Dometic Exterior Fans

[kketterling]

Can sure tell its summer time with all the threads concerning fridge performance.

I have a Dometic NDA 1402 fridge which came with two exterior fans to cool the backside of the fridge and there is a thermostat attached to the first cooling fin. My question is for those of you that have the Dometic with side venting is this were your fan thermostat is located? My fans rarely go on so questioning the thermostat location. I was also wondering if anyone knows what the temp setting is for the thermostat to close and turn the fan on.

[observer]

Ken, I have the same refer. I relocated the snap disk sensor and added a 3rd fan. I also sealed the open areas above the refer to improve the air flow. I have tried to attach a pix of the relocated sensor, if it does not come through email me at codelld@yahoo.com and I will forward it to you.

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by observer Ken, I have the same refer. I relocated the snap disk sensor and added a 3rd fan. I also sealed the open areas above the refer to improve the air flow. I have tried to attach a pix of the relocated sensor, if it does not come through email me at codelld@yahoo.com and I will forward it to you.

Mine is located on the tube above the picture and to the right, just before the fins. The fan used to run almost all the time, now that I put in a new Amish cooling unit I've never heard it come on. We have the 1200 refer.

[Oh-one]

We have a NDA1402 in our curb side slide out that has only side vents for cooling. It has the same two fans that you have and they also do not work very well. I purchased a small 120v high velosity fan and zip tied it inside the upper vent and plugged it in so it runs constantly. This extra air movement really helped our frig during our trip to Key West. The NDA1402 needs a lot of air movement, it should have a roof style vent.

[Drifter]

Ken, after reading your post I checked our fans and they were not working also, What I found out was that there is a 1 amp in line fuse that was blown, so I replace it with another and it Blew out. The draw from the fans seem to be more than one amp., so I went to a 2 amp. and it now works better than ever. Just before I replaced the fuse I was doing pricing on a residential Fridge. Your post helped me.

[kketterling]

Drifter: Based on my fridge manual the fuse for the fans is suppose to be 3 amp. Question, is your fan thermostat attached to a cooling fin or is it attached to the tube?

I've been doing some additional testing with my unit and when I turn the fans on manually they cool the return tube great. I think the problem is the thermostat. I either need to relocated it or get one that closes at a lower temperature.

Right now it's 70 degrees outside and the fridge is set on the number 3 out of 5 setting and the temps per the fridge read 39 deg and 5 deg. I put a thermometer in each and they read 35 deg and 0 deg so looks like fridge reads a little high.

Next test for fans and fridge will be to see how it works when it's over 90 deg outside.

[Drifter]

Ken, looking down in from the open vent cover my sensor is attached on the left side on the tube where the fins start. You may what to check the freezer for ice build up in the drain channel. I had to use a hair dryer to defrost the ice. Ice build up inhibits the function of the defrost heater pads, we now have temp reading of 1-36 on the 4 setting vs before ice removal of 23-39.

[kketterling]

Thanks Drifter: I think I'm going to relocate the sensor and attach it to the tube just before it enters the fins like yours. No ice build up in the freezer so OK there. I'll also up the fridge setting to 4 and see what happens with the temps.

Do your exterior fans run much or cycle on and off during the day? Curious how frequently the fans run.

[Drifter]

Ken, I can't tell how much the fans run yet, but I'll keep checking. The fuse that was in the holder is the one that was installed from the start so I guess that they never had been working. I think that everybody should check there fuse to see if they have the proper one.

[gregk]

Drifter - Can you tell me where the fuse is located. Since you refered to it as an inline fuse I assume close to the fan. Is this correct.

[YC1]

My fan switches on only in hot weather. It has been a long time looking so I can't say where my sensor is. It does work because I could hear it coming on last week in hot weather. In addition to the two installed I added my own fans to the bottom. I don't see much difference but have a backup to the built in ones. As for the temp sensor if you had a mind to you could just replace it with a switch.

[William Willard]

There is room to add a 3rd fan between the 2 fans on the 1402 -- You would need to have the side vents (refer in the slide-out) to install the fan from the top vent -- I did this & moved the snap disc to where observer has his, & all 3 fans on the same disc -- However, after 3 years of flustration, I replaced it with a resdential -- Bill Willard

[kketterling]

OK I'm satisfied after setting the fridge level at 4 it's reading 3 and 36 degrees and that's with the freezer jammed full. Still plan to relocate the thermostat once I return from our trip.

In a pinch if your fans don't come on you can remove the top vent cover when parked and tube will cool unless temps are nearing a 100 degrees. I also noticed that at the top vent I have a plywood baffle covering the tube area coming up from below and that helps direct the air from the fans directly onto the finned area. For those of you that do not have the baffle you might want to consider doing that to improve the air flow past the fins.

For now happy with results and will only consider residential fridge when this one dies.