Increasing Airflow through Condenser.
The new DC only compressor fridge I will soon have in my possession has a 92 mm computer muffin fan pulling air through only a portion(~85%) of the ~120mm tall condenser. It then blows this warmed a...
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Well the extra insulation attached to the fridge itself, and the insulation attached to the cabinet has been in place for a while now. I had originally attached the insulation to the sides temporarily, and took the IR thermometer to the exterior of the insulation then quickly on the interior side behind the insulation after removal and found a 12 degree difference at the bottom. No doubt the extra insulation is effective.
Yesterday's changes were only related to the new fan, its location on the other side of the condenser and the cooling unit protective tunnel being softly sealed around the fan itself. Granted putting it back in the cabinet adds another 9/16" to the walls and ~3/4" to the bottom. The bottom including the 1/2 inch plywood shelf and a 1/2" camping mattress pad on top of that. This soft shelf was originally to dampen the vibrations of the previous failed Norcold.
My mystification is mostly due to a slower fan pushing air through the condenser being measurably better than a faster fan pulling it. One would think if this is better, the On cycle would be shorter and the off cycle would stay the same. Yet my Off Cycles have increased substantially with only the fan and its orientation being a variable.
I kept monitoring some cycles today at 76f ambient and it was still 4:30 to 5:30 ON and 14 to 18 minutes OFF for sub 39f box temps. Before switching the fan, the longest Off Cycle I ever recorded was 12:35, at 62f ambient.
I just recently filled it with more perishables so any more tests will not be valid for a while.
Edit: Tonight the Duty cycle dropped below 25% at 63.5 F ambient and was running shorter cycles. 3 minutes on, 10:15 off when the stopwatch battery died an hour ago.
So not as impressive, or mystifying :)
Yesterday's changes were only related to the new fan, its location on the other side of the condenser and the cooling unit protective tunnel being softly sealed around the fan itself. Granted putting it back in the cabinet adds another 9/16" to the walls and ~3/4" to the bottom. The bottom including the 1/2 inch plywood shelf and a 1/2" camping mattress pad on top of that. This soft shelf was originally to dampen the vibrations of the previous failed Norcold.
My mystification is mostly due to a slower fan pushing air through the condenser being measurably better than a faster fan pulling it. One would think if this is better, the On cycle would be shorter and the off cycle would stay the same. Yet my Off Cycles have increased substantially with only the fan and its orientation being a variable.
I kept monitoring some cycles today at 76f ambient and it was still 4:30 to 5:30 ON and 14 to 18 minutes OFF for sub 39f box temps. Before switching the fan, the longest Off Cycle I ever recorded was 12:35, at 62f ambient.
I just recently filled it with more perishables so any more tests will not be valid for a while.
Edit: Tonight the Duty cycle dropped below 25% at 63.5 F ambient and was running shorter cycles. 3 minutes on, 10:15 off when the stopwatch battery died an hour ago.
So not as impressive, or mystifying :)
