screened the access door vents to keep out bugs and was concerned that may hinder the already marginal air flow.
decided to cure that by adding 2 fans to the top
fastened them in with #8 X 1 1/2 inch screws and nuts (menards). added screen wire up here on the roof too,held down with 5/32 fender washers (menards)
instead of 2 at the bottom I used a single larger fan that was on hand.
this fan is mounted with a combination of ty-wrap and silicon adhesive. Check as you go because a little twist in the plastic frame binds the blades.
the fans are activated with a thermostatic switch jammed between the fins of the heat exchanger at the top of the fridge exhaust.
just because i like to know whats going on I mounted an LED (Radio Shack, $1.99) inside wired in parallel so it lights up when the fans come on.
the three fans and switch and the light are all connected with 22 gauge wire and protected with a 2 amp fuse.
decided to cure that by adding 2 fans to the top
fastened them in with #8 X 1 1/2 inch screws and nuts (menards). added screen wire up here on the roof too,held down with 5/32 fender washers (menards)
instead of 2 at the bottom I used a single larger fan that was on hand.
this fan is mounted with a combination of ty-wrap and silicon adhesive. Check as you go because a little twist in the plastic frame binds the blades.
the fans are activated with a thermostatic switch jammed between the fins of the heat exchanger at the top of the fridge exhaust.
just because i like to know whats going on I mounted an LED (Radio Shack, $1.99) inside wired in parallel so it lights up when the fans come on.
the three fans and switch and the light are all connected with 22 gauge wire and protected with a 2 amp fuse.
rrev wrote:
Now for the stupid question..... Does adding the fans make the fridge really work better? I have no idea so please don't take it the wrong way.
Oh yes. This mod the OP did a great job with. I did mine up top in the roof vent. I only used one fan and the difference in performance was significant.
My fridge now holds 32 - 33 no issues. And it comes down faster too. Before it would flounder around up and down from 33 to 36 and and back down and never open the door. Now stable.
The sad part of this, Dometic knows putting the fans in helps. On there larger units they install them at the factory. So why not add this to every unit? Well $$. The few extra dollars creates large savings when your pumping out thousands of unit.
Here see a Dometic factory install
Here is mine
Folded down the screen and Dicor'ed back in
This is a very worthwhile upgrade.
John
You did a great job with your installation. Your write up was detailed and should help out others.
