3way fridge fan

[ccarr113]

Is a fridge ventilation fan mod only for when it is being run on the propane setting.  I had never run ours with propane (yet) so i wasn't too worried about it.  But then I started thinking that a vent assist fan might be for anytime the fridge is being used.  When do any of you use a fan if at all?

[tknick]

the fridge fan mods are for use whenever the fridge is on.  The 3 way fridge heats ammonia to create the cooling effect.  please don't ask how that works because I couldn't explain it. Click HERE for an animated explanation courtesy of Dometic USA.  Back to the original topic.  You are always creating heat whenever the fridge is turned on.  with a 3 way fridge, you just have the option of how you would like to generate the heat (from propane, 12v or 110v).  The fan and baffle mods will improve fridge perfomance no matter which one you use.  I recommend both.  HERE is a link to the fridge mods I have done on my camper.

travis

[ccarr113]

the fridge fan mods are for use whenever the fridge is on.  The 3 way fridge heats ammonia to create the cooling effect.  please don't ask how that works because I couldn't explain it. Click HERE for an animated explanation courtesy of Dometic USA.  Back to the original topic.  You are always creating heat whenever the fridge is turned on.  with a 3 way fridge, you just have the option of how you would like to generate the heat (from propane, 12v or 110v).  The fan and baffle mods will improve fridge perfomance no matter which one you use.  I recommend both.  HERE is a link to the fridge mods I have done on my camper.

travis

Ok so, set the fan up so that it pulls air up through the baffle and out through the upper vent.  All the fan does is assist the heat rise up and out.  I guess I just have to find a fan that won't be too loud or cause too much vibration.  I know I won't want to listen to that all night.  Thanks for your feedback,  anyone else?

[springer02]

We use one of the kits you can buy online. Think ours came from Camping World. I liked it because it came with a heat sensor that turned the fan on when the compartment was over 90 degrees F.

Still, it eventually got rather noisy after a couple years and the fan itself was a little flimsy, so as a replacement, I left the heat sensor and wiring in place but wired in a computer box fan I picked up at Radio Shack. It moves as much or more air but is better designed to remain quiet for a long, long time.

Still a cheap investment.

[tknick]

The problem with the PUP fridge is as the heat rises, it gets to the top and really has no where to go.  In a perfect world the fridge would vent out the top and let the heat just rise out of the top.  Since the fridge vents out the side, the heat rises and get to the top with no where to go.  Without mechanical assistance, you can get to the point where the air can only transfer its heat to the adjacent air.  With the fan, you don't have to about the air transferring its heat, you simply replace the hot air with cooler air.  It will greatly improve the efficiency of your fridge.

travis

[gypsy_soul]

If your like me, then you probally found out that during the heat of the day, is when I have problems. it gets hot & humid here in fl. So I added a solar fan that only works during the day. Found it on Ebay. Camping world has 1 for $69 +.

[tlhdoc]

You want to use the fan any time the fridge isn't stay cool enough, no matter what type of power you are using to run the fridge.  Many people use a computer fan to do this job.  I use a small battery powered fan, since I do not know a lot about wiring.

[gypsy_soul]

Here I agree, mine works great after the heat of the day. So I use a solar powered fan to assist in moving air over the fins (externally)and then I use a battery powered fan inside to circulate the air inside. I actually think that this was probally the best improvement. Mine would start freezing the water in the ice tray in less than 2 hrs. Now the whole box stays chilled.

[SkipP]

The whole idea is to get airflow through the evaporator fins. It doesn't matter what powers the fridge, it's important that there is air movemement. Like tknick says, if there were ventilation out the top (like on hard sided campers) this would create a "chimney" effect that would allow the warm air to rise. This doesn't happen on popups and the warm air will "pool" up in the top of the fridge compartment in the rear. It will actually cause the surface of the area above the fridge to get pretty warm.

A small, 12vdc fan is quiet and does a great job providing enough air movement to allow the fridge to do it's job. A lot of folks have used computer fans and they seem to work well. I found a 12vdc, 4-inch "pancake" fan at a Northern Tool store for $4 that does the job. On mine, I installed the fan on 4-inch "L" brackets and then installed that on a new baffle. The baffle almost touches the fins to assure maximum airflow through them. I also installed a switch to have the option of turning the fan off if we were dry camping to save battery juice. I've found that what works best for us is to turn the fridge on and wait about an hour before turning the fan on. This allows the coils to heat up and the absorption cycle to get going. There are thermostats that can be wired up to take care of this too.
 
Some pics are on my Webshots site.