Fridge fans

[chesterb]

What kind of fan does everyone have for their fridge? There are a couple on eBay like this one: Clicky. Or do you just use a simple battery powered box shaped one?

Also what is the purpose of this Valterra vent fan Here? It looks like it cools the back of the fridge. Is this really necessary?

Do any of these extend the life of the fridge?

[ktmrfs]

jmhensley wrote:
I have this fan but it will not work when i hook it up to the light it goes off when i shut the doors.. any solution to my problem i have a 2009 norcold

likely you have it hooked up to the wrong side of swith on the light. it should be hooked to the connector that is always at +12V. One side is always at +12V when the fridge is on. that goes to the switch, and the other side of the switch only has +12V when the fridge door is open.

[jmhensley]

I have this fan but it will not work when i hook it up to the light it goes off when i shut the doors.. any solution to my problem i have a 2009 norcold

[enblethen]

Here is link that shows venting problems.
RV mobile

[JoeH]

In my refer, I have spring bars that protect the fins from stuff on the shelf... I tie wrapped the fans to the spring bar and ran the wires to the hot side of the interior bulb. I also put a switch on the fans so I can turn them off if I want

[RvBill3]

Attaches to the fins with alligator clip (which is fastened to the back of the fans) which also provides the ground to complete the power to it.

[chesterb]

1fanman wrote:
How is this item attached to the fins? Sounds like a very good idea but would like to know exactly how you would go about mounting it to the cooling fins. Thanks in advance and happy/safe camping.1fanman/akaDel

The one like in my OP is attached with alligator clips.

[beemerphile1]

JoeH wrote:
I have the hard drive cooling fans on the inside of the refer and it really helps to keep the frost off the fins and maintain even temps in the unit. I use 2 of the two fan units like this on the inside fins...

How does it attach. Your hard drive fans look the same as the eBay seller but I can't see how they attach.

[1fanman]

RvBill3 wrote:
Recently bought the computer type fan in the OP. Easy install and works great. Had to adjust thermostat because fridge was getting too cold!

One minute install in Dometic. Attach to red wires on light (hot) and it runs whenever fridge is on.

How is this item attached to the fins? Sounds like a very good idea but would like to know exactly how you would go about mounting it to the cooling fins. Thanks in advance and happy/safe camping.1fanman/akaDel

[JoeH]

I have the hard drive cooling fans on the inside of the refer and it really helps to keep the frost off the fins and maintain even temps in the unit. I use 2 of the two fan units like this on the inside fins. Same thing as on ebay, but $10 cheaper. In the back of the refer, I put a fan in the chimney to exhaust the heat. Need to do everything you can to keep it cool in the FL heat and humidity. I can maintain the refer at 33 degrees in the hottest temps here and the freezer and ice maker work like a charm.

[CincyGus]

The main thing to remember is get air moving through the cooling fins. On TT's and other RV's that have a vent stack, they make a fan to pull air up the stack that is attached to the top of the stack. That or using a computer fan to blow air up the stack from the vent compartment would work well. Tyinginto the RV's 12v system is best as when it's on, the fans on. Put a switch on the fan to make sure you can turn it off when it's not needed such as in cooler weather. Makes a big difference in how fast the frig cools down to operating temp and how well it does in extreme heat.

[austinjenna]

Recently bought the computer type fan in the OP. Easy install and works great. Had to adjust thermostat because fridge was getting too cold!

One minute install in Dometic. Attach to red wires on light (hot) and it runs whenever fridge is on.

Same here. Going on its second yr, works great

[Hamops]

I installed two computer fans at the back of the fridge to move more air over the rear coils. I did this because my fridge is built into one of the sliders and doesn't have a chimney but instead a side vent to vent the heat that is produced. I have two additional fans thermostatically controlled to run when it's above 75 deg ambient. The fridge worked well in high temperature areas, that we traveled in.

[RvBill3]

Recently bought the computer type fan in the OP. Easy install and works great. Had to adjust thermostat because fridge was getting too cold!

One minute install in Dometic. Attach to red wires on light (hot) and it runs whenever fridge is on.

[rk911]

punkaccountant wrote:
What kind of fan does everyone have for their fridge? There are a couple on eBay like this one: Clicky. Or do you just use a simple battery powered box shaped one?

Also what is the purpose of this Valterra vent fan Here? It looks like it cools the back of the fridge. Is this really necessary?

Do any of these extend the life of the fridge?

had 'em both. the battery powered box never seemed to have enough muscle to make a difference. and i bought one similar to that in the link you provided. that was a bust as well. to begin with there was no constant 12v power source in my fridge (norcold N841) so i had to connect to 12v at the rear. ran the wire down the overflow tube, hooked it up and ran a number of tests (i posted about this a couple of years ago). long story short it turned out that the temps in the fridge actually rose with the fan clipped to the fins. i know...counter-intuitive ain't it?

not wanting to give up i've purchased a couple of small, very small, 12v fans and plan to wire-tie them to the bottom of the top shelf. the jury is still out.