Additional fridge mod?

[Raife1]

Good evening. We live in central Texas and while we have not had a bad summer, the fridge struggled this past weekend. I already added interior fans, but am now considering adding outside fans. The interior fans are currently powered through the 12v connection in the back of the fridge (wire exits through the drain hole) so anytime the fridge is on the fans are running. There is no practical room behind the fridge for fans (at least accessible from the exterior panel), so I thought maybe I could install some exhaust fans below the roof vent. I was able to remove the vent cover, but there is a screen covering the actual entrance into the area behind the fridge.

So I wondered if securing some exhaust fans to the screen to pull the hot air out from behind the fridge would help? This would theatrically then "pull" fresh air in from the bottom (the panel behind the fridge).

Has anyone done this? Would it actually help?


Inside fan setup


Location I am considering adding exhaust fans

 

[dryfly]

I did exactly that on a previous trailer. I used three 140mm fans that pulled air across the back of the fridge. I can't say it made a tremendous difference but I could see an improvement in hot weather measuring inside the fridge temps. It seems anything you can do to help remove warm air from the compartment will make some difference.

 

[Raife1]

Did you mount them where I am thinking or elsewhere?

One concern I have is if there is space around the fans it may not actually "pull" air from down below but rather just from the side...

I have several 120mm fans laying around (same ones I used inside). I would need to measure the available space to see if I could do 140mm or maybe even 200mm...

Update: I can fit 140mm fans...figure I will give it a whirl and see if it helps.

 

[Redapple63]

Did you mount them where I am thinking or elsewhere?

One concern I have is if there is space around the fans it may not actually "pull" air from down below but rather just from the side...

I have several 120mm fans laying around (same ones I used inside). I would need to measure the available space to see if I could do 140mm or maybe even 200mm...

Update: I can fit 140mm fans...figure I will give it a whirl and see if it helps.

It will absolutely help as long as it is pulling air through. Make sure you have a true chimney effect, and those fans will move enough air to make a noticeable difference.

Good Luck.

 

[dryfly]

Did you mount them where I am thinking or elsewhere?

One concern I have is if there is space around the fans it may not actually "pull" air from down below but rather just from the side...

I have several 120mm fans laying around (same ones I used inside). I would need to measure the available space to see if I could do 140mm or maybe even 200mm...

Update: I can fit 140mm fans...figure I will give it a whirl and see if it helps.

Yes, I mounted 3 fans just below the screen which was basically the same as your picture. The fans filled the opening so I doubt if I was drawing much air from around them, but even if that's the case you are still going to draw air across the fridge coils.

I pulled my fridge out the front of the cabinet into the trailer. At the same time I was doing some modifications to the cabinet to help the "chimney effect". While the fridge was out of the cabinet, I had access to the area below the screen, so I built a horizontal bracket that would hold the 3 fans. I ran 12vdc to the fans and added a switch close to the fridge.

 

[Raife1]

I have assembled four 140mm fans and they cover the entire screen area. I plan on securing the fans on top and running some foam window seal around it to help pull from the chimney area. I have a clear drop along the side to run the 12vdc wire and I built a piggyback into the spice for the interior fans when I did that last year, so I will just splice into that.

Random question: there is "goop" (best way I can describe it) covering the screw holes holding the vent onto the roof. It is not roof sealant. It almost has the consistency of soft wax. I tried to get most of it out before unscrewing the screws, but it still seriously gummed up by bit. Any idea what it is?