When an RV refrigerator is working correctly, it is a fantastic way to keep your food and beverages cold. However, when your RV refrigerator fan isn't working efficiently, it can be frustrating when your food spoils quickly. To increase the efficiency of your fridge, we researched RV refrigerator fans to keep your RV's fridge cold.
An RV refrigerator fan helps to distribute the cold air in your fridge evenly. As your RV fridge produces cold air, some areas inside of the refrigerator will be colder than others. Using a fan alleviates this issue.
RV fridge fans are a must-have for RV owners. If you are looking to keep your refrigerator cold even in warm weather, read further for an overview of how these fans work.
Do RV Refrigerator Fans Work?
A high-quality RV refrigerator fan makes an incredible difference in increasing your fridge's efficiency and cooling. RV fridges are known to have poor air-circulation, with only a few of the food items receiving most of the cold air. With only a few of your food products receiving the cold air, you are left with half of your fridge's food warm and potentially spoiling.
The ideal temperature that your fridge should be at is between 34 and 40 degrees. When your refrigerator is working efficiently, the temperature should be cold throughout the refrigerator. Warm spots in your fridge signal that you will need an improvement in your fridge's cooling system. RV fridge fans are among the most popular ways that RV owners struggling with this problem have fixed their inefficient refrigerators.
Warm Weather Issues
In warm weather months, this problem becomes more apparent with the fridge having trouble staying cold. With the design of the RV fridges, the outside temperature has a considerable effect on its efficiency and how it effectively removes hot air from the system. When the outside temperature is scorching, the refrigeration system has to cool itself down first and then the fridge itself. Including a fan inside of your refrigerator can help to push out the hot air through the refrigerator vents.
One benefit not commonly discussed when installing an RV refrigerator fan is its role in preventing mold and mildew from accumulating in your fridge. The added airflow throughout the refrigerator unit will avoid any excess moisture that can cause mold.
How to Power A Refrigerator Fan
Depending on your goals and knowledge of RV's, you can choose between a refrigerator fan you need to power with 12-volt wiring or a battery-powered refrigerator fan. Powering your refrigerator with 12-volt DC power will take some knowledge of electrical systems and learning how to run a wire from the RV generator to your refrigerator. If you want to go for a simpler option, you may also use a battery-powered fan that you place inside of the fridge. Battery-powered fans typically aren't as powerful and require changing the batteries consistently or recharging.
How Does an RV Refrigerator Work?
Unlike refrigerators you would find in your home, RV fridges are absorption-style refrigerators. You will need to turn on your RV refrigerator a few hours in advance to cool the inside. In absorption refrigeration, heat is absorbed from the interior of the fridge. In a household refrigerator, cold is applied through the help of a compressor as well as heat is absorbed and removed from the inside.
The process starts by heating a solution of chemicals that includes water, ammonia, and sodium chromate. These elements are placed over a heating element to create an ammonia gas that pushes through the absorption refrigeration system. Once the ammonia gas has reached the condenser unit of the refrigerator, it will absorb the heat as it passes through the system. The ammonia gas will then run through an evaporator or freezing unit that combines with hydrogen gas.
The combination of these two chemical gases creates very intense evaporation that results in cooling the inside of your fridge. After the evaporation process, the liquid ammonia will gather in a secondary evaporator inside of the refrigerator for more cooling.
How Does an RV Fridge Fan Work?
An RV fridge auxiliary fan works by putting small low-voltage fans in the inside of the fridge to circulate the cold air inside. You can place this small fan anywhere inside of the refrigerator, but the most common location will be at the top of the fridge.
The ceiling of the fridge is typically where the evaporator vents are on RV absorption fridges. In some models of fridge fans, you have an opening on the back that allows the cold air to enter and circulate.
How Do You Install an RV Refrigerator Fan?
To install an RV fridge fan, you will need an additional power source ran into the refrigerator. To begin, make sure that the fridge fan can be placed on the inside of your fridge. Review the manufacturer's product details to see if your fridge's size will be a match. Some fridge fans may be too big for the style of refrigerator you have.
Once you have confirmed that you can install the fridge fan, run a low-voltage wire from your RV's generator to your fridge. In some cases, if your fridge has a light, you can do a quick-install by removing the light from inside the refrigerator and use the wiring to power your fan.
You may also install a switch that will turn your fans off and on. A switch can let you choose when you would like your fans to be activated. To do this, run the low voltage power to the switch, and then connect the other side of the switch to the fan.
How Else Can I Keep My RV Fridge Cold?
Check the Seals
One way that you can keep your fridge cold is by making sure the outer seals of the fridge are working correctly. When your refrigerator has broken seals, you will be able to feel excess cold air coming out of it when the door is closed. A quick test for the seals of your refrigerator is by closing the door onto a piece of paper. If your seals are working correctly, you will not be able to pull out the piece of paper.
Not Putting in Warm Food
After cooking, you may have leftovers you want to save for later. To keep your fridge cold, wait till your food has cooled down before placing it inside the refrigerator. The RV's absorption refrigeration system will have to work harder to absorb the heat from the food, causing your fridge to get warmer in the process.
Not Overfilling the Fridge
Cold air needs to circulate throughout your fridge to keep your food fresh. If you pack your fridge full of food, it won't be able to circulate air efficiently. Keep a few inches of space free from food around the edges of your refrigerator. The extra space around the edges will give the cold air room to move freely.
How To Choose the Best RV Fridge Fan
When shopping for an RV fridge fan, you want to look for a fridge fan that is compact and efficient. A small fridge fan won't take up too much space in your fridge, allowing you to store more food.
Additionally, you want a fridge fan that is efficient and does its job correctly. The best way to find a fridge fan that has these two factors is by looking at product reviews. Customer reviews are a great way to see what real customers have to say about the product and if they would recommend the product to others.
The Best RV Fridge Fans
AeroCool Silent Master Cooling Fan
This 12-volt powered cooling fan by AeroCool is both practical and silent. A fan that doesn't produce noise will allow you to have it running even while you are sleeping.
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Innobay USB Rechargeable Fan
Innobay offers a rechargeable RV fridge fan that can be charged using USB. With three speed settings, you can choose how much help you need with your fridge's cooling.
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Wathai High-Powered Fridge Fan
For those with very ineffective fridge cooling, Wathai offers an industrial-grade fan that will produce 
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CoolerGuys High Airflow Fan
With a projected lifespan of 7 years and high airflow, this fan by CoolerGuys will keep your fridge cold on even the hottest of days.
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Beech Lane RV Fridge Fan
This fridge fan by Beech Lane includes a powerful 3,000 rpm motor that will push cold air throughout your RV's fridge.
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Conclusion
If you are struggling with an inefficient RV refrigerator, adding a fridge fan is a great way to boost your fridge's cooling capabilities. These small compact fans are inexpensive but can make a significant impact in evenly distributing cold air in your fridge.
Great information. I also think a refrigerator fan is necessary. A refrigerator fan for RV is a small device built to help our RV refrigerator run more efficiently. Is that right?
I purchased the Camco fan to help keep the refrigerator cold since I turn it off when on the road. I moved 600 miles and everything stayed cold in fridge and frozen in the freezer — I did turn it on when stopped for one night. The fan has made a big difference in how much the fins in the fridge ice up and I plan to run it all the time. I think it’s more than worth the $15 investment. I put batteries in on September 25th and just had to change them on November 25th. The battery life seems to be the big complaint for people (which is no fault of the fan) but I think 2 months is great.
I needed help ventilating my camper fridge. And I added this TITAN Ventilation Cooling Fan to help with the ambient temp around it. It helped but didn’t totally solve my problem. Adding this and shading the side of the camper with aside shade did the trick.