Refrigerator fan testing October 12, 2016, 01:06:33 pm Two summers ago, several forum members bought refrigerator cooling fans that attached to the cooling fins, at the top of the refrigerator compartment.Dometic Refrigerator Deluxe Fan to Increase Cooling Inside with Metal Grill...The resercher in me wanted to know if this fan worked as well as other configurations.Before starting, I added two temperature sensors to the freezer and two in the refrigerator, mounted high and the other low. The high-low positioning shows if inversion layers are forming and how well the refrigerator is cooling. Multiple thermometers provide a way measure the performance of each type of fan. Two other thermometers are used to monitor the interior and outside temperatures.We had been using a small computer fan, run at half speed, to keep the air circulation in motion. The low fan speed kept power consumption down but more importantly, it wasn't too noisy at night.Original fanRefrigerator fan | FlickrI tried several DIY versions of the Ebay fan, which all work fine then but ran into a bit of a problem when the wife said,"it's in the way, get it out of here". The fan sat outboard of the cooling fin and intrude into the refrigerator some. I tried mounting the fan in the drip tray but the fan pulled water, dripping off the fins, and blew it into the interior.Another fail.I ended up going back to the original configuration and installing a super quiet, low power fan, that is run at full speed. It's nice and quiet and works as well as the other fans.Test fansNew refrigerator and shroud | FlickrPresent fansRefrigerator fan | FlickrThis summer, we had some extremely hot weather and with the LD is out in the sun all day, the refrigerator was running a little warm, even the the temperature control was set at 5.I had tried installing a single fan in the refrigerator's vent, a few years before, and had not been impressed with its performanceThis time, I used two 50-MM computer fans, instead of one. lw5315us’s albums | FlickrA different way of powering them was used. The two fans are wired in series and connected directly to the solar panel junction box, mounted a few feet away. The two 12-volt fans, wired in series, can use the solar panel's 19-volt output without damage.The fans seem to work well, keeping the temps low, during the daytime hours, and then they turn off as the sun sets and the increased air flow isn't necessary. Ahhh, no night time noise and a very efficient use of solar to power the fans.Larry 5 Likes
Topic: Refrigerator fan testing (Read 130 times)
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Topic: Refrigerator fan testing (Read 130 times)
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