Is heat exhaust fridge fan doing the job?

[TXbound]

For some time now we have had cooling issues with our Norcold 910, last hot season we were convinced that it had reached it's life expectancy. We had purchased fridge dual cooling fans on eBay but they weren't water proof and the elements got them and they were only 90mm fans. When the weather started to cool down and it was no longer 90's highs and 70's lows the freezer started to freeze again at one point it was at 10 degrees, the fridge in turn was in the mid 50's, so we knew it still had some life to it. So here we are again, same uncomfortable highs and lows. Now we purchased same kind of fridge fans but Titan waterproof 140 mms TITAN- 12V DC IP55 Waterproof Double Rack Mount Ventilation Cooling Fan with Timer and Speed Controller- TTC-SC20 (140mm) Amazon.com The instructions say to place the fan on the bottom so that it cools the inside and if there is a upper vent to place it in reverse, unfortunately the back fridge exhaust only has a lower vent. So the fans are placed facing outward to draw out heat. The fan speed is on high and all we have been able to maintain is 77 degrees in the freezer, outside it is currently 76. I've taken a a temp reading from in back of the fridge by the lower vent and indeed it is drawing heat out, but obviously it's been too hot out and the lows have not been low enough, I'm sure if we had a low in the 50's the freezer would once again freeze like it did before. So the big question is considering we can't get any lower temps in the freezer is it worth running a cooling fan in the warmers months or should we just return it and forget about the fridge in hotter months? We rely on a smaller mini fridge that works on a different principle.

 

[GTS225]

First, how old is the fridge?
Have you had anyone look at it to see if it needs recharging?

It may have developed a leak at some time, and is low on freon.

Roger

 

[DennisT]

For some time now we have had cooling issues with our Norcold 910, last hot season we were convinced that it had reached it's life expectancy. We had purchased fridge dual cooling fans on eBay but they weren't water proof and the elements got them and they were only 90mm fans. When the weather started to cool down and it was no longer 90's highs and 70's lows the freezer started to freeze again at one point it was at 10 degrees, the fridge in turn was in the mid 50's, so we knew it still had some life to it. So here we are again, same uncomfortable highs and lows. Now we purchased same kind of fridge fans but Titan waterproof 140 mms TITAN- 12V DC IP55 Waterproof Double Rack Mount Ventilation Cooling Fan with Timer and Speed Controller- TTC-SC20 (140mm) Amazon.com The instructions say to place the fan on the bottom so that it cools the inside and if there is a upper vent to place it in reverse, unfortunately the back fridge exhaust only has a lower vent. So the fans are placed facing outward to draw out heat. The fan speed is on high and all we have been able to maintain is 77 degrees in the freezer, outside it is currently 76. I've taken a a temp reading from in back of the fridge by the lower vent and indeed it is drawing heat out, but obviously it's been too hot out and the lows have not been low enough, I'm sure if we had a low in the 50's the freezer would once again freeze like it did before. So the big question is considering we can't get any lower temps in the freezer is it worth running a cooling fan in the warmers months or should we just return it and forget about the fridge in hotter months? We rely on a smaller mini fridge that works on a different principle.

When we had our Forester I put two fans on the lower vent (didn’t have an upper). Had them set to pull air in so it went over the coils and out the roof vent for the fridge.

Worked well with that setup.

Seems the way you have it would be pulling the warm air down from the roof and out the lower vent. I’d try reversing the flow and see if that works better.

There are fans you can setup on the roof vent as well to pull air up and out.

Just my thoughts based on what we had.

 

[TXbound]

When we had our Forester I put two fans on the lower vent (didn’t have an upper). Had them set to pull air in so it went over the coils and out the roof vent for the fridge.

Worked well with that setup.

Seems the way you have it would be pulling the warm air down from the roof and out the lower vent. I’d try reversing the flow and see if that works better.

There are fans you can setup on the roof vent as well to pull air up and out.

Just my thoughts based on what we had.

Well I tried reverse before but now that there is a little cooler air outside I reversed it again. We do have another Titan that we ordered first that is not waterproof that could probably go on the roof vent inside but how do you get 12 volt to it? Splice the other fans wires and I guess drop down wires from the fan down the shaft.? By the way the existing fan is wired into the load connectors on our Solar Controller. Thanks

 

[DennisT]

We didn’t have one in the roof.

What I saw from those that did they ran power lines down the vent to behind the fridge.

 

[TXbound]

We didn’t have one in the roof.

What I saw from those that did they ran power lines down the vent to behind the fridge.

The problem I have with power from behind the fridge is I know which is the hot wire, but some reason I can't ground the black wire, I was able to connect to the chasis part with the other fans that went bad but now with these, is there a ground wire I'm missing I should connect to?

 

[BGMAC]

First off I would check the vent cover on the roof and make sure there are no obstructions. When I had issues with mine, the factory forgot to cut the roof for the vent. Had the vent cover, but no hole.
The bottom side vent, open it up and check for obstructions. Look up and make sure you can see the top vent cover.

Heat rises to the top, so the fans I would think would draw air in from the side vent and blow up to the top vent.

 

[GTS225]

Heat rises to the top, so the fans I would think would draw air in from the side vent and blow up to the top vent.

As a matter of scientific fact, heat does not rise. Heated air rises. The energy we call heat goes out in all directions from it's source.

Otherwise, the remains of the sentence I quoted are correct. It would make a bunch more sense to blow the cool air in from the bottom, and out the top.

While it might seem that I'm nit-picking, it really does make a difference when you're trying to solve a problem.

Just sayin'.....Roger

 

[BGMAC]

As a matter of scientific fact, heat does not rise. Heated air rises. The energy we call heat goes out in all directions from it's source.

Otherwise, the remains of the sentence I quoted are correct. It would make a bunch more sense to blow the cool air in from the bottom, and out the top.

While it might seem that I'm nit-picking, it really does make a difference when you're trying to solve a problem.

Just sayin'.....Roger

True. Prime example are heat sinks. I was talking about heated air since we are talking about removing heat with air using blowers.

Sometimes to much detail may confuse the issue.