Fridge-Fix by Smart RV Products - has anyone installed?

[bobjogone]

Has anyone installed one of these - article in Trailer Life October 2014?
Does it work and did it help with frost buildup.

Thanks

[albawsadv]

SCVJeff wrote:
All you need is to move air, not clamp extra stuff to an already inefficient fin. Most of these solutions spot focus cooling only on a few fins. This fan blows left to right and essentually takes no space since its up and behind the light. All it does is move air in a circular pattern around the box.

Now that I look a little closer, is it just a small fan that you mounted "sideways"?

[albawsadv]

SCVJeff wrote:
All you need is to move air, not clamp extra stuff to an already inefficient fin. Most of these solutions spot focus cooling only on a few fins. This fan blows left to right and essentually takes no space since its up and behind the light. All it does is move air in a circular pattern around the box.

Could you give me the name of your fan and where I might be able to purchase one.
Thanks for your assistance. 🙂

[John_Joey]

SCVJeff wrote:
Those are two different things... What we DON'T have is a defrost cycle.

That is exactly true. On a residential fridge the defrost cycle is a timer that shuts off the freezer unit and slowly heats the coils to defrost them. The water is then channeled away.

A fan is simply going to blow warm air over the RV fins. That is all. Short term that is more then enough to give the impression you have a defrost fridge. Long term in a humid area all you're going to get is an extended time before you need to defrost the fridge for real.

RV fridges are not frost free. Fans do cycle the air for a more even temp within any fridge.

[Gunpilot77]

SCVJeff wrote:

Gunpilot77 wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
Its mounted to the ceiling with double stick tape and powered through the light, so when the door opens the fan shuts off.

I just removed mine from the old RV and tried to install it in the new one. It has a Norcold frig. For the life of me I can't get it to work with the door closed. I also can't find the instructions from when I bought it years ago. Would you refresh my memory about where the wire attaches to the light?

Gee, I coulda sworn I answered this..
There were two different designs of the 1200, maybe Chris can tell you how to ID them without a volt meter.

On mine they brought +12 into the box to the light and switched the light with ground. I hooked the ground of the fan to the fins that are themselves grounded, and tied the + side of the fan to the LOW side of the lamp, so the fan actually draws current through the lamp. That's OK because it was running too fast anyway. The advantage to this is that anytime you open the door, the LOW side of the lamp, that same side the fan is tied to, goes to ground... Lamp lights, fan stops.. :). Confusing eh?

At some point in time all this changed and they started switching +12, so there was no place to power the fan. Short of drilling a hole, you can feed a small wire up the drip,tube from the rear of the fridge.

I ended up feeding a wire through the drain line. I found a wire that is only hot when the fridge is on. My new fridge switches the +12, not the ground like the old one. I appreciate the info though.

[SCVJeff]

Those are two different things... What we DON'T have is a defrost cycle.
BTW- I saw the larger Dometic's at the RV show and they DO have circulation now as standard

[John_Joey]

Do they work, NO. If it was so simple the RV fridge makers would make it standard. Now if you're RV'ing short term then yes they appear to be a great thing. Longer then a couple of months in humid weather this is what you will see.

What they do do well is keep the fridge at one temp. They keep the air moving inside the fridge reducing warm/cold spots.

[SCVJeff]

Gunpilot77 wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
Its mounted to the ceiling with double stick tape and powered through the light, so when the door opens the fan shuts off.

I just removed mine from the old RV and tried to install it in the new one. It has a Norcold frig. For the life of me I can't get it to work with the door closed. I also can't find the instructions from when I bought it years ago. Would you refresh my memory about where the wire attaches to the light?

Gee, I coulda sworn I answered this..
There were two different designs of the 1200, maybe Chris can tell you how to ID them without a volt meter.

On mine they brought +12 into the box to the light and switched the light with ground. I hooked the ground of the fan to the fins that are themselves grounded, and tied the + side of the fan to the LOW side of the lamp, so the fan actually draws current through the lamp. That's OK because it was running too fast anyway. The advantage to this is that anytime you open the door, the LOW side of the lamp, that same side the fan is tied to, goes to ground... Lamp lights, fan stops.. :). Confusing eh?

At some point in time all this changed and they started switching +12, so there was no place to power the fan. Short of drilling a hole, you can feed a small wire up the drip,tube from the rear of the fridge.

[Gunpilot77]

Chris Bryant wrote:

Gunpilot77 wrote:
There isn't any visual switch. I've tried running a magnet around the frame with no success, when I get the time I'll try a piece of steel.

The switch is a reed switch in the control panel- there is a magnet in the top of the door.
But- the switch just signals the circuit board, which turns the light on and off- power for the light does not run through the switch.

Thank you very much. I had tried a magnet everywhere except below the control panel itself. The switch is below the coldness setting switch.

[Chris_Bryant]

Gunpilot77 wrote:
There isn't any visual switch. I've tried running a magnet around the frame with no success, when I get the time I'll try a piece of steel.

The switch is a reed switch in the control panel- there is a magnet in the top of the door.
But- the switch just signals the circuit board, which turns the light on and off- power for the light does not run through the switch.

[Gunpilot77]

There isn't any visual switch. I've tried running a magnet around the frame with no success, when I get the time I'll try a piece of steel.

[toddb]

Gunpilot77 wrote:
Can anyone tell me how to get the light to turn off without actually closing the door? Finding the correct wire using a multimeter would be a piece of cake if I could accomplish that.

Can't you just push the switch to power off the light?



This is my second version, spec'd out a quiet fan with decent volume of air.

[crshman]

I have one, it was definitely pricey for what it was (and I hadn't seen this thread for the DIY ideas) but it works well and definitely keeps the fridge cooler.

I also noticed that the cool down time is substantially reduced when running with fans over the cooling fins.

Would I buy it again? For the price probably not, I'd DIY. But the concept is great!

[Gunpilot77]

Can anyone tell me how to get the light to turn off without actually closing the door? Finding the correct wire using a multimeter would be a piece of cake if I could accomplish that.

[Gunpilot77]

Thanks, but I'm looking for instructions so the fan turns off with the light on. Wiring for always on isn't what I'm looking for.