RE: Help with fridge fan ~ Please!

Kelly · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

[font=" comic sans ms" ]We are planning a trip to the southwest in August...one of the things we d like to do before we leave is install a fan on our fridge (Dometic 3-way). I ve tried searching and I m still getting lost trying to figure this all out.

Is it better to just get the battery-powered one for the inside or should we go with something[/font] [link=http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?skunum=19709&src=SRCH&tcode=37][font=" comic sans ms" ]like this from Camping World?[/font][/link]

[font=" comic sans ms" ]If we do go with the Camping World fan ~ can someone explain to me how it works? If it runs off 12v do we have to have a battery? or does it draw power from someplace else? How is it wired in? I want to figure this out before I order it.

Power things confuse me big time, so if you reply ~ please use very simple language!! LOL [&:]

Thanks in Advance....[/font]

Jeffrey · May 09, 2003, 01:04 PM

KellyHey K

What the heck are you doing,
going down there when we have 10,000 lakes here?[&:]

IMO, Do the battery fan, it ll work when ya need it. Whether you have electric or not.
Since you usually wont need it up here anyway. My fridge is usually so cold, our only problem is keeping things from freezing.

Otherwise you need electric hook-up, so you can tap into the power like your 12v lights do.

Or else run it off your battery and it sounds like you don t have one?

tlhdoc · May 09, 2003, 02:11 PM

KellyThe vent van from Camping World will make your refrig work more efficiently by getting the hot air out of the back of the fridge compartment. If you don t have a battery and are electrically challenged like I am, I have a suggestion. What I have is a battery powered personal fan (it is about 5 or 6 inches square and has 2 sections, the top part where the blades are and the bottom part where the batteries go. It is hinged where the two parts meet.) When I open the fan up it has a wide V shape. I stick this in the bottom compartment of my fridge and aim it to blow air up and out of the top section. It works very well. I just wedge it in place and turn it on. It has it s own batteries (6 C) and I didn t have to do any wiring. The type of fan that you put in your fridge will help keep the temp even in the fridge, but it doesn t really make the fridge cool better.

ForestCreature · May 09, 2003, 02:30 PM

KellyFrom one challenged person to another[

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What is hooked up on ours is like the one from Camping World. It runs off the 12 Volt system. They really do make a difference in the effiency of the fridge.
I can offer absolutely no advice on how to go about installing it (ours was installed at the factory), but reccomend one that is thermostatically controled...it will only go on when its needed at a certain temp.
Also wire in an On/off switch, those buggers are noisy when you are trying to sleep. We turn our off at night.

Maybe it s a project we can attempt memorial weekend after a few Banshees[

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Kelly · May 09, 2003, 02:48 PM

ForestCreature[font=" comic sans ms" ]So ~ am I understanding this right? We can wire it in such a way that it will just draw the power from whatever source is powering the fridge? (My dad is going to help us and he was an electrician before he retired ~ so as long I know it will work how I want it to, we can get it done!)

We do have a battery, but discovered that we never used it and want to simplify things a bit by taking it out....simpler is better with a PU full of chirren! LOL
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QuoteORIGINAL: ForestCreature

Maybe it s a project we can attempt memorial weekend after a few Banshees[]

[font=" comic sans ms" ]You re onto something here, FC. How about we drink the Banshees and watch the boys figure it out?! Or how about the grown-ups drink the banshees and then watch the kids figure it out?! This has some possibilities! LOL [8D][&:][

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Camping Coxes · May 15, 2003, 12:22 AM

KellyWe had the little blue cheapy fan from Camping World and it worked very well. We just sat it at the bottom of the fridge. Only advice I have is to take the batteries out entirely between trips. I got the bright idea to put my batteries in backwards for storage. That way the fan won t run and the batteries will be right there with the fan next time we need it. Batteries in an electrical object for a long time will leak, even if they re in backwards and therefore not being used [:@]. So I toasted ours. But before I ruined it, it worked great, involved no electrical finagling, and was very inexpensive.

Tim5055 · May 15, 2003, 06:08 AM

Kelly

QuoteORIGINAL: Kelly

[font=" comic sans ms" ]So ~ am I understanding this right? We can wire it in such a way that it will just draw the power from whatever source is powering the fridge? (My dad is going to help us and he was an electrician before he retired ~ so as long I know it will work how I want it to, we can get it done!)

We do have a battery, but discovered that we never used it and want to simplify things a bit by taking it out....simpler is better with a PU full of chirren! LOL
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Sorry, but the fan runs on electric, so if you are not at an electric site you must have the battery. The fan will not run on LP gas[

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You can pick them up at almost any RV dealer as a full kit (fan, wires, switch and thermostat).

Two wire connection in the refrigerator compartment (there are already 12v DC wires there as one of the power sources for the refrigerator). The hardest part is figuring out where and how to secure it, but all instructions I ve seen give examples.

ForestCreature · May 15, 2003, 09:59 AM

tim5055

QuoteSorry, but the fan runs on electric, so if you are not at an electric site you must have the battery. The fan will not run on LP gas[]

Well, the fan runs on 12 Volts. Your converter will do it s job..you could take out the battery if you think you will never dry camp. (we ll get you out in the woods someday)
It s a good idea to keep the battery just in case of a power outage .

Kelly · May 15, 2003, 12:15 PM

tim5055

QuoteORIGINAL: Kelly

Sorry, but the fan runs on electric, so if you are not at an electric site you must have the battery. The fan will not run on LP gas[]

[font=" comic sans ms" ]DUH! Well color me embarassed.....can t even blame it on not enough coffee or staying up too late ~ I see I wrote that in the middle of the afternoon! [&:]

Thanks guys ~ that answers the question.....[/font]

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