Absorption fridge fan add-ons

[jbflag21ds]

Installed some Titan fans for my absorption fridge this morning in my Flagstaff 21DS after boondocking in the 106 degree sun for 4 days losing all my food and almost my medications. Hoping this set of mods will keep that from happening again.

By myself it took 2.5 hours total. Just need zip ties, silicone or other sealant for the roof vent screws, and a way to fish the wires up the stack. Tools are dependent on where you mount everything

14cm for the roof vent and 12cm for the lower vent.

Due to space issues the lower drivers side of the vent cover was the only place the smaller fans fit and they aren't blowing right on the heating element that way either. Took off all the hardware from the fans as it's designed for the European style vent covers and drilled 4 small holes and ziptied the fans in place.

Roof fan is just sitting on the vent though I pushed the screen down to minimize contact and noise. Ziptied that in place on two opposite corners with 2 ties each.

Installed the controllers on the pantry so the LEDs don't bug me at night. Used a Winegaurd 4 wire cover plate to make it nicer and help keep dust and critters out.

Lower can wiring was easy as it just dropped down the fridge cavity. So did the roof fan wiring but I used a large cotter pin on some fishing line from the vent down the side of the fridge to the access panel and then pulled the temp sensor and fan plug up with the line. Only had to break one wire in the screen to fit the molex plug through this way. I had seen other people cut the screen and fold it over to fit their hands in there, then they silicon it back in place. No need for that!

The bigger roof fan makes a little hum at higher speeds but middle speeds and lower I don't hear it. Don't hear the lower fan at all at any speed.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by jbflag21ds

Installed some Titan fans for my absorption fridge this morning in my Flagstaff 21DS after boondocking in the 106 degree sun for 4 days losing all my food and almost my medications. Hoping this set of mods will keep that from happening again.

....

The bigger roof fan makes a little hum at higher speeds but middle speeds and lower I don't hear it. Don't hear the lower fan at all at any speed.

I installed a small computer fan with double stick tape three years ago.
Amazon: 75mm x 30mm 7530 12V Dual Ball Bearing DC Brushless Cooling Blower Fan.


It is only 0.15 amps or 3.6ah a day. The fan runs all the time on the same power as the light. I replaced the original light with a LED.


Fan wires.

Close-up over fan wires.

[jbflag21ds]

Originally Posted by rk06382

I installed a small computer fan with double stick tape three years ago.

Amazon: 75mm x 30mm 7530 12V Dual Ball Bearing DC Brushless Cooling Blower Fan.





It is only 0.15 amps or 3.6ah a day. The fan runs all the time on the same power as the light. I replaced the original light with a LED.





Fan wires.



Close-up over fan wires.

I have a fan inside the fridge already. It doesn't help when there are extreme temps with the fridge wall in the sun

[NJKris]

jbflag, did you read about my 'fridge shade' solution?

[NJKris]

Found it. https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...-236323-3.html
See my last post, last page. BTW, nice fan job! Now you probably won't need my primitive fridge shade idea!

[M&K Hoffman]

Hope it works out for you. I tried a couple different fan installation without much change in cooling before I found Ford's RV Refrigerator Training Center and discovered one major problem with these refrigerators is not installing them in a properly sized compartment. The size is critical to getting proper cooling air flow over the condenser. The compartment mine was in was way over sized with some crappy cardboard baffles. I removed the unit and rebuilt the compartment to the exact specifications listed for my unit and also added the
Dometic condenser cooling fans. Two years later and the unit is still functioning great.

[jbflag21ds]

Originally Posted by M&K Hoffman

Hope it works out for you. I tried a couple different fan installation without much change in cooling before I found Ford's RV Refrigerator Training Center and discovered one major problem with these refrigerators is not installing them in a properly sized compartment. The size is critical to getting proper cooling air flow over the condenser. The compartment mine was in was way over sized with some crappy cardboard baffles. I removed the unit and rebuilt the compartment to the exact specifications listed for my unit and also added the

Dometic condenser cooling fans. Two years later and the unit is still functioning great.

It's definitely not oversized. As there is only like an inch between the sides and back of fridge and the compartment.

[NJKris]

I'm a little confused by pics, I see where you put fans on roof exhaust, but another pics fans are one what appears to be the air intake (side) panel?


**nevermind, i read your original post again. Do you really think fans on both intake and exhaust are required? I'd figure sucking air out via exhaust would pull enough air into intake.

[Sharon455]

Let us know how it works out. I’ve been eying the same pair of fans, although I thought there was a separate mount for American RVs. Our fridge is in the slide so our vents are both on the outer wall.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Sharon455

Let us know how it works out. I’ve been eying the same pair of fans, although I thought there was a separate mount for American RVs. Our fridge is in the slide so our vents are both on the outer wall.

Any fan which moves air over the condenser coils at the top rear of your reefer will help its performance.


One of the problems with reefers in a slide is that the bottom of the top vent is actually below the coils, allowing the air to 'escape" to the outside before passing over the coils.

Open the vent and look at the coils in relation to the bottom of the openings. Im guessing the coils are at or near the top to middle of that vent.

A fan or pair of fans mounted so as to be below those coils and blowing directly over them will improve the efficiency immensely. You may even be able to accomplish this through the vent itself.
Ive heard of people blocking off he lower portion of the top vent in slides and improving the cooling, but Ive also heard where that will void the reefer warranty. It makes sense to force the air over the coils but increasing the airflow with the fans makes more sense to me.

Our previous camper reefer had problems even after I replaced the entire cooling unit. I discovered that there was nearly 6" of space behind the reefer to the back wall behind it. POOR Design. I used some foam blocks to fill that space so the air was forced over the coils. At the same time I installed a small computer fan to blow the air upwards, over the coils.............WOW did that make a HUGE difference.

[jbflag21ds]

Originally Posted by NJKris

I'm a little confused by pics, I see where you put fans on roof exhaust, but another pics fans are one what appears to be the air intake (side) panel?


**nevermind, i read your original post again. Do you really think fans on both intake and exhaust are required? I'd figure sucking air out via exhaust would pull enough air into intake.

The lower pulls air in, the roof pulls air out. Each has its own controller, so I only need to run what I need depending on conditions.

The lower fan only pulls in air from the small area it covers (about 10" of one line of vent opening) and a lot of the vent is still subject to chimney effect only for pulling in air. With the roof fan I am hoping, when needed, that it will increase the draw through the lower vent where there is no fan.

[larry2c]

Here's another thing to look for

(Achieving Proper Air Flow)

in your journey to fridge performance nirvana. I don't remember what I saw in my vent stack when I dropped the solar cables down through it but when I install my fans I'll be looking to see if I have this issue and if I do, I will be remedying it!