Refrigerators in the heat

mike-s wrote:

DownTheAvenue wrote:
More important is the amount of draft in the flue. It requires a positive airflow to dissipate the heat. The addition of a small computer 12 volt cooling fan will make a significant difference in the cooling in the refrigerator.

Absolutely not.

You want maximum heat in the flue - they even put a spiral baffle in the flue to slow the airflow and hold the heat in.

Fans are used to increase airflow through the condenser coils.

Maybe I did not make myself clear, but the goal is to remove the heat from the coils and that is done by moving air up and out vis the vent at the top, or side on a few models, mostly refrigerators in slide outs. A fan helps in this regard. Keeping heat inside the refrigerator compartment only serves to minimize the heat transfer from the coils to the surrounding air. Heating the flue creates a draft because the hotter the air, the lighter it is, hence it will go up! Think hot air balloon! However, in extreme ambient temperatures, the hot air in the flue often is not much hotter than the ambient temperature and the air flow stops or slows down, thus minimizing the heat exchange over the coils. You absolutely need a flow of air over the coils, or there will be little or no cooling.

So, while the flue does need heat to expedite air flow, it is the air flow that is critical, not the flue temperature!