round and not sure how to secure it to the platform like you did?
Bravo man. This is quite impressive and ingenius. I give it two big thumbs up.
Also, USB and AUX on the front plate will keep you from closing the lid while in use. Gotta keep that beer cold, ya know? ;)
A deep-cycle battery will last a little longer than a standard battery, but longevity is more about efficiency than it is about battery type. Choosing good quality components will yield better battery life every time, in particular, speakers.
Buy speakers with a good efficiency rating and a high db output. These speakers will need much less power to be loud and sound good.Less power requirements means using a smaller amp or no amp at all.Most quality stereos will power good speakers quite well.
i all ready built a cooler with 2 -6,5" 200 w pyle speakers, a 8" 200 watts clarion subwoofer and a 400 watts marine amplifier, i whant to know if you can recomend me a car battery for this products, to run about 8 to 10 hour? i´ll appreciate your help....
what would you say you have invested in this awesome cooler...
thnks for your video..nice cooler btw...quick question how did u do the compartment? did you make it like that or did you buy it like that already...if u made it what did u use or buy?
Are you just using a trickle charger to recharge? Thats a pretty trick setup!
I am looking to build just like this one. Can you send me pictures of inside the compartment? Alos how did the loc-tite end up working for the seal?
@Pesty1980
Click the link in the description and look at the second picture. I ran a couple of bolts through the top as binding posts. I wired everything to them and then a single 8 guage lead from each post to the battery.
PLEASE HELP!! LOL I have the Wagan Tech charger and I need to to hook it up to my cooler, I have the 12v battery and have 2 6x9's hooked up, and have the switch to turn on and off the amp and speakers. I do not have a radio hooked up to it, just the amp, speakers, and battery. So now I want to hook up the Wagan Tech charger, I have the switch, but the way I am doing it, it is not working. Do I go directly to the battery or do I have to splice it somewhere in between?? Please help!!
Thanks for the video, how did you wire up that USB? i'm trying to figure out how to have a multiple USB ports so if we want to charge our ipod/phone whatever. How did you get power to that seperate USB chord? is that from the Headunit? If so, how did you wire up that wagan tech to the battery, as it seems on amazon it has a cigarette lighter at the end.
Any LED light that plugs into a cigarette lighter will work. Amazon, Walmart, Autozone etc. sell tons of them. Cut off the plug and wire it to a switch connected to your 12v battery.
How do the wireless speakers hook up to the radio? Are they wired as rear speakers?
hey man thats a great build just wanted to let you know
Do you happen to remember what kind of led you used for the cooler light?
Have you thought about building more like this one and selling them!? Because I would definitely buy one!
It was too cost prohibitive to build for resale. This is just a hobby of mine. I'm sure using cheaper components could get it down to a couple of hundred bucks, but it wouldn't sound as good or last as long. Besides, the rise of portable Bluetooth speakers have killed any market that this cooler may have had.
@Pesty1980 What specifically did you need help wiring? I'm happy to assist anyway I can.
Can you tell me exactly what type of silicone you use to seal the divider used to section off the ice from the batt/speakers?
Aaron Hauck It looks like the cooler was made that way from the factory. hence the double lid
Just the materials? If I had to buy everything new? maybe $400-$500 (without the wireless speakers and transmitter). I could have certainly built it cheaper, but I wanted those specific components for specific reasons.
Install a Boss radio instead with some Pyle speakers and you could cut that price in half.
Thats awesome! Do you have a parts list? What kinda amp/battery combo are you using?
what did you use to cover the board where your radio and carger are. i have just a plywood board that im looking to cover just dont know what with
nice. how did you make the wireless speakers play with bluetooth.
A cheap kitchen cutting board. Check out the pics of the construction in the notes.
I am having trouble finding the right LED lights. Do you remember or have any recommendations to get some?
Sweet set up sounds great. What app is that for music?
How did u wire the charger to the battery? Did you just leave the fuse out and hook up red to red and black to black?
How do you prevent water from splashing over when you're using the cooler part as well?
Use ice packs instead of actual ice cubes.
If you absolutely have to have amps and subs in your cooler I would suggest getting more efficient amplifiers. Get D-class amps for your sub and T-class for your speakers. T-class amps use very little power and are super clean but they generally don't make them powerful enough to drive a sub. They're also cheap, like $30 on Amazon.Try it, you won't regret it. Whatever you do, stay as far away from Class A-B as you can. They are horribly inefficient and will drain any battery very quickly.
oh ok i thought that was just the side piece what did you use for padding and whatnot ?
nice work :)
where did you get the battery gauge with the usb's?
Can you sub a motorcycle battery? Same as lawnmower or as long as its a 12V?
Yes, any 12v battery will work
@psjaftbll21
The switches are from Amazon, $5: amazon.com/gp/product/B002UZSN1Q
The sell like 4 different LED colors. Mine are blue.
Maybe i have missed it in the comments somewhere if someone else has brought it up, but do you have condensation problems? I would think the ice water next to an uninsulated but sealed compartment would condensate.
JoeStrodtman That us why you use blue ice packs
Also, what's the divider plate made out of? And did you just use caulk to seal it up? What kind of battery are you using now?
how did you make the seperate compartment what material????
Hey Scott, nice work? I'm looking to do something similar only using the newer black 70QT Coleman cooler. Looks like kicker came out with a newer version of the speakers you used. What ohm are they 2 or 4 since your not running and amp? Sounds good!
OMG...good work man!
Very cool !
No condensation issues on the electronics?
what did you use for the top piece what you have the radio and cigarette lighter in ?
Scott, nice build. How much did this puppy set you back $$?
ballpark? 400-500ish. I have a background in mobile electronics so I had some of this stuff laying around. Having the correct wire, connectors, and knowledge of materials kept the cost a little lower than most people would probably spend, but it was still quite expensive for what it is. Its a hobby I'm passionate about more than anything.
very nice
@partymarty02 - Amazon, $12 I think.
@Pesty1980 Where do I see the pics?
nice rebelution!
Amazon. Wagan EL2537-5. Was like 15 bucks.
Actually I'm an idiot. I just realized you're probably driving the speakers off of a headunit. I'm still curious about the battery though...
Aww.... I wanted to hear walk of life... :(
My questions are regarding the divider, what is it made from, how is it sealed, how did you get a tight top seal? Thanks :)
Best home made one I have come across
where did you get the switch panel?
Awesome cooler, what size is this?
What did you use to divide the cooler? Plexi or what?
looks like its made like that from factory with split sections
Oh and what type of bluetooth transmitter did you use?
How much did it cost to make?
Scott, are you on MBY? I wanted it send you a message with a few questions.
I used to be, haven't been there in a long while. I can try to answer an questions you have though.
Can you
Are you selling?
That is some great work right there! Yours is a much more finished version of mine. Good stuff. Check mine out. Solar powered and still functions as a cooler like yours.
@acoustrix
Please do! And please reply with video/pics. I'd love to see what you come up with. Also, do yourself a favor and check out motorboatyourself. com. It's an amazing community devoted to the art of making music come out of coolers. If you want inspiration and constructive criticism, you'll find find plenty of both there.
Here are pics of the construction: imgur.com/a/7X7bs
No, sorry.
how did you mount your headunit??
Can you