Community Forums

JDT · 06-15-2011, 02:50 PM

I know I have seen pictures of an install somewhere and not that long ago. I thought it was on this forum but I'm not finding them.

My question is to whoever has done this: How much did it help? We are getting ready for a trip that will include some hot weather. While other items stay frozen, such as chicken and veggies, ice cream will be soft so we gave up taking it. I have time to install some fans before we go but would like to have some pictures of it on a Monaco with the 4 door fridge like mine, if possible. By the way, the recall on the fridge has been done.

azloafer · 06-15-2011, 03:03 PM

We don't have a Monaco, BUT we do have a four door fridge in our coach. We were having problems and the Winnie Dealer Service Department found that the thermistor was bad and had to be replaced under our extended warranty. Now it is working just fine even in 100+ degree weather and we don't have any extra fans and we have the same model fridge that you have. Joe

Dr4Film · 06-15-2011, 06:30 PM

JDT,

Are you specifically talking about the small fans that go on the front of the fins inside the frig compartment? OR are you talking about having extra cooling fans to exhaust the hot air in the rear cavity where the cooling coils and cooling fins are located?

I have installed fans inside on the frig fins to circulate the cold air better throughout the internal frig compartment. I have also installed four cooling fans in the Norcold rooftop vent as my two OEM fans on the rear of the cooling unit failed last year while in Alaska so I devised a system at the rooftop vent of four 120mm box cooling fans that will come on when the 130F snap disc calls for it but I also installed a manual switch to turn them on whenever I thought that the rear cavity needed more exhaust to get rid of the heat back there.

The worst thing for an absorption refrigerator is to have too much heat in the back. It isn't going to get cold if it can't get rid of the heat that is has absorbed from the contents of the freezer and frig.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

TXiceman · 06-15-2011, 08:03 PM

I have a 12 VDC muffin (computer) fan, in the inside and the outside of the frig and have on the past 3 RVs. It does help keep the food cooler in hot weather.

Ken

TGMarrs · 06-15-2011, 11:36 PM

On my previous coach I upgraded the top fridge vent to that nice expensive one with the solar panels and little fan. It did absolutely nothing and after about 10 months the solar panel had mold growing between the outer plexiglass and solar panel and stopped working.

What did work awesome for me - a cheap 110v little 5in fan from Walmart. I plugged it in the inverter plug for the icemaker and used tie wraps to secure it just under the coils blowing up toward the roof vent. With the cover on you can feel the air being sucked in, and on the roof I can feel more air coming out the vent. My next project is to add another one close to the top of the coils from the roof facing up. This does make a huge difference when in hot weather. I like the idea Dr4Film had - I think I will try to find a thermostat or relay to turn it off when it is not needed.

The only reason I used the 110v fan and plugged it in back there instead of a 12v is the volume of air it pushes is great, and I always have the inverter on anyway.

Arch Hoagland · 06-16-2011, 01:05 AM

We run in 100+ temps a lot and our 4 door Norcold works great without any fans.

You may want to make sure you don't have some other problem.

danes-on-tour · 06-16-2011, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXiceman

I have a 12 VDC muffin (computer) fan, in the inside and the outside of the frig and have on the past 3 RVs. It does help keep the food cooler in hot weather.

Ken

I would like to see this if I may next time we meet. We are sometimes struggling keeping the temperature where it should be. Very important for some types of beer

Dutch Star Don · 06-16-2011, 11:11 AM

JDT.....About 4 years into owning our coach, the refer could barely keep up while staying in Yellowstone for a week. When we got home, the first thing I did was replace the thermistor. They're about $25.00 shipped to your door. I believe this was one of the major issues wrong with mine and many others. The thermistor will still work but not correctly.

I also added DOMETIC NORCOLD REFRIGERATOR FAN FOR RV 12 VOLT | eBay this fan to the interior. It uses an alligator clip to attach to the fins (also is the ground) and then the other wire lead taps into your light for power. There is always power at the light connection, so the fan would run when the refer was off. You turn the fan off by disconnecting the alligator clip. I didn't like this idea so I bought a small microswitch (toggle type) at RadioShack and installed it in the corner of the fan. You just run the wire you're going to attach to the light through the switch. Now I can just reach in and shut the switch off.

Years ago I bought one of the cheap fans from Camping World with the small snap disc (thermostat) and mounted it behind the refer just inside the removeable door. It was cheesy and noisey. I eventually replaced it with one 5" computer fan and one 3" fan. Two 5" fans were too big for the space. On my coach, there was just enough room to mount the two fans side by side at the top of the exterior refer door opening. I used the the snap disc from the old fan and wired it into the two new fans. I added a switch to all of this so I could turn everything off when not in use.

The wiring on the above is simple. Both fans have a ground wire and a power wire. Connect the two ground wires together and attach to a metal ground ground. Attach the two power wires together and then the snap disc. After the snap disc add the switch and then connect to a 12 volt source.

You don't want those fans to run all the time. In cool weather the refer needs to develope some heat for the absorption system to work.

I like the idea of placing the fans in the roof vent to really pull the air up through the back of the refer, but I was afraid they wouldn't last long due to the amount of heat they would see.

Here is a photo of the interior fan with switch. I used a small tie wrap at the base of the fan to secure it to the shelf.

Here is a photo of the exterior fans. I used a piece of aluminum flat bar (available at Home Depot) for the bracket.

Realistically, these refers should work fine without any addidtional fans or products, but they don't. Arch Hoagland says his works fine.....he's lucky. I want my food cold and with the three things I've done, particularly the thermistor, my refer stays at 32-34 degrees the majority of the time.

azloafer · 06-16-2011, 03:28 PM

VERY NICE writeup and photos, but why do some of us need no exterior or interior fans added and everything works fine? In our case it works in 100 plus weather in the Arizona desert where we live. The only thing that we have done to our Norcold four door 1200 is to replace a bad thermistor which eliminated all problems. I wonder if more coach owners should have their thermistor tested before adding fans. I noted that you did. The RV service department that we use said that bad thermistors is a common problem, but so easily fixed with a replacement. I don't know much about the electronics of the fridge or anything else, but I would suggest having the thermistor checked before others [not in your case] do anything else. Our extended warranty paid for the replacement. My intention is not to upset anyone because of my true lack of knowledge, but to ask if owners are having their thermistors checked. That's all I know...our thermistor replacement was all we needed. Did yours not work well after you replaced the thermistor? But again, the article was well written and the photos were top notch and if the fans helped you that is all that matters. Happy Trails

Dutch Star Don · 06-16-2011, 04:23 PM

azloafer.....There are some variables here. Yours is 3-4 years newer with some possible design changes. When we're in Az and parked, the refer always worked well. Could be an altitude thing. When we get into higher elevations it seemed to struggle a little. I know some people say theirs works well and never moves off of 40 degrees. 40 degrees is to warm for me. I like my milk ice cold.

I don't think the interior fan does a lot for cooling, we just want some air movement inside and it helps keep the frost off of the fins, particularly where the thermistor is located.

azloafer · 06-16-2011, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diplomat Don

azloafer.....There are some variables here. Yours is 3-4 years newer with some possible design changes. When we're in AZ and parked, the refer always worked well. Could be an altitude thing. When we get into higher elevations it seemed to struggle a little. I know some people say theirs works well and never moves off of 40 degrees. 40 degrees is to warm for me. I like my milk ice cold.

I don't think the interior fan does a lot for cooling, we just want some air movement inside and it helps keep the frost off of the fins, particularly where the thermistor is located.

You may be right. Maybe a newer coach has a better system? My setting goes from 1 to 9 with 9 being the coldest. I usually use 4 or 5 depending on what is in the fridge. Thanks, Joe

JDT · 06-16-2011, 07:30 PM

Thanks for all the info. Lots to digest. Appears my cheapest and best bet is to change the thermistor and get some airflow in the back. Just ordered the thermistor for $18.66, including shipping, which is less than I spent for dinner at El Chico tonight. If it doesn't change anything, so what. It would cost more than that to drive to a dealer and have someone check it. Don, I like how you did your fans behind the fridge and will start that project tomorrow.

JC2 · 06-16-2011, 07:32 PM

Where is everyone ordering these thermistors from for there Norcold fridges?

Mr_D · 06-16-2011, 07:38 PM

Dometic publishes specs that the MH manufacturer must meet. Most RV's with a refer in a slide require cooling fans as there is no natural vent action due to the side vent rather than roof vent.

Our present DSDP has one along with a metal baffle at the upper vent.

I did replace the cooling unit with a new Amish unit, since then my vent fan hasn't come on once, before it ran almost all the time even when it was 65° outside.

BTW: according to Fantastic Vent it is far more efficient to push the hot air out than pull it in, so put you fans on the top outlet vent, not at the bottom.