The dang fan for the refrigerator on our 16'CCD was annoyingly loud! Loud! Like a buzzing bug you can't get rid of. It was screwed onto the thin and cheap luan plywood under the kitchen counter (accessible from the outside) which just acted as a sound board amplifying the noise. I moved the fan to the inside of the upper outside access panel. I put disconnects on the wires to the fan, drilled holes (ouch) in the access panel and bolted it on with rubber spacers, hoping that would help on the vibration. Soooo much better but still noisy. Does anybody have any suggestion for better vibration dampeners? Newkid64 suggested a 24 volt fan at 2X rpm (bigger fan, slower speed, same cooling?) but I couldn't come up with one on a Google search. Where do I get one?
When I had my International, I swapped the original fan for a fan out of a junked IBM computer power supply. It looked about the same as the original fan, but it had a different blade design and was much quieter.
Most cities have at least one business that junks computers. You could series two 12v computer fans and have about the same airflow at a lot lower noise. The refrigerator is designed to work with just thermal airflow for cooling; just about any fan setup that moves air over the fins should work just fine.
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John W. Irwin
2005 Classic 28 "Sabre-Dog III"
2004 Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison
WBCCI Region 9 Webmaster, #9632
Since most of the Xeppelin's "camping" time is with shore power hooked up, I found a small 110 volt fan at the Meglamart, set the speed to "low" (minimal noise), and put it in the outside 'fridge access area (pointing"up", of course). The 110 receptacle for the 'fridge was right there, so there was no wiring whatsoever required.
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Dennis
"Suck it up, spend the bucks, do it right the first time."
I like the idea of a 120v fan. What size fan am I looking for? I have a 3 cf Domstic. What is the job of the 'fridge fan? How do I determine the correct amount of air flow and what is the best placement for a fan?
That's hard to determine, most of the Dometic's are designed to work without forced air at all, but experience has determined that under (most) circumstances, at least in the South, a little bit of help goes a long way in keeping the inside of the 'fridge cool.
As far as physical size of the fan.....you need to let your trailer's 'fridge access bay determine that for you. I would not attempt to make more room that what is now existing, simply find a fan that will "fit" in what you now have.
At the very least, you should be able to install a couple of "computer fans" in the vent area.
The reason that the fridge works so well with a bit of forced air....
The process of refridgeration actually removes "heat" from inside the refridgerator. This "heat" has to be disposed (gotten rid) of.
[Oops, I ended the sentence with a preposition.]..."The "heat", which must be transferred to the outside atmosphere".....is actually transferred by a fairly inefficient process.
The "heat" from inside the fridge is transferred to the "backside" of the fridge, between the fridge and the wall of the trailer, the heated air is "supposed" to rise to the vent on the top of the trailer (natural convection), pulling cool air in through the lower 'fridge outside vents, thereby cooling (taking more heat away from) the rear heat exchanger.
The installation of a fan makes the heat exchanger MUCH more efficient, as even a very small fan moves a (relatively) large amount of air across the heat exchanger.
Do a search on "refridgerator fan" and pull up the pics on Pahaska's computer fans. A most excellent installation.
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Dennis
"Suck it up, spend the bucks, do it right the first time."
Originally posted by Jamie Garrison I'm told there are no dumb questions, so...
I like the idea of a 120v fan. What size fan am I looking for? I have a 3 cf Domstic. What is the job of the 'fridge fan? How do I determine the correct amount of air flow and what is the best placement for a fan?
The refrigerator is designed to work on the airflow produced by heating (like the Xmas whirlygigs that spin with the heat of a candle). All that is needed is a fan that will increase the natural airflow a bit. You can buy little solar powered fans from CW that will work quite well. Any amount of airflow more than what is produced by heating will be beneficial.
IMHO, you should just get the quietest fan you can lay hands on and simply point it upward across the finned radiator..
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John W. Irwin
2005 Classic 28 "Sabre-Dog III"
2004 Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison
WBCCI Region 9 Webmaster, #9632
Thank you very much for all of the info. That's what makes this forum so great and valuable. I feel so much more knowledgeable about my refrigerator and my trailer. It will be a while until I act on the advice, but I'll share the results when I have them.
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