Engel 40ltr fan

Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 15:03
ThreadID: 42049 Views:10101 Replies:7 FollowUps:6
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G'Day all,

Got my engel covers off for a bit of a blow out of dust etc before this weekends outing, as it was building up, and was looking at fan.....

I recall a few old posts which I cant find on upgrading the fan, which apparently increases condensor cooling and efficiency.

I seen the gpsoz one for fridges without fan, which describes a 12v mod,

Trouble is, its a 24v dc fan, so not so easy to find a 'slightly larger' one.

Checked tricky dicks (dse) but nothing , Jaycars offering in 24v is same size.

anyone done this mod and found a supplier of a suitable fan?

Ron
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Reply By: Leroy - Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 15:48

Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 15:48
Ron, go to Site Link they may have a fan for you. I have bought fans from them in years gone by and bought the Papst brand but haven't for years. They have numerous 24v fans with dimensions also. Look for the ones the move the most air!

Leroy
AnswerID: 220181

Follow Up By: Leroy - Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 16:03

Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 16:03
hmm link didn't work. Not to worry. type in 'fan' in the desc.

Leroy
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Follow Up By: Ron173 - Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 16:05

Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 16:05
Cheers Leroy,
will look em up.

Someone did it before on here, took the 70mm out and put in a 90mm, reckoned it was a significant improvement in runtimes when v hot. Idea being it pushes bit more air over condenser, improving its efficiency, and reducing the cycling time.

The 70mm pushes 39cfm, so if i can improve on that would be good.

Obviously you cant go too far up or the fan draws too much and the whole mod becomes invalid.

Figured it'd be a simple add on whilst in here cleaning out.

Rgds

Ron
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Reply By: TroopyTracker - Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 17:17

Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 17:17
Ron,
Not much help here, wanting your help actually. Our 40 litre engel's fan has been making some horrid noises for about 2 years (has been in car and on nearly constantly for about 6 years). I heard people just pluck them rather than fix and was intending to do so. My question is , how hard is it to get to the fan??

While I'm in there I might aswell do something similar re the upgrade.

Thanks

Matt
AnswerID: 220193

Follow Up By: Ron173 - Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 07:31

Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 07:31
Matt

to get to the fan is simple, about 8 screws n cover lifts off, its there in front of you.

takes about 2 mins to get to.

Mines out of warranty anyway so no issues about opening it, but glad I did, lots of dust which needed cleaning up.

If nothing else my original fan will run better now it doesnt have a mm of dust on blades.

Ron
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 17:51

Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 17:51
Ron,

If it aint broke, why try to fix it?

You are asking for trouble. The Engel doesn't need any mods.
Bill


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AnswerID: 220198

Follow Up By: Ron173 - Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 07:35

Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 07:35
I'd agree to a point, but I'm only doing what others have done and fitting a marginally higher CFM fan, which will remove more hot air and aid its efficiency.

Its no big drama, nor measurably bigger current draw.

Ron
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Reply By: ferris - Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 17:55

Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 17:55
G'day Ron,

My 60 litre Engel was struggling while we were in Arnhmen Land, so I tried to upgrade by putting an extra fan in. It wasn't expensive to do, but took a bit of fiddling around. First problem Engel fridges run on 24 volts AC, not DC that we are used to. Trying to get 24 volt fans at a reasonable price is hopeless. Instead I obtained a rectifier from an autoelec to convert it to 24 volts DC, I then got two 12 volt fans from Dick Smiths and wired them together in series, and cable tied this inside the top of the grill. I connected all this to the existing fan, and the whole thing runs well. On a hot day, the amount of warm air being extracted from the rear of the fridge is amazing. I haven't measured the running time, but I believe it has been reduced substantially, while the additional current draw is around 400ma. Hope that helps.

Keep the shiny side up
Ferris
AnswerID: 220200

Follow Up By: Ron173 - Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 07:40

Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 07:40
Thanks for that, think my psu must be different its an anniversary model, as the fan thats currently fitted, is clearly marked 24v dc.

Your post shows though that it is a worthwhile mod to make.

Plus I'm an addict for tinkering to get the best out of things, and its fun.

Ron
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FollowupID: 480872

Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 18:17

Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 18:17
I fitted a 12v computer fan to my older 39 litre engel, and hooked it up to acc power, so it only runs when the vehicle is going, or I have left the key on acc.

My current series 40 litre engel has the inbuilt fan, but it never seems to turn on - maybe theres a problem? Reckon I'll swap it for another 12 volt computer fan and wire it up to acc power as well.

My thinking is that the fan is only useful during the day when the temps up and the vehicle is closed,and the power consumption of the fan, while not a lot, is better restricted to when the motor is running.
AnswerID: 220213

Reply By: raunchy - Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 23:11

Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 23:11
Buy a Waeco, already have a good fan and cant fault then after 7 years
AnswerID: 220499

Follow Up By: Ron173 - Thursday, Feb 08, 2007 at 17:29

Thursday, Feb 08, 2007 at 17:29
I had a waeco before my Engel, and without getting into a debate with you, the Engel is without doubt a better performer.

I have the turbo fan model, and its perfectly ok, I'm just (as usual) following my tinkering streak, striving to get the absolute best out of my gear.

By adding a small fan which uses hardly any power, you can greatly improve things further, by getting more air away from the condensor, and get a lower temp quicker using less battery power, as compressor doesnt run so long. (even inc extra fan useage)

As fans cost bout $10, its fun to experiment, thats all.

You'd prob find you could improve your waeco efficiency too this way.

see this post for more great info on this topic 42059.

Rgds

Ron
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Reply By: greybeard - Thursday, Feb 08, 2007 at 17:39

Thursday, Feb 08, 2007 at 17:39
i did some experimenting awhile ago with a supercheap fridge ( Site Link ). Whilst it wasn't an engel or Waeco the principles are the same. I would expect the that the more common fridges would have a better initial efficiency than the supercheap.
I have done similar on a 3 way finch fridge we had for years ( finally died after running 24*7 for nearly 20 years! ).
if people do experiment it woudl be great if they could actually measure/document what they did.
AnswerID: 220596

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