Fridge fan installation ... DIY info please (1 Viewer)

[Reallyretired]

I used the rather more expensive thermostat, as its boxed and a bit neater than the open circuit board. It comes with a remote temperature probe so gives quite a lot of flexibility where it can be mounted.



I have just a single 120mm fan in the top vent but did think of adding a second one. They are not silent but the sound is OK during the day, and I find they rarely need to run at night. I have fitted a switch so I can turn it off if it becomes annoying. The thermostat is set to come on at 30C and go off at 28C with the probe in the middle of the back. Seems to work fine for me.
Fridge and freezer full of food as SWMBO doesn't allow me to fill it with beer, so have a separate cold box under the bed for the beer.

 

[Richard n Ann]

I wish I understood it.

Power in at the bottom and the two fans wires go off to the left. Ignore the different colours of the wires, that's a bit confusing. If you get a DPDT switch (Double Pole Double Throw) it will have the six pins on the back arranged like the diagram.

 

[Gellyneck]

I would guess that you'd only be using 2 pins of the fan (+ve and -ve). Pin 3 would normally return a pulse from the fan to the computer mobo that enables it to control the fan speed. A 4th pin is also used by the mobo to control speed.
So, all the rheostat would do is adjust the voltage being supplied on the +ve and -ve pins thereby reducing the voltage to reduce the speed.

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[MattR]

I brought fridge fans 3 months ago still sat in the MH garage
Tel keeps saying he will fit them, maybe next year

I'm hoping that the weather will improve so we can test them fully. We were in Spain q few years ago and were staggered by the heat building up in the panel by the fridge vent - it was almost too hot to touch. This summer hasn't been anywhere near as warm and were sitting in our fleeced wondering where the summer went... Our fridge fan controller is easily keeping the temp near the vent below 26oC

 

[MattR]

Power in at the bottom and the two fans wires go off to the left. Ignore the different colours of the wires, that's a bit confusing. If you get a DPDT switch (Double Pole Double Throw) it will have the six pins on the back arranged like the diagram.

Colours confused me but would I have to wire the fans differently too?

 

[Richard n Ann]

Colours confused me but would I have to wire the fans differently too?

No just solder the fan wires onto the back of the switch as in the diagram. Look at the + and - markings not the words.

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[Richard n Ann]

Look at this on eBay

 

[Feltwell]

I've yet to take the van to properly hot climes since fitting it, but I have noticed it cut in one time on a hot day in the UK with the sun on the side of the van. It cut out OK, but I can believe they have a large hysteresis.

I can see digital PCB controllers being a bit of a pain, do they not reset every time they loose power? Is one like this a better bet, although I'd have to see if I could disable the "power on" light to stop it using some power all the time. Electronics, beyond basic installations, fault finding and fixes, aren't really my thing! I can't see me building one like Richard and Ann's, although I admire him or her for doing that!

Well, inspired on by LennyHB and others, I decided to dump the temperature switch and fit a digital controller. Where to put one was the problem - finally found that where the cooker fan intrudes into the cupboard above leaves *just* (and I really do mean just - 1mm of clearance all round!) enough room to fit one of these small panel fit items, a few pounds direct from China.

Red shows current temperature, blue shows what it's set to turn the fans on at, there's an on/off switch in the same space on the left of the cupboard and helpfully it keeps it's stored temperature when the power is switched off. All nicely hidden when the cupboard door is shut.