Fan to help a gas fridge

[Deleted]

I recently scrapped an old computer and salvages 2 fans about 10cm square. They have very efficient 12v brushless motors drawing only 0.35A and 0.15A. The question is, where could I mount a fan to improve efficiency of my 3 way fridge. The easier option would be outside to improve dissipation of the hot air or inside the fridge to circulate cold air in the fridge?  I have seen other vans with an additional fan outside. There is certainly a lot of hot air to get rid of, relying only on convection.

[snoops]

I did exactly this on my Franklin back when I had it - I mounted 2 small computer fans outside the fridge, behind it so it pushed the hot air outside - made a MASSIVE difference in both fridge performance and how hot the interior of the van got - had them just on a switch and only turned them on when it got above around 28 or 30 as the van would heat up badly just with the fridge - the sink used to get almost too hot to touch on a hot day. With the fans on, the sink was barely warm - highly recommend doing this.

I fixed the issue for good in the Viscount by ditching the 3 way altogether and running a 12 volt Engel upright in it - keeps things heaps cooler in and out of the fridge, runs easily on my 12 volt and solar setup and uses no gas so I leave that off unless I'm cooking or heating water as that's all I use the gas for now.

[Deleted]

Thanks for that snoops. Since posting I have read other advice to correct the installation by filling the air voids around the sides and top of the fridge with insulation. I have now done this and also added a baffle to direct the hot air flow out the top vent. Someone else suggested removing the drip tray. Now thats done I'll do some tests before installing the fans.

[Mustang]

Definitely install the fans.

[snoops]

Yeah, all of what you've done is good, but the fans will make the fridge much cooler on the hot days where they really struggle to keep a beer cold.