Last year I added a couple computer fans to help ventilate the fridge compartment. Over the last year I have learned more about these fridges, and have come to realize that the location of these fans may be doing more harm than good. Parts of the fridge are heated, by burning propane or electric elements.
I am wondering if someone who knows how they work on a tech level could look at a couple pictures of the fans and tell me if the location is actually helping me, or perhaps if I should move them to a more effective location.
The first image shows everything, each image after that is the same perspective, just closer in, from the large fan on the door, to inside where there is a smaller fan pointing up to help air flow in that direction. The door fan is directing outside air in. The small fan is on the right side, the combustion tube is on the opposite left side (viewed from the outside looking in).
I am wondering if someone who knows how they work on a tech level could look at a couple pictures of the fans and tell me if the location is actually helping me, or perhaps if I should move them to a more effective location.
The first image shows everything, each image after that is the same perspective, just closer in, from the large fan on the door, to inside where there is a smaller fan pointing up to help air flow in that direction. The door fan is directing outside air in. The small fan is on the right side, the combustion tube is on the opposite left side (viewed from the outside looking in).
Sandrider2 wrote:
Last year I added a couple computer fans to help ventilate the fridge compartment. Over the last year I have learned more about these fridges, and have come to realize that the location of these fans may be doing more harm than good. Parts of the fridge are heated, by burning propane or electric elements.
I am wondering if someone who knows how they work on a tech level could look at a couple pictures of the fans and tell me if the location is actually helping me, or perhaps if I should move them to a more effective location.
The first image shows everything, each image after that is the same perspective, just closer in, from the large fan on the door, to inside where there is a smaller fan pointing up to help air flow in that direction. The door fan is directing outside air in. The small fan is on the right side, the combustion tube is on the opposite left side (viewed from the outside looking in).
I can't tell from the pictures which way the fans are blowing, and it appears the large fan is at the bottom. There needs to be a chimney, with cold air coming in the bottom and the hot air exiting the top. Most people place fans in the top vent blowing out to aid the natural effect and that is likely more effective than trying to force from the bottom. Holding you hand over the vent at the top and feeling how much hot air is exiting will tell you a lot. It should be noticeably warm air moving.
My OEM install has a single 4" muffin fan at the top, I thought it would not help much especially as the fridge is in a slide and there is no baffle but it seems to move a fair bit of hot air. The one fan you have on the door looks large, it should be helping a fair bit. Even a small fan with no baffle moves a fair bit of hot air as opposed to it rising of it's own accord.
As another hint, most people find as much or even more benefit to increasing the air flow inside the fridge. This one is a higher end unit. There are cheaper ones, and it only takes a very small amount of air movement over the fins at the top of the fridge to make a significant difference. I made my own from 3 5 volt fans out of a laptop cooler, in series they work well and draw a tiny amount off the 12 volt and you don't have the worry about turning the battery operated one off in the self contained ones.
