Your fix seems like a great idea. I have an '04 CCD International Bambi and have had all the same complaints about noise, battery rundown, and continuous running regardless of temp. So I thought the first thing I might try would be to replace the fan and the thermostat (thermocoupler?). Unfortunately, I misplaced the thermo part, and have no idea what it is or where to get a new/better one. The fan isn't the issue, I have found many options for quieter fans.
Can somebody help me identify the part I'm talking about?? It is a two-pronged ceramic unit the size of about a nickle that switches the fan on at high temps and shuts it off when cooled. BTW, Jackson City couldn't help (!!!??!!).
The Scythe fan that 5cats recommends is a 120mm, 33.5 CFM, 8.7 dBA fan. The Silenx 120mm fans range from 46 CFM, 11 dBA to 90 CFM, 14 dBA. Do we know what CFM is required to keep the refrigerators cooling properly?
These fans come with a 3-wire connector, red, yellow, black. I’m assuming we only connect the red and black wires. What is the yellow wire for?
Somewhere I saw a chart that says what’s the lowest dBA number we can hear. Does anyone know what that is?
Randy
__________________ Randy and Pat Godfrey
1st VP Florida Unit WBCCI# 7591 - AIR# 17017
2007 Safari SE 23' - Daisy
2006 Lincoln Mark LT - Hoke
The refrigerator fan noise of our 2002 19' Bambi drove us nuts shortly after we bought it. We were fortunate enough to get a super-quiet Italian dual-fan unit which is very much like the two-fan setups in this thread. Our unit has its own two-level thermal switch and an interior control which we usually leave on automatic. The lower temperature level of the thermal switch runs the fans at lower speed and the upper level at full speed. The fans blow out through the access door louvers. Even at full speed, the fans are very quiet. The picture shows the fans, which simply replace the Airstream single fan without much modification other than a simple bracket. Also shown is the original thermal switch on the refrigerator. We kept it in the circuit in order to make sure the fans went on when the refrigerator said so.
Now the real point of this. With this simple setup, the fans run almost only at the low speed, indicating that two fans aligned with the cooling coil give very adequate cooling. The higher speed kicks in very seldom even in quite warm weather.
The Scythe fan that 5cats recommends is a 120mm, 33.5 CFM, 8.7 dBA fan. The Silenx 120mm fans range from 46 CFM, 11 dBA to 90 CFM, 14 dBA. Do we know what CFM is required to keep the refrigerators cooling properly?
These fans come with a 3-wire connector, red, yellow, black. I’m assuming we only connect the red and black wires. What is the yellow wire for?
Somewhere I saw a chart that says what’s the lowest dBA number we can hear. Does anyone know what that is?
Randy
Hi Randy, my thoughts go this way:
I don't think you need a hurricane force wind to achieve effective cooling here. To my mind the law of diminishing returns comes into play soon after inducing only a little air movement through the cooling fins.
I only installed one of two ordered fans because it was quick and easy to just use the existing mount/setup, at a cost of approximately $15. I figure that if I find the cooling insufficient, I'll add the second fan along with a DPDT switch so I can select one or both. Or possibly use the two-level thermostatic switch for automated single v. dual mode. Of course, I'll then have to fashion a new mounting setup...
In practice the single exhaust fan produces an easily discernible region of warmer air around the louvered vent. So it's certainly working, but I still need additional hot weather testing.
Three wires: the third is a sense wire, indicating rpm. In this context I can't use it: *snip*
My understanding regarding dBA:
This refers to decibels as related to the “A-weighted” scale. The A-weighted
scale parallels the sensitivity of the human ear and uses the lowest audible sound that the human ear can detect as the reference point for determining the decibel level of a noise. I.e., zero dBA is inaudible, while 8.9 dBA should be audible, to some at least.
The picture shows the fans, which simply replace the Airstream single fan without much modification other than a simple bracket. Also shown is the original thermal switch on the refrigerator. We kept it in the circuit in order to make sure the fans went on when the refrigerator said so.
I really like that fan control panel...to me my 2007 model looks like dumbed down wire nut in comparison!
Hi, what fan noise? I have read about the refrigerator fan noises and had no idea what you were talking about. That is because I don't have any fans on my refrigerator. According to this thread, mine is vented and the smaller trailers aren't, thus needing a fan. For those of you who upgraded your fans, Good Job. Still interesting even though it doesn't involve my trailer.
Hi, what fan noise? I have read about the refrigerator fan noises and had no idea what you were talking about. That is because I don't have any fans on my refrigerator. According to this thread, mine is vented and the smaller trailers aren't, thus needing a fan. For those of you who upgraded your fans, Good Job. Still interesting even though it doesn't involve my trailer.
Even some folks that have a roof-vent (like your lucky self ) may find that an inline fan can significantly help the chiminey effect -- improving refer performance. Especially in hot hot conditions.
I saw a neat little fan somwhere that points up the vent and has its own tiny PV-panel up top: neat! no power drain when it's most hot, install and forget it.
Interestingly, this topic is more than 3 years old. You would think that by now Airstream would be using something other than a dumb, noisy, battery sucking fan... but no.
That darn fan is my biggest battery draw by far. Even up here in the north the fan is on a LOT and draws nearly an AMP and a half!! Nearly 30AH a day!! Bad bad design. I'm always pulling out the generator, mainly to keep the batteries up to the task of running a stupid fan. Mind you it does a good job... the lettuce is usually frozen
One thing we have started to do recently is to simply shut of the fridge at night since it gets to cold anyways. Saves the battery as well and eliminates the night time noise.
I'll have to order me up a few of those fans. This is probably one of the best mods for those of us with new Airstream that gravitate towards State Parks with no hookups...
PS. Can someone come up with a way to run a fan on LP?
Tim, where did you find the dual fan Italian set up? I changed out my factory fan for a Silenex, and although it is VERY quiet, I sometimes wish for additional air flow in very hot (90 degree/plus) weather.
__________________
Wayne
2002 22' CCD
1997 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L
Tim, where did you find the dual fan Italian set up? I changed out my factory fan for a Silenex, and although it is VERY quiet, I sometimes wish for additional air flow in very hot (90 degree/plus) weather.
Unfortunately I have to give the same answer I gave for another product on another thread. We got it from Reimo (www.reimo.com), a company in Germany which does not ship outside of Germany. The system is Italian, so perhaps someone else sells it.
You might consider getting a second Silenex, put it into the thermally switched circuit with the other one, but add a manual switch. Then you could have it in the regular thermal circuit when you wished. The Italian system works similarly, except that it has a second, higher temperature thermal switch that increases the speed of the two fans.
Thanks Tim! I'll consider adding the second Silenex... something I've thought about doing.... I may add a switch so that I can bring one or both fans online as needed. It is probably the simplest solution for those times of extremely high outside temps.
__________________
Wayne
2002 22' CCD
1997 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L
If boondocking battery life is important, this might not be as good as a low draw fan that is quiet. Even though you slow the fan down with this, you're still burning more battery than you have to.
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Hi, what fan noise? I have read about the refrigerator fan noises and had no idea what you were talking about. That is because I don't have any fans on my refrigerator. According to this thread, mine is vented and the smaller trailers aren't, thus needing a fan. For those of you who upgraded your fans, Good Job. Still interesting even though it doesn't involve my trailer.
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