[Rosemary&Peter]

We have a Waeco CF-25 fridge. The wee fan seems not to be working(dust from Molesworth?) As the fridge does tend to overheat..can we replace this fan with a larger one???

[Neddy]

You sure can. There is a huge range of computer cooling fans available in all different sizes. The bigger the fan the more air it moves and the better the cooling.

Our Isotherm fridge came with a 12 volt fan which made more noise than the compressor. (!) I fitted a second 12v fan, but wired the 2 in series, so each runs at 6 volts. One fan "pushes" cool air onto the condenser, the other "pulls" hot air away from it. This setup proved to be more efficient than the original single fan and now the fridge is barely audible.

[Rosemary&Peter]

Thank you Neddy...we were hoping you would reply...as we read how you had done the two fan thing.

Unfortunately there is not enough room for another fan...but there is room for a larger diameter...and presumably stronger, fan where the existing one is.
The existing fan has MW-71OH12S .30A written on it...none of which makes any sense to us .

So....how big can we go...so all we have to do is unplug this one from the circuit board and plug in another?

Overheating aside...we agree with you that compressor fridges are far less complicated than the 3-ways.

[beanpole]

Neddy has made mention of cool air. If you can get the coolest air possible, this comes from under the bus. It may be possible to make a ducting system to the back of the fridge with a flapper in it to keep out the dust when travelling.
Gordon
#9835

[Neddy]

So....how big can we go...so all we have to do is unplug this one from the circuit board and plug in another?

Go as big as you can - you have quite limiting physical constraints so probably can't go very much bigger than the existing fan.
Make sure you get a 12 volt fan and that it doesn't exceed 4 watts in power. Most firms quote the volume of air that the fan can shift and also how much noise it makes (measured in dB, less is better). It should be an easy, straight swap, but you might need to fit the plug from the old fan onto the new - or do a bit of soldering.
Dick Smith, Jaycar and other NZ firms have fans in stock, but if you want bottom dollar its hard to beat DealExtreme. Their fans start at around $3! If you have any concerns over selecting a suitable fan, you can buy one for your CF-25 from firms such as AllVolts. $35. Australian.......

[Rosemary&Peter]

Thank you Neddy...we are going into Jaycar soon....so we at least now know what to ask for.

The wee CF 25 does not have a lot of spare room in the inner workings...and we may have to do slightly more than remove the grille to get the old fan out...some efficient person has cable tied it to the back of the compressor...so we will need to remove some more screws

Gordon...very good idea...getting more cool air to the fridge....but the thought of putting a hole in the floor...

The fridge sits on a wee shelf behind the drivers seat....so thinking of making shelf higher so the fridge can be ventilated by an open window.

[Rosemary&Peter]

Old fan now replaced with genuine waeco part($47). I would love to say process was smooth and without drama...who has hands that small???

However with the help of no.2 son, all is well...running quieter than the original...and considering the fact our batteries are knackered and the solar panel is temporarly gone...we plugged the little fridge in and off she went...cooling down to frozen within the hour.

Thank you for the advice guys.