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Date:         Sat, 2 Aug 2008 16:27:38 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Dometic fridge fan erratic
Comments: To: Paul Chubbuck <paul@TAKINGFLIGHT.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <000f01c8f4c8$63713820$2a53a860$@net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 11:51 AM 8/2/2008 -0600, Paul Chubbuck wrote: > Do you think the thermostat attached to the rear fins >is going bad?

Highly unlikely. It's a little bimetal disk that snaps convex or concave and it's switching a miniscule load that's still above the minimum (~20 ma) for contacts self-cleaning. Rated life probably around 100,000 cycles at 15 amps. But if it's making good mechanical contact to the fin you can test by bridging across it, fan should run continuously. If it's still intermittent, then not the thermostat.

> If so, do you know where I can get a replacement?

Take a look at the Thermodisc 36T series: <http://www.thermodisc.com/productDetail.asp?ProductID=2> You can download the catalog section to get the details and then request a sample if you're bold enough -- there's a request form on the page. I can't remember whether it's 140F/125F or 125F/110F -- I believe the former.

I agree with Neil that loose contact on the fin is much more likely, but I'm not so sure that thermal paste is a good idea. Thermal paste must be applied *extremely* thin if it's not to do more harm than good, and this application was designed to work fine without it.

Your fan motor itself (if original) is probably worn out regardless of whether it's causing the intermittent operation. I suggest replacing it with a Fridge-Mate fan designed for the purpose -- look in my messages a few weeks back for a source, and on my website for a drawing of how to mod the original bracket for the new fan. Compared to computer-type box fans it draws less current, moves more air, and is virtually silent.

-- David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/ '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage," '85 GL "Poor Relation"


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