External Refrigerator Fan

LegalEagle · 10-20-2018, 10:46 AM

I am looking for anyone's input on an eternal RV refrigerator fan. Who has them installed? Do they help? This summer my four door refrigerator had a difficult time getting cold. I have a shop the fifth wheel is in year round, and I have been turning on the refrigerator a day before heading out to get it cold and ready for the trip. However, the heat and lack of air flow through the shop prevents the unit from cooling. And once it is out of the shop, it still had difficulty getting fully cold. I have 2 battery operated fans inside the fridge, but am thinking I need something in the outside compartment as well, to keep air moving across the cooling elements. Do they work? I really don't want to go to the trouble of replacing my fridge with a residential. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

videoarizona · 10-20-2018, 01:12 PM

I'm new to this but have been reading a bunch. Two things come to mind: 1: are your coils clean? 2: has anything changed in between the walls and the refridg. Insulation falling down, etc.. OH...4 things...Do you have a pin hole leak in the system and it's not cooling well now. And/or is the burner area clean?

All that said, I found this article that may help you....

Make Your RV Fridge Run Better With This Easy Mod – RV Mods – RV Guides – RV Tips | DoItYourselfRV

Good luck!

flyboy1 · 10-20-2018, 02:27 PM

I installed a 200CFM fan on the upper exhaust, not a lot but enough to ensure that there is air movement. Fridge is normally running at 7 or 8 with internal temperatures in the freezer around -1 to -6. The fridge is around 33 to 38. I do not have internal fans. My fridge is the 4 door Norcold. Prior to adding fan we were struggling to get the fridge temperatures below 42. Temperatures are measured with an electronic temperature reader.

GHen · 10-20-2018, 07:01 PM

I have the norcold 4 door fridge in my 2017 Jayco and it does have a factory fan located between the lower and upper exterior vents. Looks like a fan from desktop pc.
My fridge has worked well since I have purchased the rv. Seems like they have added a fan to resolve the issues you are having.

Bakersfish · 10-20-2018, 07:40 PM

I installed two small computer cooling fans in the back of my refrigerator. There's a 12 volt supply there so I tapped into the positive and ground and the fans work all the time. The fridge has been significantly cooler since the install. The fans are very cheap...I paid less that $5 each for them from Fry's Electronics. I've installed fans like these on several RV's I've had and all worked well.

denn888 · 10-20-2018, 08:10 PM

I added 3 fans to my roof vent. We were at Ocean Lakes CG, Myrtle Beach, SC in mid August. Temps were in mid 90s, Humidity was 90-95%. My Norcold 8N11 held -5deg in the freezer. The fridge section was 25deg near the fins up top and around 35-40deg towards the bottom, probably had to much food in the fridge lol, also had fridge fan on the fins. Temp was recorded by TempMinder thermometer. I also have an ARPRV fridge controller installed which also controls the fans

LegalEagle · 10-22-2018, 04:34 AM

Thanks for the info. It sounds like a necessary addition for the Texas summers. I will be installing 2 this winter. Thanks for the comments.

Rock · 10-22-2018, 07:52 PM

Yup I have two factory installed fans that are thermostat controlled. Make sure they are working if u have them. With that said I added a fan to the upper grill for more air flow and a three fan unit inside fridge that mounts to the cooling fins. Got that from amazon with the blue LEDs. That made a Hugh difference in fridge temp by air circulation.
Rock

Delucaj76 · 03-13-2019, 05:19 AM

The thermal limit switch tripped on my fridge last year causing me to lose all the food inside. There are factory mounted fans under the fins but I am not sure they are working. Does anyone know what controls these fans. They are not mentioned in the installation manual for the fridge so Jayco must mount them at the factory. I am in the northeast so we don’t get real hot weather for long spells but it still tripped. Trying to get ahead of this for this coming year.

jbrnigan · 03-13-2019, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bakersfish

I installed two small computer cooling fans in the back of my refrigerator. There's a 12 volt supply there so I tapped into the positive and ground and the fans work all the time. The fridge has been significantly cooler since the install. The fans are very cheap...I paid less that $5 each for them from Fry's Electronics. I've installed fans like these on several RV's I've had and all worked well.

^^^^^^^did same thing

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