September 16, 2016
Description
As a relatively new owner of a RV Camp Trailer, I was dismayed to find that the Norcold refrigerator had problems cooling. After talking with other RV owners, the dealership, and their technical lead who serviced the refrigerator, it was determined that passive refrigerators (ones that do not have a circulation fan) are infamous for taking a couple of days to reach normal operating temperature. This information was confirmed by many camper forums of people with similar issues being able to resolve it by purchasing a recirculation fan.
Searching on Amazon showed several recirculation fans but they cost upward of $20 and I knew I could do better. This design is the initial release of my first attempt. It uses a standard 80mm computer case fan sandwiched between two shells and a 12V battery pack (see pictures). In-the-field testing will occur shortly to see if this design actually works from a cooling perspective as all technical research indicates a successful design.
Note: The roughness of the internal open areas on the shells is due to the fact that my slicer decided to add a 3 bead wide brim and it had to be manually removed with a razor knife. Also, I assembled this without coffee and my hands aren't all that steady.
License:
Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial