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Freezers

The eCool is the Coolest Backyard Beer Cooler

Release the crankin!

A profile illustration of the eCool underground. Credit:

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Ever since man stopped hunting and gathering and settled down to brew beer, he’s been searching for ways to keep his suds cold through the sweltering days of summer.

The truth is, there are endless solutions at your disposal. There’s the Beer Blizzard, the Spin Chill, and the V-Tex, just to namecheck a few that we've checked out. Heck, LG even released a fridge with a quick beer can chiller built in.

Of course, you could do like your dad and granddad before him and just fill a cooler with ice. But that requires planning ahead, and planning sucks.

So how about this: A backyard cooler that literally cranks out cans of beer, keeps your brewskis cool through all four seasons, and uses zero electricity or water.

What is this sorcery, you might ask? It’s the eCool, and it’s not witchcraft—it’s science.

The eCool is a 44-inch cylindrical canister designed to hold as many as 24 cans of beer. It’s meant to be buried underground up to its neck, where a hand crank raises and lowers the beers inside.

It’s meant to be buried underground up to its neck, where a hand crank raises and lowers the beers inside.

The idea is that the ground acts as an insulator, keeping the canister's contents cool year-round—sort of like a wine cellar in miniature. A bottle cap–shaped insulated cover seals the deal. Installation is simple: All you have to do is dig a hole, a project made easier with a simple garden drill.

Okay, the device is probably not guaranteed to work everywhere on the planet. Up here in Massachusetts, temperatures here dip well below freezing in the winter and stay there for days and sometimes weeks. And anyway, our miserable snow would render it inaccessible for several months of the year. But how many times are you going to sip on a frosty brew outside in the dead of winter, anyway?

The eCool is a better solution for summer patio or backyard refrigeration needs, and it’s even more appealing if you’re eco-conscious. All in all, it’s a pretty cool idea, only mildly skunked by the $350 price tag (plus shipping). If that doesn't sound like too high a price to keep Heine from crowdin' your icebox, you can order one at eCool's site.

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