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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Since my last post I lined both sides of my Foam cabinet separator and plywood with a peel and seal roofing flashing with the foil face. This reduced the compressor and fan noise marginally and increased the insulative quality of the enclosure by some tiny fraction.
With the cold snap last week I had motivation to reroute the condenser air back into the living space instead of outside the vehicle.
I found that before I made this modification, when the compressor would kick on, the condenser fan scavenging air from the floor and pushing it out the louvered vent was causing cold exterior air to seep past my less than perfect door seals. Very noticeable and not comfortable in freezing temps.
I cut a 4.75x6" panel in the foamboard partition at the opposite end of the cooling unit tunnel, closed the window in front of the louvered vent and just cracked the cabinet door to allow air to escape. The panel is a friction fit and easily returned.
The effect was immediately noticeable and I was able to achieve ~5 degrees higher living space temps by this. I attribute this not to the condenser fan heat, but the fact that the condenser fan was not causing negative air pressure and pulling in outside air through imperfect door seals those ~10 minutes every hour and evacuating warmed interior outside. There was a breeze escaping from the cabinet door causing a wind chill though.
Today, I cut a 80mm hole near the top vertical wall of the cabinet above my solar charge controller so the air exits well away from where the breeze can be felt. I put an 80mm 24v fan in there. It by itself is able to turn the flame at the fridge intake as shown in the an earlier post, but to a much lesser degree.
Right now I have the 24v 80mm fan (estimated 18 CFM) running 24/7, but might wire it to turn on only with the compressor. It should also reduce the temps in my electrical cabinet nicely come summertime. There is a black window nearby that likes to radiate heat into the cabinet, so it is win win.
I have not been timing duty cycles as of late. Been keeping the T stat just under 2 of 7 and the interior is staying below an average 33.5f until late afternoon on the warmer days where it approaches 37f.
Ambient interior temps have not fallen below 55f during California's last cold snap when I recorded soil temperatures of 22 degrees at 3:30 am. My insulation is minimal, my heat source my body itself and a small Lasko 200 watt heater powered by the grid, and my mattress heating pad.
During warm humid conditions I am finding the Stainless steel door skin and SS flange extensions I added to accommodate the extra insulation are sweating in areas, so room for insulation improvement exists by the door.
With the cold snap last week I had motivation to reroute the condenser air back into the living space instead of outside the vehicle.
I found that before I made this modification, when the compressor would kick on, the condenser fan scavenging air from the floor and pushing it out the louvered vent was causing cold exterior air to seep past my less than perfect door seals. Very noticeable and not comfortable in freezing temps.
I cut a 4.75x6" panel in the foamboard partition at the opposite end of the cooling unit tunnel, closed the window in front of the louvered vent and just cracked the cabinet door to allow air to escape. The panel is a friction fit and easily returned.
The effect was immediately noticeable and I was able to achieve ~5 degrees higher living space temps by this. I attribute this not to the condenser fan heat, but the fact that the condenser fan was not causing negative air pressure and pulling in outside air through imperfect door seals those ~10 minutes every hour and evacuating warmed interior outside. There was a breeze escaping from the cabinet door causing a wind chill though.
Today, I cut a 80mm hole near the top vertical wall of the cabinet above my solar charge controller so the air exits well away from where the breeze can be felt. I put an 80mm 24v fan in there. It by itself is able to turn the flame at the fridge intake as shown in the an earlier post, but to a much lesser degree.
Right now I have the 24v 80mm fan (estimated 18 CFM) running 24/7, but might wire it to turn on only with the compressor. It should also reduce the temps in my electrical cabinet nicely come summertime. There is a black window nearby that likes to radiate heat into the cabinet, so it is win win.
I have not been timing duty cycles as of late. Been keeping the T stat just under 2 of 7 and the interior is staying below an average 33.5f until late afternoon on the warmer days where it approaches 37f.
Ambient interior temps have not fallen below 55f during California's last cold snap when I recorded soil temperatures of 22 degrees at 3:30 am. My insulation is minimal, my heat source my body itself and a small Lasko 200 watt heater powered by the grid, and my mattress heating pad.
During warm humid conditions I am finding the Stainless steel door skin and SS flange extensions I added to accommodate the extra insulation are sweating in areas, so room for insulation improvement exists by the door.
