Fan in the freezer. Good Idea or Bad?

[zeehag]

friend did that in the fridge of his wetsnail and was very happy with results.

[Richard Kollmann]

Iceboxes and refrigerators generally use some type of a spillover to provide a degree of temperature separation. Top loading boxes in sailboats require a different approach than front door boxes as evaporator freezer section can not be above refrigerator section. Over the years top loading side by side refrigerated boxes has gone through several spillover concepts. First tried was different heat conducting materials used in divider between temperature zones, next was height of divider. Next came adjustable openings in divider. Later holes in top and bottom of divider drilled to accommodate standard size cork plugs.
Because of the ever changing ambient temperatures inside and outside a boat and less than perfect heat conducting box insulation the delta temperature between refrigerator and freezer was unstable.

Maintaining two refrigerated areas with regulated temperatures with single evaporator control was attempted in 1960 home refrigerators by using a non electric thermostat door with some success but still relied on conduction of heat movement from warm to cooler area. The final solution to spillover different zones came later and is still in use in home refrigerators today. In 1990 I started designing thermostatically controlled fan spillover systems for boat boxes selling for $30. At that time I purchased 200 three inch 12 volt fans rated at 35 cfm consuming ¼ amp. Over time I found out that 35cfm was too large for most pleasure boat spillover boxes and went to a one inch square Radio Shack 10 cfm fan.

Changing Information or clarification revisions not covered in my books can be found on my web site. Click on FANS for more information on spillover refrigeration.

[Sardean]

Suggest you run a circulation fan in the freezer, only when the compressor is running. Run a second independent fan for the fridge controlled by its own thermostat. This will give long cycle times and consistent fridge temperature.

[ErikFinn]

Thank you for kind replies guys n gals

[Jubilee39]

I just completely rebuilt my 25 yr old refrigeration. The original system used two seafrost holding plates with a hole for a damper in the bottom of a plywood divider between fridge and freezer and a corresponfing gap at the top. Holding plates developed a leak so I made two new ones added insulation to the divider and closed the gap at the top. I installed a fan and thermostat to blow on one plate and the air is returned back to the fridge. It is a fairly large system but running off a BD 5 air cooled unit. The performance is markedly better with the fan. I used to have things freeze in the bottom of the fridge. Now both temps are fairly constant, freezer is at -12C and fridge about 6 C. Amp draw is within capacity of solar panels and battery bank so all runs when I leave the boat for a week or two.

I am in Talagi, Langkawi if you want to discuss more.