Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 21:41:51 -0700
Reply-To: Alistair Bell <albell@UVIC.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alistair Bell <albell@UVIC.CA>
Subject: Re: fridge
In-Reply-To: <429BE3A5.8090706@colorado.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
Yes, Richard, I recall your post now.
(can't believe i wrote "muffing" consistently through my post)
I added another muffin (there, got it) into the mix this evening, but
being too lazy to pull the fridge I mounted it behind the side vent so
that i blows out over bin type cupboards. It taps power from the line
running to thermoswitch and is switched itself.
Some other owners have done this, so I thought I'd follow :)
BTW I had been testing the effect of that first muffin fan with the
fridge cranked up full. I started the same way today.
What I have noted is that when i have the cold knob cranked as far as i
can, then the fins heat up enough for the fan to stay on. Dometic
manual says fan comes on at 60 C (140 F) and off again at 50 (124F). I
recorded a fin temp of 51 C. I had the fridge running for a while
before placing temp probe.
But, if i have the knob at about 3/4 setting, I get good cooling and no
fan on. Interior fridge temp 1.1C, ambient 20C, fin temp (probe just
pressing on a fin on top most row) 38C. At that setting the LED (bright
blue replacement one) still remained brightly lit.
Second muffin fan on the side grill, what effect had it on fin temps?
Not much as it turns out, maybe lowers fin temp by 1 degree. Mind you
ambient temps falling at same time, from 23 to 20.
That fan is blowing warm air, but doesn't have a great effect on fin
temp. I think it is pulling air over the exhaust pipe and picking up
heat there.
Alistair
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94
http://www.members.shaw.ca/albell/
On 30-May-05, at 9:10 PM, Richard A Jones wrote:
> I found that my replacement fan, a muffing fan, came one and stayed on
> much more than the stock fan. I thought the shroud would help and
> provide better convection flow over fins.
>
> Well it seems to have had little effect on the duty cycle of the
> muffing fan.
Alistair:
I posted last fall my experience with fans. Briefly,
I replaced the original rear cooling fan with TWO
Radio Shack muffin fans.
The fans came on early and ran all day--into the
evening. The fridge struggled to keep cold (<--my
interpretation.)
I removed them and put in a single Volterra fan that
is the current (best) stock replacement for the rear fan.
Back to "normal"--fan comes on when hot, runs, cycles
off, back on, etc, etc. Fridge runs fine.
My conclusion is that the muffin fans (computer fans)
are a mistake. (Understatement.... ;-)
Richard A Jones
Boulder, Colorado
