Refrigerator vent fans (again)

[Tincup]

Here is a photo of the three muffin fans I installed on the reefer vent on the roof. I'm going to connect them via a double pole switch to my solar array and battery bank. I also added a 3" riser to the vent cap to prevent any back pressure on the fans. The fans draw .7 amps total and I have 1030W of solar and 800 AH of battery so the 700 mills is inconsequential.

I've noticed a drop in the internal temp of the refrigerator already and I just put the fans in yesterday, outside temp now is 93F. I can feel outside air being drawn in at the access panel on the rig.

You'll notice the dryer vent hose on the left. I added that several years ago because the exhaust stack is about 3" to the left of the vent in the photo. It actually burned the carpet in the ceiling and CHARRED the underlying plywood. I'm sure if I didn't add that, the rig would have gone up years ago. And yes, I notified Fleetwood with pictures, there response was, shut off the fridge and take it to a Fleetwood dealer and they will determine if there is a problem and figure a way to fix it. DUH, I solved it in about 10 minutes.

[Harry B]

It looks like the fans are installed on top of the vent stack. Is there still adequate ventilation if the fans do not operate?

[KJINTF]

Good idea to get the air moving through the refrig housing
However I am a bit confused
Are the fans on the top side of the vent and exposed to the weather?
I put mine inside with no way of getting wet or diirect sunshine
They do indeed work great - Both keeping the frig coole rand reducing the propane useage

[ralper]

If the refrigerator was installed strictly according to the installation instructions there is no need for modifications such as these. My refrigerator was facing south in Phoenix in July @ 105 deg. F and had no problem staying cold.

[Tincup]

Harry B

When I install the switch I'll probably run them all the time, except in cooler temps.

KJINTF

No they're not exposed to the weather, the cover is off so I could take the photo. I put the original cover, raised 3 inches, back on.

rapier

Well you're luckier than most, I haven't seen many Norcold or Dometic reefers that will maintain 36-38F interior temps with outside temps 105F or above. I assume my reefer was installed properly but if the chimney problem I experienced is any indication, I would question whether or not is was. Not much I can do about it now.

[KJINTF]

TinCup

I figured there was something missing - The top cover
Did not expect you to have exposed the fans to the weather
Not sure what Ralpher is talking about either
Personally my propane useage has decreased and the temps inside the frig are lower Might be that Winnebago has no idea how to install the refrig properly

[nvreloader]

I my Norcold N821 reefer, I just installed 2-120MM fans that move over 100+ CFM of air blowing from the bottom up thru the back vent area (over the coils) with an automatic thermal switch that turns on the fans when the vent tempatures reach 85* and runs untill the tempature falls below 85*, then the fans shut off along with a small double fan unit on the inside of the reefer.

Makes all the difference in the world, cools quicker with more uniform temps inside the reefer, headin out in a week to the Old Fishin hole , so we'll see how things really work with no shade trees.