Thetford fridge ventilation kit ?

[matt34]

Anyone fitted the kit? i don't have to many problems with mine unless its extremely hot!
Is it worth me fitting one? gives me something to do at a weekend and the cost isnt to bad £43? cheers matt

 

[Figaro]

If it`s the kit for fans in the top vent to extract hot air, then yes definately worth fitting, although my experience is with Dometic fridge.
They make the fridge run much more efficiently when temperature is +30c

 

[Riverbankannie]

We fitted the kit, thats a good price. Makes a big difference especially when left on auto setting and one has forgotten to manually switch the fridge to gas when parked up in the sun....don’t ask me how I know

 

[matt34]

We fitted the kit, thats a good price. Makes a big difference especially when left on auto setting and one has forgotten to manually switch the fridge to gas when parked up in the sun....don’t ask me how I know

I think its left on all the time and comes on and off on a stat i.e. when it gets to hot.
There on ebay for £43 for a thetford one,demetic ones £100 plus i would prefer an on/off switch inside to kill the power,are they noisey? as my daughter sleeps oposite the fridge? mind you she's a teenager and sleeps through most things

 

[Riverbankannie]

C

I think its left on all the time and comes on and off on a stat i.e. when it gets to hot.
There on ebay for £43 for a thetford one,demetic ones £100 plus i would prefer an on/off switch inside to kill
the power,are they noisey? as my daughter sleeps oposite the fridge? mind you she's a teenager and sleeps through most things

We cannot hear the ones we have got, a pair. The switch inside has ON, OFF and AUTO settings.

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[Riverbankannie]

The kit mentioned here

Fitting CBE fridge fans

When this was discussed recently there seemed to be some interest in a thread on fitting this kit so here goes. I bought the CBE kit from the Netherlands for Euro 54.50 inc delivery, it was a lot more from UK sites and the Dometic kit is around £80. So in the kit you get two fans in a frame...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Figaro]

I put a kit together myself with help from this forum. Two fans and controller cost about £12.
I can alter the temp they come on and off at but when it`s hot they stay on pretty much all the time.
It`s only in the dead of night you can just hear them but it`s not bothersome.
I sleep through it anyway.

 

[matt34]

The kit mentioned here

Fitting CBE fridge fans

When this was discussed recently there seemed to be some interest in a thread on fitting this kit so here goes. I bought the CBE kit from the Netherlands for Euro 54.50 inc delivery, it was a lot more from UK sites and the Dometic kit is around £80. So in the kit you get two fans in a frame...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

thats a better kit

 

[matt34]

question does it work on ehu? 240 not 12v ?

 

[MisterB]

i fitted something similar to one of these, it was a 12v unit

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=352550350806


the negative points are that you can hear it through the vent when sat outside - though i will turn it to a higher temp setting. its not particularly noisy though, its more of high pitch whine. another downside is that in order to adjust the temp setting i need to remove the external vent as the control unit has the temp sensor built in, so it needs to go where it can sense the temp, which makes it harder to access - but then again, when its set right it wont need accessing LOL

glad i fitted it though, even in this weather you dont hear the fridge kicking in as much

as its fitted behind the fridge, the fridge tends to shield the noise, so it shouldnt affect your daughters sleep.

i am sure you could make one up yourself with some computer components easily enough with some sort of temp control

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[matt34]

the other kit has a sensor in the fan unit by the looks of it,do they run on ehu? i.e fridge on 240v on the fridge.

 

[MisterB]

the way i wired mine means it is on when on 240v or 12v or gas ! i did it as part of a back to battery circuit to the vehicle battery, on the basis that the power consumption is really low and if the fan was needed 'off grid', then the solar would be topping up the vehicle battery via battery master, time will tell if i should have ran it back to the leisure battery i suppose, though i am pretty sure i will get a few comments on here ..... LOL

and if they are right, i will change it ....

 

[MichaelT]

We fitted one of THESE good value and works well. Added an inline fuse and needed a bit of wire I already had.

 

[matt34]

the way i wired mine means it is on when on 240v or 12v or gas ! i did it as part of a back to battery circuit to the vehicle battery, on the basis that the power consumption is really low and if the fan was needed 'off grid', then the solar would be topping up the vehicle battery via battery master, time will tell if i should have ran it back to the leisure battery i suppose, though i am pretty sure i will get a few comments on here ..... LOL

and if they are right, i will change it ....

I tend to stay on ehu in france for a long period of time and thats when i would need it running, how did yoy wire it to get it to work on all 3? is it easy enough?

 

[Charlie9038]

Well worth the effort, The one I fitted is 12v so you just need to find a 12 v DC supply, which is on when ac supply is on, so took my supply of the 12v satellite tv circuit which was the nearest. I found my fridge struggles when the sun is out and above 28 degrees, the fans keep it running colder ?

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[2657]

Best to find a 12v supply that is live whenever the fridge is on regardless of hook up
I fitted 2 computer fans and as there is a 12 v socket in the cupboard next to the fridge I simply plug the fans in when it's hot and unplug them when it's not, simples

 

[MisterB]

Best to find a 12v supply that is live whenever the fridge is on regardless of hook up, simples

as i said, i ran a live from the vehicle fuse box under the dash, so its permanent live whether the ignition is on or off, but as i have solar and will soon have the battery master fitted, i am sure it wont draw too much out of the vehicle battery

 

[Diabalo]

You should be able to pick up a live 12v feed from the back of the fridge once you have removed the lower vent.

 

[MitchandJenny]

I bought a thermo control box £2.50. (Chinese) with an upper lower and current temp adjustment, put it in a small Tupperware sandwich box, wired to a pair of computer fans which I mounted on the lower edge of the top vent. I put the lot via an on/ off switch so that I can isolate it all when van not in use.
Works a dream, but I would have fitted the ready made kit if I had found it.
Mitch.

 

[Camdoon]

Task number 1 of lockdown was to fit the fans I bought last year. I have a temp controller but no reliable way of testing the appropriate temp so just have an external on/off switch from hab. I also installed 12v point in lower vent. I bought quiet fans so they will be on all the time from the Loire.

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[matt34]

Ive ordered the kit £49 posted not to bad will be fitting it when here

 

[Richard n Ann]

Anybody fancy a £3.80 solution? ?

Bolt one of these little components on the fridge fins, break the +red wire to the fan and wire it through it ? they can handle 1.5a at 12v.
When the fan is off they don't use any power either, unlike electronic controllers. They also come in a variety of temperatures.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=362278259095

 

[busby]

I think its left on all the time and comes on and off on a stat i.e. when it gets to hot.
There on ebay for £43 for a thetford one,demetic ones £100 plus i would prefer an on/off switch inside to kill the power,are they noisey? as my daughter sleeps oposite the fridge? mind you she's a teenager and sleeps through most things

Blimey 43 quid..I bought a computer fan s/h for a fiver and it has been working well now for 4 years..BUSBY.

 

[Lenny HB]

Task number 1 of lockdown was to fit the fans I bought last year. I have a temp controller but no reliable way of testing the appropriate temp so just have an external on/off switch from hab. I also installed 12v point in lower vent. I bought quiet fans so they will be on all the time from the Loire.

I have found I get the best results setting the temperature so the fans turn on when the ambient air temperature is 25°.
On my van with the 160 Lt fridge freezer, my sensor is between the fans in the top vent it works with the controller set to 32° with a 2° hystesis. Last van I had it set to 35° to obtain the same result. It does depend on each fridge and the installation.

 

[peterc10]

question does it work on ehu? 240 not 12v ?

12v. 2 computer fans

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[Camdoon]

I have found I get the best results setting the temperature so the fans turn on when the ambient air temperature is 25°.
On my van with the 160 Lt fridge freezer, my sensor is between the fans in the top vent it works with the controller set to 32° with a 2° hystesis. Last van I had it set to 35° to obtain the same result. It does depend on each fridge and the installation.

You've given me an itch .