Air circulation fan in fridge

[Deano]

Question for those of you who have used a fan.
Where is the best place for a small fan in the Dometic fridge. High or low, blowing up or down?

[mkguitar]

I have mine high, near the fins- the point is to circulate the air, doesn;t have to be alot to make a big difference.
My fan is attached to the top rack with zip ties



run the power wires alongside the drain hose to the rear and find power there- a fuse and switch is good


mike

[eric1514]

Put a real fan in there. The object is to move a lot of cold air off those fins. Those little battery operated fans really don't do much.



Here's a LINK

There are others on Ebay or Amazon, but this one is inexpensive a works well.

[mkguitar]

that's a tidy unit


my cost is under $5, I don't think frost has ever been an issue, must be the dry SW


Mike

[Bud]

Originally Posted by mkguitar

that's a tidy unit


my cost is under $5, I don't think frost has ever been an issue, must be the dry SW


Mike

None in New Orleans either?

Bud

[ChicagoTom]

2 rechargeable fans, one top shelp pointed at evap fins and the other charging. Charge on my 3 speed fan, set on low, last about 6 hours and same space as a can of beer. LOL Stays ice cold, and in 100+ cold

[Charles Neubauer]

We use the little blue one and 2 D cells. Seems to work fine.
Valterra A10-2606 3-Volt FridgeCool Fan

[themexicandoctor]

I am installing a DC Fridge - love the Dometic 3 way when level but when its not, performance suffers.

With a Isotherm or Novakool DC, do they need a fan like this?

Or does it interfere with the engineering of the Manufacturer Design?

And yes, I use one - the good batteries last about 21 days - I jave two types, the Valterra & the Blue One - the Valterra seems designed better & no OFF switch to be knocked

[booster]

Originally Posted by themexicandoctor

I am installing a DC Fridge - love the Dometic 3 way when level but when its not, performance suffers.

With a Isotherm or Novakool DC, do they need a fan like this?

Or does it interfere with the engineering of the Manufacturer Design?

And yes, I use one - the good batteries last about 21 days - I jave two types, the Valterra & the Blue One - the Valterra seems designed better & no OFF switch to be knocked

I tested running extra fans on our Isotherm both inside and outside the frig. The inside fan did not change the performance at all that I could see, and the outside fan helped a tiny bit in power use for the frig, but it used more than it saved so went backwards. With the Isotherm, which has it's own fan, I would say an extra fan isn't needed either place if the venting is good. Can't say on the Novakool for sure, but with their coil design I wouldn't be surprised if an outside fan would help. Inside less likely, but only a guess.

[IdleUp]

I did a bit of R&D on these fans years ago and while some owners are under the impression it makes the box colder, this is not really the case, the fan contributes to spread the air so all items are more evenly cooled, so they do offer some improvment.

What seems to really help 3 Way refrigerators (ammonia) if possible, park it in the shade. If you can’t find shady spot, sometimes just by pointing the coach in a different direction will shade the refrigerator wall where the vents are located and help evacuate heat from the cabinet. If you have a convection fan mounted on the outside coils, shading will help the fan as well so it does not have to work as hard.

They can say what they want about 3 Way refrigerators, but I love the flexibility they offer and unlike some 12 volt refrigerators which burden your battery and vent the heat in the RV, the 3 Way Fridge has large vents to exhaust all its heat outside the coach and save your battery for other needs.

Stay Safe - Mike

[Bud]

Originally Posted by IdleUp

I did a bit of R&D on these fans years ago and while some owners are under the impression it makes the box colder, this is not really the case, the fan contributes to spread the air so all items are more evenly cooled, so they do offer some improvment.

What seems to really help 3 Way refrigerators (ammonia) if possible, park it in the shade. If you can’t find shady spot, sometimes just by pointing the coach in a different direction will shade the refrigerator wall where the vents are located and help evacuate heat from the cabinet. If you have a convection fan mounted on the outside coils, shading will help the fan as well so it does not have to work as hard.

They can say what they want about 3 Way refrigerators, but I love the flexibility they offer and unlike some 12 volt refrigerators which burden your battery and vent the heat in the RV, the 3 Way Fridge has large vents to exhaust all its heat outside the coach and save your battery for other needs.

Stay Safe - Mike

IdleUp, fact is:

The only reason an absorption refer exists is because there is not enough reliable electrical power, the end, period, and furthermore ...........

Bud

[IdleUp]

I agree . . . It's a great alternative for an RV!

Mike

[booster]

Yep and absorption frig is the greatest, as long as you don't park on an unlevel spot, in the sun, or it's very hot, or run out of propane because you were running the air conditioning for more the 50% duty cycle and only at night for more than a couple of days.


Or you can get a horrible compressor frig and park anywhere you want in the sun or shade, level or not, hot outside or not and actually have cold beer. Add a battery and a solar panel to cover the small extra power use or run the van for a few minutes a day.


Tough choice.....

[ChicagoTom]

Pointing the fan at the evap fins does more than circulate the air, so your R&D was wrong. By keeping the evap from frosting up, which in turn tricks the system into thinking it's hit its temp setting and, the system will continue to run and cool. Ex HAVAC service tech (Many years ago) and I can tell you my R&D is that the ice cream was not frozen when prior to doing this. I love all these R&T and remote measurement tools, hot wired outside fans. I've given this advice so many times, I'm frankly tired of posting it. Maybe some will learn, KISS theory, No clue why people want to make a simple solution complex. Happy Campin

[IdleUp]

Hello All - Since 1981, there has been 11,531,000+ coaches sold in the US, where over 9 million were equipped with gas/electric absorption refrigerators. These Propane powered refrigerators have worked flawlessly for over 5 decades now and have become an icon to provide safe economical refrigeration. Of these millions sold, only a small number have problems and most are self-inflected. The design of these ammonia boxes has changed considerable in recent years to allow additional slope of the condenser allowing the unit to tolerate un-level situations.

Recent negativity aimed at absorption refrigerators, was created by RV manufactures and vendors, in an attempt to save costs to "switch out" more expensive propane 3 way refrigerators, for inexpensive household 120 volt refrigerators found in most modern RV’s. This practice leaves owners stuck trying to power them with RV house batteries, which in most cases only last only a few days in larger RV’s.

A propane 3 way refrigerator, is generally 2-3 times more expensive than low cost household or 120 volt refrigerators substituted. Bottom line, unless you're in a 40 ft all electric coach with trays of AGM batteries, these residential refrigerators can be a nightmare to for most owners. The best place for so-called “Residential” 120 volt refrigerators is all electric coaches which are primarily plugged in 90% of the time.

When it comes to smaller units such as B, B+ or C coaches, an absorption refrigerator is the most dependable source for refrigeration for the simple fact there is no moving parts. Unlike a 12 volt refrigerator which depletes the RV’s batteries, a propane box can run for weeks or months on a small tank. In addition where “most” 12 volt refrigerators vent their heat from the compressor and condenser directly in the coach, the propane refrigerator is designed for an RV so it uses large vents, where 99% of it heat is vented outside the RV. For owners thinking of a Lithium upgrade, a propane refrigerator is an asset to maintain battery power for other needs.

Stay Safe Mike

[booster]

Originally Posted by IdleUp

Since 1981, there has been 11,531,000+ coaches sold in the US, where over 9 million were equipped with gas/electric absorption refrigerators. These Propane powered refrigerators have worked flawlessly for over 5 decades now and have become an icon to provide safe economical refrigeration. Of these millions sold, only a small number have problems and most are self-inflected. The design of these ammonia boxes has changed considerable in recent years to allow additional slope of the condenser allowing the unit to tolerate un-level situations.

Recent negativity aimed at absorption refrigerators, was created by RV manufactures and vendors, in an attempt to save costs to "switch out" more expensive propane 3 way refrigerators, for inexpensive household 120 volt refrigerators found in most modern RV’s. This practice leaves owners stuck trying to power them with RV house batteries, which in most cases only last only a few days in larger RV’s.

A propane 3 way refrigerator, is generally 2-3 times more expensive than low cost household or 120 volt refrigerators substituted. Bottom line, unless you're in a 40 ft all electric coach with trays of AGM batteries, these residential refrigerators can be a nightmare to for most owners. The best place for so-called “Residential” 120 volt refrigerators is all electric coaches which are primarily plugged in 90% of the time.

When it comes to smaller units such as B, B+ or C coaches, an absorption refrigerator is the most dependable source for refrigeration for the simple fact there is no moving parts. Unlike a 12 volt refrigerator which depletes the RV’s batteries, a propane box can run for weeks or months on a small tank. In addition where “most” 12 volt refrigerators vent their heat from the compressor and condenser directly in the coach, the propane refrigerator is designed for an RV so it uses large vents, where 99% of it heat is vented outside the RV. For owners thinking of a Lithium upgrade, a propane refrigerator is an asset to maintain battery power for other needs.

Stay Safe Mike

That is a lot of bad information to stuff into one post, IMO.


Yep, 5 decade old technology or more. So you would go get a brand new 1974 Pinto because they are so good? They have been around that long because they were the best, of few, options until high quality compressor frigs and the power to run them easily became commonly available.


The compressor frigs that most B manufacturers, can't say about the C's that claim to be class B, are high quality marine, Danfoss compressor, models that cost at least as much or more than the absorption models. The savings they get would be in the ease of mounting in most vans. But the big driver to compressor frigs is that customers are sick of dealing with absorption frigs, plain and simple. You nearly NEVER hear of someone saying they miss the absorption frig once they get a compressor model.


If you don't want the heat of a compressor frig inside the van, vent it outside. That is how we have ours, no problem. Some may want some heat inside, but it isn't much anyway. With and absorption, you are stuck with outside only and strict rules for safety.


Good test is maybe we should all go to someplace at 100* and park on a hill in the sun, like many tailheads may be, and see who still has cold beer at the end of the day.

[ChicagoTom]

Well said IdleUp. I've given up trying to explain how to keep the gas fridge cool. People just don't get it, until they try it. Mine works great, even in 100 degree days. Compressor refrigerators are not designed to handle the the movement, due to moving parts, like a gas fired fridge. Add an interior fan, (Rechargeable is what I prefer) set it on the top shelf, point it at the evap fins and call it a day. Drives me nut how people try to make this such a complex issue. BTW, my beer is ice cold in 100 degree temps. Yes I park level, but regardless, I park level. All JMO

[booster]

People have been adding fans blowing on the evaporators and/or condensers for a long time, nothing new about it at all, they have been selling the long assembly that contains several small fans as long as I have been watching, about a decade. The Snyder kit that blew directly on the condenser was pretty popular for quite an while and did work pretty well. Some people have decent results with propane, some don't, but most have at least some complaints, and we see them on here all the time, probably the most common issue with class b's, along with Onan issues.


HOME frigs are not designed for taking a beating in a boat or on the road, but marine frigs are. Comparing the home one, both for cost and/or durability is not what any of us have been talking about, as class b's have marine frigs almost without exception.

[Doneworking]

ChicagoTom, I am just like you on keeping a refrig cool.

I live in a part of the country that is warm four months of the year and blistering most of three months. I have never had a problem of keeping my absorption frigs cold. I do as you indicate: simply point a little fan at the fins. I have had six small (Bs and Cs) over the last thirty-five years, always lived where it gets hot, and never had a problem (now called issues, I am told) keeping my refrigs up to cooling well.

I have been on some of these rv forums (infrequently) since 2002 and this issue has been discussed for a lot longer than that eighteen years, I am sure. We each have our own opinion and preferences and that's what makes multiple products available.

Maybe I have just been lucky for all those years. Probably have been. But, I am going to level up every time we camp because neither my wife or myself enjoy our rigs if they aren't level. Leveling the refrig is not the prime consideration for us for leveling. Comfort is prime.

I am glad we all have our own views and preferences. That's what makes reading these posts enjoyable to me.

Some of us, believe it or not, don't have to have or even want the latest techno stuff in our rigs. For me, it diminishes part of the fun of the camping experience. I am sure I am in the clear minority in my lack of interest in technology for an rv.

Just my opinion, which I am sure few share.

[avanti]

It is astounding to me how vociferously folks will defend propane fridges right up to the day that they have actually experienced a marine-grade compressor unit.
Just nuts.