HOw can you tell if your refer fan is working??

10-21-2003, 06:39 PM

This maybe a stupid question but on our last trip we think the refer fan or the 12volt just don't work as well as electric on the fridge. We folded the camper down with both turned on and 6 hours later when we opened it up it wasn't as cold as it was before we folded it down earlier. Is there some kind of test? ??? We are thinking the refer fan isn't working properly. Nothing was thawed out but it was warmer inside the fridge.

thank you ,
mamabear ;D

**Chris** · 10-21-2003, 07:07 PM

I could always hear mine, but you could pull the covers off the outside and take a look. It's not buried far.
Ct..

10-21-2003, 08:02 PM

I can hear ours as well. But I don't have to take the cover off to tell if it is running, Get a man with a hairy arm to stand near the top refer vent and he can tell if it is running or not. That's how I tell.

**kdrickard** · 10-21-2003, 10:29 PM

[quote author=mamabear link=board=2;threadid=1467;start=msg10310#msg10310 date=1066783184]
This maybe a stupid question... [/quote] The whole refer system seems pretty slow to cool or warm on gas/12v/or 120v. I still find the whole thing a bit of an inexact science, but others probably have some better advice. PS IM(very much humble)O: There are no stupid questions; it's only stupid to assume and not ask.

[quote author=mamabear link=board=2;threadid=1467;start=msg10310#msg10310 date=1066783184] We are thinking the refer fan isn't working properly.[/quote] As Windy and Chris have noted, you should be able to hear it -- it sounds like a computer fan from both inside the TM and on the outside near the refer vents.

[quote author=mamabear link=board=2;threadid=1467;start=msg10310#msg10310 date=1066783184]Nothing was thawed out but it was warmer inside the fridge. [/quote] I've noticed that the inside temperature of the refer will vary depending on which of the "3" ways you cool the refer. I find a small battery powered refer fan and and inexpensive Campingworld thermometer along with checking the temp every few to 6 hours or so when the TM is up keeps things right. If you are worried that the 12 volt system is not working when down, you can pull the refer vent plate on the outside of the TM (when up after a 12v drive) and *carefully* reach your hand back to the "heat" area (forgive me for not knowing the correct term for this part, but it's fairly obvious if you poke around carefully) and see if it is warm/hot.

I'm a bit of a novice on this but I've had one or two refer dilemmas myself.

Kevin R.

10-21-2003, 10:56 PM

Quote:

If you are worried that the 12 volt system is not working when down, you can pull the refer vent plate on the outside of the TM (when up after a 12v drive) and *carefully* reach your hand back to the "heat" area (forgive me for not knowing the correct term for this part, but it's fairly obvious if you poke around carefully) and see if it is warm/hot.

Right you are, but I can feel the heat being blown out the top vent, try it, I'm sure you can too.

**Civil_War_Buff** · 10-22-2003, 07:02 AM

As for the fridge fan, it exhausts under the TM and as said by others, it is quite audible from the inside. I will just reach under the TM at the fridge on the outside, and I can feel the exhausting air too.

Agreed that the fridge is s-l-o-w to cool, if you can't precool the day before (like me) I have found that bringing (or purchase at the CG) a bag of ice that I put in there to help once we set up and I turn the unit on, and it seems to help the system and cools things off a little faster. Even without the help of a compressor (like at home), the "heat" method is quite dependable. When I had my Coleman I used the fridge on LPG once, but now I use it pretty exclusively because I have found the propane to be much more effective at keeping things cool.

Larry

10-22-2003, 07:53 AM

Quote:

As for the fridge fan, it exhausts under the TM

Are you sure? My has two vents, on the side right behind the refer. The air goes in the lower one and comes out the upper one. Now the bath vent vents under the TM.

We have the same model and year of TM. Do you think they made two versions?

**Bill** · 10-22-2003, 09:10 AM

Windy - CWB is right.

The two vent panels you refer to provide for natural circulation of air when the TM is open. Cool air goes in at the bottom, and hot air goes out at the top. But when the TM is closed, these vent panels are covered, which hinders natural circulation. The purpose of the fan is to overcome this hindrance.

Take off that outside panel behind the refrig. You will (or should) see a length of 3" dryer hose leading from the top of the compartment to the floor of the compartment - which has a big screened hole in it. The refrig fan is at one end of the hose (I never can remember which one). Its purpose is to gather the hot air from the top of the compartment, and blow it down through the hose and out through the floor of the compartment. If your hose is missing, or disconnected from the fan - or if the fan is blowing upward instead of downward - fix it.

Bill

**Civil_War_Buff** · 10-22-2003, 09:10 AM

Yes, I too have the vents on the side, but they are for "passive venting". The fan that is operated by the switch exhausts under the TM (at least on my 2002 2720), if you look under you will see the screen covered opening. This is the only way that you can run the fridge on 12V while travelling, as the side vents are covered by the front shell otherwise.

Larry

10-22-2003, 09:37 AM

My 1997 3124KS has two holes in the floor. The one toward the rear is for incoming air and the one toward the front has the fan on the bottom behind a screen for exhausting the heated air. I found that the plastic dryer hose had deteriorated and replaced it with an expandable aluminum one. In any case the refer does not get too cold if the outside air temp is above 90 F.

Jim