Date: Wed, 08 May 1996 16:25:08 -0400
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Derek Drew <drew@interport.net>
Subject: Re: Vanagon Refrigerator Mods
At 12:29 PM 5/8/96 -0700, you wrote:
>Derek,
>
>I just pulled the refrigerator in my '81 Westy for a little preventive
>maintenance. I found the cooling fan had burned out, and that was why my
>cooling is marginal. I called Dometic and got the part number, then called
>an RV place for a price quote. Would you believe $23.95 plus shipping for
>just the fan motor? Must cost all of $1.50 to manufacture. To heck with
>that.
>
>I re-read your "Refrigerator Madness" article from your Nov '94 posting to
>the Vanagon list, 'cause I remembered you mentioned wiring up some fans and
>other mods. I have a couple of questions about your article. Would you
>please take a moment for me? --
>
>1. Re: the temperature probes on the interior. You say that you "routed
>the probe wires through the back". How exactly? Did you just drill
>through the whole body of the fridge and then seal it back up with silicone
I might have drilled a hole. But I sort of remember finding a flap of some
sort through which I could pass the wires without hole drilling. You have to
look in there closely to find the flap, if I remember right.
I think it is behind/under the metal fins inside the fridge.
>or something? If I understand correctly, those probes aren't powered, so
>no other wiring to deal with, right?
right
>2. Re: the small 12V fan in the interior. Where did you draw the power
>from? Did you run the wiring in a similar way to the way you did the temp
I must have. But I would have routed the power wires for that little fan
inside to the electrical area on top of the fridge. There is a power source
there that is permanent 12 volts. I routed it through a switch first, which
I placed on the faceplate of the fridge, so I could control the fan from the
front.
>probe wires? Did all wires run through the same hole in the body of the
>fridge?
>
>3. Re: the exterior cooling fan. As I said, my original is toast, so I
>want to replace it entirely, and maybe double up the circulation by
>installing two of them. But I'm unsure if it's OK to just wire them in
>where the original was. (Electrical work isn't my long suit.) Can I simply
>wire the two fans in parallel to the existing connections for the original
>fan?
thats what I did
I see a 2-1/2 ohm (I think, it's green anyway) resistor in series
>with the original fan. Should that remain in the circuit?
resistor thing is odd. if you buy radio shack 12 volt fans, then possibly
you don't need a resistor.
You should also email Dan Houg on these questions.
>Thanks in advance for your help. Please reply by direct Email, as I'm in
>digest mode on the List.
>
>Lee
>
>
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___________________________________
Derek Drew New York, NY
drew@interport.net (main address for e-mail)
derekdrew@aol.com (alternate/backup, checked infrequently)
