Refer Fan mod... Hope it's helpful

[Carrnutt]

So I realized how it took more than 24 hours for our DM2652 refer to get cold (faster on gas) while prepping for our first trip. It was initially even longer until I figured out the thermistor was set too low.

I started looking around the forum, after thinking maybe something was wrong, and discovered lots of people use / recommend the little fans inside to improve cooling. I didn't like the idea of losing shelf space, being a family of 5, we sort of need every inch. As well as I am really bad about turning things like them off and would probably require new batteries every time we camped. So I starting looking around and stumbled across this set up.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181208057633?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

And... well... HOLY CRAP!!! it works FANtastically (pun intended). It has cut the initial cooling time down to about 6-7 hours. It's quite small, convenient works on 12v and even has an on / off switch.

I ran the wire through the hole / grommet with the refer's light and connected it with the light's power wire at the board and the common ground. It did work as advertised with just using the clips on the cooling fins as a ground, but I figured you can never have too many grounds. This hook up allows it to operate only when the refer is on and shut off when the refer is off. Make sure to remember to D/C ALL both 110 and 12v power.

[chuckster57]

I have used a fan that operates on 2 D cell batteries since 2008. ANY air circulating is better than nothing. Mine sits in my condensation tray so I lose no storage capacity.

Yeah the food in the door is as cold as the stuff next to the fins.

[GaryWT]

Glad it has worked out for you. Surprised that it took the fan to get your time down to 6-7 hours. I have never used a fan but we leave the fridge on all season. It is on and ready to go for the weekend. We shopped tonight and the camping items are out there and ready.

[Carrnutt]

I have used a fan that operates on 2 D cell batteries since 2008. ANY air circulating is better than nothing. Mine sits in my condensation tray so I lose no storage capacity.

That would have been good enough for me, except for the battery part. As I said I'm really bad about the turning things like that off lol. But it didn't even occur to me to put it in the tray as I thought it was recommended to put it at the bottom. In fact, I was hesitant about the one I used working well.


Glad it has worked out for you. Surprised that it took the fan to get your time down to 6-7 hours. I have never used a fan but we leave the fridge on all season. It is on and ready to go for the weekend. We shopped tonight and the camping items are out there and ready.

Thank you. Yeah, I thought something was wrong with the refer taking so long to cool. Once it was up, rather down to temperature, it worked well. It was just how it took so long for it to initially cool. On gas it was much faster, but I figure why waste gas while I'm plugged in.

I've only tested it once, since I just installed it, but very happy all the same.

[chuckster57]

As long as your happy, that's what matters. I understand the forgetting part, as I have forgotten to turn some things off. I just take my fan out and remove the batteries when I unpack the refer.

[Richard6959]

Thanks for sharing. Wish I had found this fan last week. I guess I purchased the competition's mentioned in the ad, because it is the smaller unit. I received it yesterday and installed it. This one had to be run to the light, which required me to add a small alligator clip to the end of the wire to make make it easier to do.

So far it seems to work great. Temperature was dropping last night after just two hours. I am thinking about buying another one for the outside refrigerator. If I do, I will buy two so that I can replace the first one with the one advertised here. I like the idea of an inline fuse and double fan.

I also like the idea of moving it to the condensation tray. "bouncey:

[Lee]

I have used a fan that operates on 2 D cell batteries since 2008. ANY air circulating is better than nothing. Mine sits in my condensation tray so I lose no storage capacity.

Yeah the food in the door is as cold as the stuff next to the fins.

Chuckerster, How long do the batteries last? Also, do you have a part number for these fans?

Thanks,
Lee