REVIEW – If you’ve taken vacations, camping trips, or had lake/beach adventures with a cooler full of ice, then you know the hassle that GoSun is trying to solve with the GoSun Chill + SolarTable 120. Traditional ice-filled coolers inevitably have a lifespan measured in hours (or days for very nice ones that you’re not opening too often), and the ice takes up precious internal volume and eventually melts into water turning everything stored inside into a soggy warm mess. Cleanup is a pain and the ice+food+drink combination is heavy. With an electric cooler you can keep a steady temperature over a much longer time period, depending on how you’re powering it. If you have a solar panel and power bank, this can be a self-powered long term cooling solution with no need for ice refills or connecting to a grid or vehicle to charge. The GoSun Chill + SolarTable 120 package looks to be a great option for off-grid cooling, with the added benefit of the table of having a usable surface area (and not just a standalone solar panel).
What is it?
While you can buy the individual components separately from GoSun, the GoSun Chill + SolarTable 120 package is everything you need to have a portable cooler/freezer/table on your outdoor adventure. The SolarTable 120 can charge the included PowerBank 144 in about 4 hours on a sunny day (longer on cloudy but still fully charges during the day), which will keep the GoSun Chill cooler running all night. The table provides shade for the cooler (extending the PowerBank’s effectiveness), has built in solar panels on one half, and a tempered glass food prep/eating area on the other half.
What’s in the box?
- GoSun Chill cooler
- Chill AC adapter
- Chill 12V DC adapter
- 2 x cord bungees
- Manuals
- Power 144 PowerBank
- Soft-Touch case
- PowerBank AC adapter
- SolarTable 120
- 3-Way Combiner Cable
Hardware specs
GoSun Chill cooler:
- Dimensions: 23.5″W x 19″H x 16″L
- Volume: 40L
- Cable length: 7 ft
- Weight: 28 lbs
- Insulation: R-10, close cell polyurethane foam
- Compressor: DC brushless (runs on 12 or 24 volt input), draws 35-45 watts
Power 144 power bank:
- Weight: 2.2 lbs
- Dimensions: 6.9″ x 4.2″ x 1.7″
- Material: ABS outer
- Power input: 20V 2A max (AC), 28V DC Max Voc (Solar PV)
- Ports: USB (3X), Cigarette lighter (1x)
- Light modes: White (200 lumens)/Red
- Recharges in about 4 hours on sunny day from SolarTable 120
SolarTable 120:
- Weight: 24.5 lbs
- Dimensions: 48″L x 28″W x 19-27″H (folded is 48″ x ~4″)
- Capacity: 75 lbs
- Compatible with any generator/power bank via DC cord
- Materials: Glass, aluminum, steel
- Solar Power Output: 120 W max
- Ports: 2 DC ports, 5.5 x 2.1mm coaxial
Design and features
The GoSun Chill is a 40L electric cooler. It has a refrigerator/freezer condenser combined with the insulated enclosure. There’s a drain valve (for defrosting or cleaning), and the food storage area extends under the control panel and condenser area on the right side.
The exterior feels well built and sturdy, and you can store a LOT of cans (I didn’t have enough on hand to fill it entirely to test). The temperature can be set from -4°F to 68°F.
The LCD panel gives you visibility into the currently set temperature and voltage being delivered from the power source (which can tell you if a power bank or vehicle battery is dying – there are also auto-shutoff options to prevent fully draining any attached power sources). Below the panel and control buttons is a USB-A charging port, great for a quick charge or other USB powered devices.
Around the back is the handle, tie down mounts, and a built-in bottle opener (nice!). The included tie downs can go up and over to attach to other points on the front to keep the lid closed on a bumpy ride (or to store other items securely on top of the freezer while you’re rolling it around). There are also two pouches that both fit the included power bank but could be used for whatever you’d like (cords, tools, etc.).
The power input is on the right side, along with one of two handles. Two wheels at the back make for easy transport when combined with the extendable handle.
The telescoping handle extends pretty far and feels solid, even a tall guy like me had no problems rolling the SunGo Chill cooler around. In the photo above you can also see the built-in cup/bottle holders.
Next up, the GoSun SolarTable 120:
The GoSun SolarTable 120 is a folding table that has a 120W solar panel built into one half, and a tempered glass surface on the other. It folds into a compact transportable slab and provides power and shade to the Chill cooler and PowerBank when deployed.
The tempered glass half of the table reminds me of the many tempered glass backyard picnic tables I’ve seen over the years, it’s easy to wipe off and resistant to stains and scratches. If broken, because it’s tempered glass it will shatter into little glass beads that are less likely to cut people than the shards produced by non-tempered glass. I was able to test this tempered glass performance when the first table GoSun shipped me arrived in pieces (the replacement was shipped double boxed with extra padding and made it fine, hopefully, this is the way they ship to everyone going forward):
The GoSun SolarTable 120 seems like it’s made of quality materials and is sturdy enough when set up, but it’s definitely not the heaviest duty of tables (with a 75 pound max load rating). Some edges were a bit sharp (not enough to cut, but enough to feel them when setting it up and taking it down).
A latch keeps the table deployed securely, and seems very sturdy once locked.
On the underside is the power output cable and a storage pouch (great for storing the PowerBank or tools/cords/etc.).
The legs adjust to several locking positions using pins as shown above, and allow the table surface to be 19 to 27″ high.
The GoSun SolarTable 120 is very similar in size to other 4′ long folding tables when folded up, and a pair of handles as well as locking tabs adorn the top.
Finally, the PowerBank 144 is the secret sauce that allows the GoSun Chill cooler to keep running overnight. You could use any powerbank you’d like, but the one bundled in this combo package seems perfect for the job of keeping the cooler running overnight and then storing enough energy from the table during the day to repeat it indefinitely. If you’re also trying to power other things though you might want to move up to their larger PowerBanks or even use a different company’s as the PowerBank 144 is just enough to ensure the Chill cooler stays on overnight.
There are four outputs, one DC (car lighter style) and 3 x USB-A (no QuickCharge or Power Delivery, just standard charging). There’s also the DC input for powering the PowerBank, which can be supplied via wall AC charger, car DC charging, or solar power charging.
The GoSun PowerBank 144 also has a built-in flashlight that puts out 200 lumens and can be toggled over to a red light that’s dimmer. 4 white LEDs left of my hand in the photo below indicate charge status.
Performance
To test out the GoSun Chill + SolarTable 120, I simulated a summer camping scenario in my back yard. I plugged the SolarTable into the PowerBank, and the Chill cooler into the PowerBank, and left it out all day (for several days). Each night I rolled the PowerBank and Chill cooler into my garage (which was 90+ degrees each night) and left it on overnight.
The first night the PowerBank died overnight, but drinks were still around 50 degrees in the morning thanks to the good insulation. This was a less than full day of sun, and the cooler had to cool down from 90+ degrees with drinks inside, so lots of extra work that you wouldn’t normally be throwing at it. Even with all that, we made it overnight and to the next sun cycle with cold drinks. Each day after that, I had 1 battery LED left each morning as I rolled the Chill cooler out to the SolarTable to plug it back in.
What I like
- Good combination of solar panels, power bank, and large-but-still-portable-cooler
- Reliable cooling all day and night on summer days
- Good long telescoping handle and wheels make portability easy
- Attached pouches and tie down mounts and bottle opener
What I’d change
- While the table doesn’t feel cheap, it doesn’t feel as premium as a folding table costing more than $100 usually would. I do wish the folding mechanisms, table leg adjustment, and overall finish was just a bit nicer for this price point.
- Full price seems a steep sell for me as opposed to a cheaper traditional cooler and picnic table, but if you’re going to use it for multiple-day trips off-grid then it might be worth it.
Final thoughts
We try to head out to the nearby mountain lakes each year for kayaking and paddle boarding, and the GoSun Shill + Solar Table 120 setup will definitely be making an appearance at future lake days. It’s going to be great for camping as well, especially for multiple-day campouts in Southern Utah (it’s great being a couple of hours from Zion’s, Arches, Goblin, and Canyonlands Parks, just to name a couple). No more soaked groceries and endless bags of ice to keep things cool, now all we need is sun!
Price: $1099 ($699 sale at time of review)
Where to buy: GoSun and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by GoSun
