# Fridge Fan Installed Inside And Out



## CaptFX4 (Jan 20, 2012)

I have been wanting to do this mod to help cool down the fridge. Soon I will be at Myrtle Beach for 3 weeks and I'm not sure how the fridge would handle the heat. I saw another thread on this but took it one step further.

The fan I used inside the fridge is just a dual fan for a computers hard drive. I found it on newegg.com for $6.99. All I had to do was wire them together and I added aligator clips to hold it in place. I hooked the black wires up to an aligator clip and attached to fin for the ground. I ran the red wire through the drain tube and wired it to a switch. You can see where I pulled the red wire through the black cover and ran it down and made a drip loop if any water happened to follow the wire.

Here's where I went one step further with the fan install. I went to the back side of the fridge and installed 4 - 80mm computer fans (newegg.com for $8.99 a four pack) and just zip tied them together. The back needs airflow as well. I then used two 3 inch screws at the ends to hold in place. Once connected together, I ran the black wire to a common ground. The red wire went to a On/Off switch that I installed and then to the 12V power. So the power to both fans is wired to the switch otherwise they would always run when the battery is on. Now I have control on when I want to run them.

Each fan only draws .16 amps, so in total I am using less than 1 amp to run them.
The red covers in the pics are covering the wires I used.

Lets hope they make a difference.

Capt


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## Ltteknishun (Nov 12, 2011)

That looks like a fairly simple mod. Nice job! Be sure to post an update on the outcome. I'd be very interested to know if there was any improvement in performance. Have a great trip.

LT


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Which direction do the fans in the outside compartment blow the air? I was thinking of doing something similar, but mounting the fan(s) close to the top to pull air from the bottom vent and out the roof vent.


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## CaptFX4 (Jan 20, 2012)

Ltteknishun said:


> That looks like a fairly simple mod. Nice job! Be sure to post an update on the outcome. I'd be very interested to know if there was any improvement in performance. Have a great trip.
> 
> LT


Thanks. I plan to put a thermometer in the fridge so I will report back in a when I'm down there.


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## CaptFX4 (Jan 20, 2012)

Insomniak said:


> Which direction do the fans in the outside compartment blow the air? I was thinking of doing something similar, but mounting the fan(s) close to the top to pull air from the bottom vent and out the roof vent.


The fans blow the air toward the top. There was not much room to work in there and I though that the fans blowing on the coils in the back and having some airflow that way was better than nothing. I didn't want to mess with taking the roof vent off and making a mount and shroud to go around them. My thinking was they would push the air out the top. My buddy suggested mounting them high to pull the air as well. To him it was a good idea because he didn't have to install them. I told him though if he were to stand in front of a fan, it feels cool. Now stand behind the same fan and it doesn't feel as cool. I guess my thinking was based off of adding a fan to a transmission cooler where you blow the air directly through the fins.

I think either way will be better.

Capt


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## bbwb (Apr 4, 2008)

I just added a fan to the back side of the fridge this weekend. I used a small electric fan from Wally World about 7 bucks. The fan I purchased is about 4" in diameter and has a bent wire base on it. I mounted the fan to a wood backer and then screwed it to the outside wall of the camper. I replaced the plug in for the fridge with a duplex receptacle and then plugged the fan in there. This fan will run when ever connected to shore power. The fan is a low speed unit that I think will be perfect to aid in the circulation across the fins. One thing I found out; after removing and replacing the receptacle, is that the single receptacle really is a duplex one...it just did not have the holes punched through. The final work items were to foam in the new electrical box and replace the warped wood strip above the fridge grille.

Because the space was so cramped, I was not able to take any pictures of the installed fan.

I also have the computer fan configuration on the fridge interior...the one that is available on Ebay. This fan helps circulate the air within the fridge to even out the temps. The bearings on this fan do not like the cold as they are starting to rumble a bunch.

I don't know if this will improve anything, but the concept seems to be valid. I'll too, report my findings after my vacation next week.

bbwb


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## CaptFX4 (Jan 20, 2012)

Ltteknishun said:


> That looks like a fairly simple mod. Nice job! Be sure to post an update on the outcome. I'd be very interested to know if there was any improvement in performance. Have a great trip.
> 
> LT


So I hooked up my cord to run the fridge for the cool down process at noon on Friday. The starting temp inside the fridge was 85*F. I went to check it at 6 pm that evening and the temp was down to 35*F. This morning (Saturday) I was loading the fridge at the temp was down to 30*F. I unplugged, drove 6 hours and the temp only rose to 43*F. 
So good so far but the true test will be next week in the heat and humidity of tHe S.C. beach.

Capt


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## CaptFX4 (Jan 20, 2012)

Ltteknishun said:


> That looks like a fairly simple mod. Nice job! Be sure to post an update on the outcome. I'd be very interested to know if there was any improvement in performance. Have a great trip.
> 
> LT


Three weeks at Myrtle Beach and the fans seemed to work well. The temperature in the fridge stayed between 35 and 37 degrees the whole time.

Not bad for temps in the high 90's to 100 everyday.

CaptFX4


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