refridgerator cooling fans

JABRV wrote:
... My scientific test was I had ice starting to form in my beer. I decreased the setting by about a half a number. ...

Gee, you had it just right for me, then decreased the setting by half a number.

Wayne

sign man wrote:
in regards to installing a cooling fan inside or outside

a) how much more efficient will it help

b) where is the best place to install it

c) how much power will it use./does it run continuously

d) does anyone have pics of installation process

Thanks!

a) improves cool down time and provides increases cooling

b) under the condenser

c) about 0.4 amps

d) PM me - I'll send you pictures of the second fan I installed. Our fridge is in the slide so it had one installed when built. I added an extra fan for additional air flow in the summer.

With the proper ventilation- enough air over the condenser coils to make liquid ammonia, if the unit is level, and with the correct amount of heat applied to the boiler, unless the cooling unit is bad, it will cool.

I installed a computer fan above the coils and below the roof cap. My goal was to improve the draft in the stack rather than blow hot air at the coils. The fan is powered by a 1W HF solar panel that is attached to
the top on the roof cap. If there is enough sun to make things warm, there is enough sun to power the fan. No switches or theromstats. It does make a difference. My scientific test was I had ice starting to form in my beer. I decreased the setting by about a half a number. Cost was about 25.00. The only thing I would do different is try and find a
slightly bigger solar panel. The HF unit my say it is 1 watt, but there are some less-than-sunny days that the panel can't start the fan. Oh and clean the panel (all of your panels) once in a while. It helps.

Reddog1 wrote:
Moved to the Tech Forum for greater exposure.

Wayne
Moderator

thanks

Our Norcold N811 got so warm on a summer trip in FL a couple years ago that I thought we'd have to replace the fridge or at least the cooling unit. One of the biggest problems I found was the Door was Warped! I was able to rack it so the bottom corner (where the latch isn't) hit the gasket first. That way the latch would hold the whole door edge in contact with the Cabinet edge. WRONG! That door is just not stiff enough. Close it once and it's loose again. So now we have two door-closing gestures. Fridge gets a knee nudge on the lower corner. Freezer gets a palm push on the upper corner.
I also added two 80mm-square x 25mm-thick 12VDC computer cooling fans. They're side by side, low in the "tank" area of the Cooling Unit, blowing UP. I'm not sure even the 92mm size would allow me to tuck them in where I have the 80's. We don't have a fan in the fridge right now but with what we've done I had to back the temp switch 1=warmest, 5=coldest down to a 4 since we were 28* fridge and 2* freezer. On 4 it's 34* and 4*. No other work. Just Door and Outside Fans. The fans I first installed were from a computer shop and $8 each. These are from Tiger Direct and $4 each. WalMart has 4 for $6 with free ship to store but I was in a rush when the second of the first set finally failed after three seasons. I doubt any of them are Ball Bearing.
Power is tapped into the hot lead to the Logic Board, so they run whenever the coach battery is turned on. I got the power connector at Radio Shack. Can simply unplug when not wanted. Quick and crude, yep. Effective, yep.

In the TC University section are links to threads on this including one I made a few years back . Theres pictures and a review plus in the thread more info from others. The Thread

Conclusion, best fan placement, above fridge to draw hot air iup and out.

I have a tiny 40 MM 6 cfm 0.03a muffin fan on the inside of my 1.8 cubic foot fridge, blowing into the freezer compartment, and it works great at keeping the temps inside even, and cooler at the same setting.

Does not make it use less electricity, just givems me more overhead to crank it up if I want, and cools down items placed withn faster, and keeps all internal box temps within 3 degrees of each other. Without the fan my IR gun shows a spread of nearly 20 degrees from the warmest to the coolest spot.

Computer/ Muffin Fans vary widely in how much air they move for noise made and current consumed.

So not get a sleeve bearing fan for a horizontal mounting location.
Shop around, don't just goto radio shack.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l1/g36/Fans.html

http://www.newegg.com/Case-Fans/SubCategory/ID-573

Moved to the Tech Forum for greater exposure.

Wayne
Moderator

Is your frig in a slide? It kind of makes a difference on how effective the added fan(s) is/are. Non slide frigs seem to benefit from the fan more. My frig is in a slide and I do have a few pics.

Yes, it helps, but the significance depends on how hot it is, how much natural chimney effect your refrigerator already has, etc. For me, fans kept my refrigerator in the middle to high 30's even when it was 90 outside.

I have five computer fans attached with nylon ties to the inside of the access door on the outside of the coach. I powered these fans from the 12 volt source that had been prewired in for the control panel. I also have one larger computer fan inside the refrigerator, with power coming from the switch to the light.

I understand many newer rigs have two larger fans near the top of the frig near the top vent, controlled by a thermostat and some are powered by solar panels. From an engineering standpoint, exhausting hot air is more efficient than blowing cold air in like my system does, so installing two fans at the top is preferred. I installed mine at the bottom since it was easier and it works.

No, I don't have pictures. It isn't all that hard to figure out how to do it anyway.