Electrical advice refrigerator fan mod

Redrider007

Well-known member
Okay all I have one fan out on refrigerator and don’t want to pull frig to replace. I’m thinking of going with two aero fans on top vent and maybe one down low to blow up. I would like these to be thermostat controlled so they only run when needed. Anyone have advice on thermostat and or lower fan as well as any install advice? Fans look fairly straight forward.

Thanks in advance!,
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
Okay all I have one fan out on refrigerator and don’t want to pull frig to replace. I’m thinking of going with two aero fans on top vent and maybe one down low to blow up. I would like these to be thermostat controlled so they only run when needed. Anyone have advice on thermostat and or lower fan as well as any install advice? Fans look fairly straight forward.

Thanks in advance!,
What is the frig model?
I put 2, 6 inch computer fans in at my top vent.
They are facing out. The Norcold 1210 factory fans are on a thermostat.
I disconnected dc /ac power.
Spliced the new fans into the factory fans. The factory fans are controlled by the thermostat at the top of the fridge. So now two fans blowing up and two blowing out. All four fans cycle on and off via the factory thermostat.

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Redrider007

Well-known member
What is the frig model?
I put 2, 6 inch computer fans in at my top vent.
They are facing out. The Norcold 1210 factory fans are on a thermostat.
I disconnected dc /ac power.
Spliced the new fans into the factory fans. The factory fans are controlled by the thermostat at the top of the fridge. So now two fans blowing up and two blowing out. All four fans cycle on and off via the factory thermostat.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

I have the 1210 as well@-almost looks like I can get to stock fan but figure this mod may be better-Debating about inside fan on fins as well.
 

lynndiwagoner

Well-known member
You're going down the same road I did. I bought 5 12dc muffin fans and installed three at top vent and two at the bottom vent. I left them running all of the time and they were very quiet from the inside of the rig. It helped a little, but if your fridge is in a slide then, unfortunately, the whole thing is set up for a failure. I can remember some of my older rigs whereby the fridge vented straight out the top, and these worked pretty well. The problem is that when installed in a slide the manufacturers recommended installation is extremely hard to accomplish, particularly on an assembly line. Look around and you can find the installation requirements for your fridge, then look at the installation by the manufacturer and see how closely they followed the instructions. I eventually ended up replacing the LP fridge with a residential and I'm very happy...
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
I have the 1210 as well@-almost looks like I can get to stock fan but figure this mod may be better-Debating about inside fan on fins as well.
If your 1210 is in the slide
Remove the aluminum baffle, cut two screws left and right from outside. Mount 2, 6 x 6 dc computer fans blowing out. Tie them into the Norcold fan wiring.
Also make sure you have a vent cap on the exhaust stack. It allows the heating process to do it's magic to the absorption ammonia.
Last year I left the fridge on 3and 4 ice cold beer.

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Gary521

Well-known member
Okay all I have one fan out on refrigerator and don’t want to pull frig to replace. I’m thinking of going with two aero fans on top vent and maybe one down low to blow up. I would like these to be thermostat controlled so they only run when needed. Anyone have advice on thermostat and or lower fan as well as any install advice? Fans look fairly straight forward.

Thanks in advance!,
I did exactly that. Two Aero fans on top and one on the bottom. I attached the thermostat to the fins at the top. You can get the thermostat from several places even Amazon ( google RV fan thermostat ). Just zip tie the fans to the vents. Keep the existing metal baffle in place. This directs air to flow over the top fins. I used metal HVAC tape to cover any areas around the top of the fridge to prevent air from being trapped there. This all improved things a lot.

You might be able to use the existing thermostat. Try that. There is an existing 12v source in the back of the fridge is you do not use the existing thermostat. I added a 2 amp fuse to the system.
 

lynndiwagoner

Well-known member
If your 1210 is in the slide
Remove the aluminum baffle, cut two screws left and right from outs ide. Mount 2, 6 x 6 dc computer fans blowing out. Tie them into the Norcold fan wiring.
Also make sure you have a vent cap on the exhaust stack. It allows the heating process to do it's magic to the absorption ammonia.
Last year I left the fridge on 3and 4 ice cold beer.
j
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That's interesting about the vent. I noticed that the vent for the burner vented straight up into the area above the fridge. This seems counter to common sense because I was trying to get the heat out of that area with fans. I thought about putting some kind of 90 degree piece on it and running it out the top side vent but finally just bit the bullet and pulled it.
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
That's interesting about the vent. I noticed that the vent for the burner vented straight up into the area above the fridge. This seems counter to common sense because I was trying to get the heat out of that area with fans. I thought about putting some kind of 90 degree piece on it and running it out the top side vent but finally just bit the bullet and pulled it.
My frig is running top shelf.
Setting 3 and 4.
Sometimes we bump it up if we put alot of warm stuff in, the turn it back down. The old aluminum baffle was actually preventing the escape of the hot air. There's a cavity above the baffle so now two fans face out factory face up. Working fantastic.

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Redrider007

Well-known member
If your 1210 is in the slide
Remove the aluminum baffle, cut two screws left and right from outside. Mount 2, 6 x 6 dc computer fans blowing out. Tie them into the Norcold fan wiring.
Also make sure you have a vent cap on the exhaust stack. It allows the heating process to do it's magic to the absorption ammonia.
Last year I left the fridge on 3and 4 ice cold beer.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

I could probably access the stock fan that’s bad as well if I remove that baffle! Cold beer at 3; I’m in!!
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
Very interesting topic guys, as I have replaced a couple external fans in the past. One thing that I was un aware of and did not see it mentioned in this thread. These external computer fans as some call it have a shelf life. I notice this on mine several years ago I could tell the fan was getting hot by a slight burn mark in the fan. I replaced it with identical fan and read the fine print and it was like 1 year of continuous use. When I took the old one out I could tell the blades were not spinning as freely as new. Since we full time that fan was running 24/7. I eventually has a fellow Heartlander tell me about a a/c version of that fan that the shelf life was over triple as the d/c ones. It was 5 years if I'm not mistaking. Hope this helps,
Bobby A
 

Short-Bed-Dually

Active Member
I see discussion on burner vent caps not being installed. I have attached pictures of my vent system. Does this look correct?
 

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