COOLING FRIDGE

[Larry-P]

I'm thinking of installing one or two small computer type fans to help with cooling the fridge during the extreme hot weather. I would mount the fans inside of the lovered panels on the outside of the Monty.
Has anyone ever done this ?
If so, could you tell me what type fans did you use (ac or dc)& how did you mount them ? Did you put them on a switch or just run them all the time.

Thanks again for any & all help.

 

[Doughboy51]

Our 09 2980RL has a fan already in that space. I assumed the fan was factory since our fridge is in slide.

 

[dieselguy]

Many RVs like my 3150 that don't have a roof vent for the fridge already have a fan mounted in the space behind the fridge. They are 12V fans and are controlled by a small thermistor located on the upper fins of the cooling unit usually set to come on around 130 degrees. This may sound hot, but when your fridge is working, the upper fins don't take too long to reach that temp. My mount is just a small piece of thin metal bent at a 90 to accommodate the fan. You preferably want to mount the fan below the lower fins and have as much air blow up through all the fins as possible, but I have seen a few fans mounted higher up that suck more than blow air across the fins. I'd at least incorporate an on/off switch as well as a fuse in the power wire to the fan(s) as in cooler weather you really don't need it on.

 

[mtheo]

They do make a solar powered fan kit where the solar panel, very small, mount on the roof vent and the fan mounts at the bottom of the fins

 

[Hooker-MOC]

I put one on the outside at the top...A/C powered, plugged in to a socket in the back of the refrig. Then I got a remote controller at Lowes so I can turn it on and off from inside.

 

[Art-n-Marge]

Someone please confirm, but make absolutely sure you face the fans in the correct direction. For the position you are talking about shouldn't the fan direction should be INTO the fridge.

Another thing I'd be curious about is what fan is there now and that the push/pull affect of the fan blades is equal, or else these new fans would be pushing AGAINST the existing fan if that fan is not moving as much air (CFMs) or is in the wrong direction.

I hope someone with more expertise (Ozz?) can comment and either support or discount what I'm saying. I had a friend burn up his computer when he installed a fan the wrong direction. I've also read that using multiple fans should also have similar CFMs when used for the best in airflow. Is this enought to worry about in an RV's fridge?

 

[dieselguy]

Hot air rises ... cold air falls. Preferably you want the fan to cause the air to move from bottom of the fridge fins to the top whether you're pushing or sucking the air. I doubt if the fans need to be matched as there is considerable space for circulation ... the fan has no dedicated ductwork.

 

[DQDick]

My question would be, have you been having a problem. The reason I ask is that we have our fridge set very cold (middle 30's) and we spend most of our year in Arizona or Kansas. When in Kansas our fridge slide is on the west side of the rig and yet we have never had a problem with the fridge keeping itself as cold as we prefer.

 

[Trailer Trash2]

Our montana's frig is in the slide and if yours is also in the slide open and look down the top vent I'll bet you already have a fan in there. we went to a RV store and purchased two of those blue plastic portable fans in our frig it does help cool the frig down quicker.

look in this site if you still need a fan.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-NOR...s_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr

 

[ffaucheux]

so, if the fridge is in a slide with two external wall vents one low for cool air drafting in, one high for warmer air cooling the evaporator to draft out, there is a fan. If the fridge is not in a slide, then the top vent is through the roof with no fan.

A salesman told me that if your fridge is in a slide, then a fan is included in the coil space that helps move air in the bottom grill and out the top. this fan starts on a temperature (high) switch.

On our 2006 2955, i had added a solar powered fan and it made a huge difference in the cooling of the food space in the fridge

 

[Fire5er]

We use an indoor/outdoor wireless thermometer to keep track of the fridge inside temp, and after a few years we found that in hot weather the fridge just wasn't keeping cool enough. So I checked the OEM 12v computer type fan (on our 2007 3400RL the access is outside at the top vent) and found that it was not working. I replaced the one 12v fan with two 12v computer fans from Radio Shack and placed lighted rocker switches inside on the fridge control panel. Now when we see the temps inside the fridge rise we turn on one fan and if that doesn't bring the temp down quick enough we turn on both fans. If we are in 100+ temps we just turn on both fans. So far so go. As we all know, it helps if you can park so the sun isn't on the slide with the fridge...but that's not always possible.

 

[Kansas Farmer]

Go to Walmart and purchase one of those 4 inch fans and put it in the bottom blowing up and it works great.