Want to wire my own PC fan in the fridge?

firstone

Active Member
Have a small 12v 0.19ma fan I want to wire to the fridge so it is on either when I want or when the fridge is. Want to wire it to the inside light wiring if possible? Can I do it so it's on when the fridge is on?

Ideas????
 
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Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Have a small 12v 0.19ma fan I want to wire to the fridge so it is on either when I want or when the fridge is. Want to wire it to the inside light wiring if possible?

Ideas????
Mike, are you talking about a fan to circulate air inside the fridge? They sell a small battery operated (2 D cells) fan pretty cheap. Available through Camping World or many RV Dealers. Your idea sounds like a good one if you can figure out a good way to wire it. There are 12 volt wires behind the fridge but getting it into the unit could be interesting. Maybe through the defrost drain line? Let us know when you finish the project.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
Re: Have fan for fridge how to wire it?

Yes.
There is 12v + at the light switch any time the fridge is on. You only lack a ground. I bought a pre-made fan kit from ebay a few years ago that has two small fans on a frame. I think it was about $10. The metal fan frame has an alligator clip that attaches it physically (and electrically) to the cooling fins. It uses that alligator clip connection as its ground. The one wire is wired to 12v hot at the light switch. The fans run continuously when the refrigerator switch is on. It helps somewhat.

Adding fans and an airflow baffle in the rear of the fridge helps a lot more for keeping the fridge cold on warm days. A search on the forums will return quite a few old threads on this topic, especially diagrams and pictures for the airflow baffle, if you don't already have one.
 

dalspot

Well-known member
Mike we have the same fan with the clip that Bill does. Works well, also hooked to the light. It is a tad noisy, nice thing is you can take it off the fins (no need to remove the hot wire) when it's cool enough that you don't need the fan running. In two years, ours has never fallen off either. I intend to put some felt pads on it on the back next trip out to quiet it a tad.

Karen
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Re: Have fan for fridge how to wire it?

That battery fan will run for at least two months, maybe more before needing new batteries. Easier than trying to wire in a muffin fan and no exposed blades. And it does work.
 

hoefler

Well-known member
I bought one of these off of E-Bay a couple of years ago and wired the + wire to the interior light Hot terminal. The alligator clip used to clip the fan assembly to the refrig interior cooling fins makes a connection with the grounded fins.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-NOR...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec27fe5e1&vxp=mtr
I have the very same fan and have been using it for over4 years. I have modified mine as I had found the clip mounting kind of a pain. I had a 1" strip of aluminum welded to the top edge and split a piece of 1/4' of fuel line lengthwise, slid it on the added tab . Wired in a small length of wire for the clip ground and installed. Runs very quite, until something gets shoved against it. Very happy with the performance.
 
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