I second the idea of putting a battery-operated "Fridge-it" fan inside
the Dometic before going to the trouble of installing a second coil fan.

It seems that air circulation improvement inside should provide much
more benefit than a second fan outside.  The absence of air movement
inside creates a stagnant cold zone around the inner fins that impedes
efficient transfer.  Another benefit of the internal fan would be
faster re-equilibration of the internal temperature after the door has
been opened.

An additional outside coil fan will serve to shorten the on/off cycle
time, bringing the cabinet air to "shut-off" temperature faster (if
tied to the same thermocouple).  It will not bring the temperature
down any lower than the existing fan unless you change the
thermocouple that controls it.  This would seem to be a minor
improvement in efficiency, especially if the coil fan is cycling only
occasionally, (as is typical).  I would agree, however, that if you
camp where high ambient temperatures cause long fan cycles, a second
coil fan is warranted.

Camping World sells an internal Fridge-It fan- uses 2 'D' batteries
that last a month.  Turn it on when you load up the food, turn it off
when the trip is done.

Steve Frisbee
 85 Westy
 92 Subaru
 66 Bug

---Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET> wrote:
>
> Mike,
> I considered adding a fan inside my fridge... like Derek Drew
mentioned in
> his article Refrigerator Madness. But I didn't have the time (or the
wiring
> knowledge at the time). So I bought one of the battery operated
Fridge Mate
> fans that are sold at RV stores for use inside the fridge. Getting air
> movement over the inside cooling fins and around the food is EXTREMELY
> important to getting the most out of the fridge. It really helps a
lot. At
> first I didn't like the fact that the battery operated fan took up
what I
> thought was useable food storage space inside the fridge. But after
using it
> for two seasons my current thoughts are that it is not taking up
useable
> space at all. Really, in order to get air circulation (the purpose
of the
> fan) you need to leave space for the air to circulate; if you pack
the food
> too tightly there is no room for the air to circulate around the
food so the
> food doesn't get or stay cold (even if you have a fan inside). Well,
it
> turns out that by locating the battery operated fan strategically in
the
> center of the center shelf it not only circulates the air up an over
the
> cold fins, it also by its location keeps the center of the fridge
open for
> air circulation back down and around the food. In other words, the fan
> serves as a physical reminder to keep that air space open for
circulation,
> thus thwarting the natural temptation to pack more food in there.
Also there
> is no wiring job and no possibility of it running your battery down.
Anyway,
> that's my 2 cents.
> Bill
> 90 Westy Syncro
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Date: Wednesday, April 28, 1999 9:43 PM
> Subject: Re: Refrigerator Fans
>

>

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