Which Way Does Your Fan Blow?

Benesesso · 02-16-2013, 07:12 AM

Meaning your refrigerator's freezer section, that is. Does it blow forward over the food or backwards over the cooling plates/fins?

NICO · 02-16-2013, 07:21 AM

You able to access your fan without pulling the inner housing/trim panels from your freezer? Both my refrigerators have the fan inside the housing and I have no idea which side of the evaporator unit the fan is on. Sorry.

That said, it seems like it would make sense to pull air through the evaporator. At least it does in my mind's design section. Atmosphere side of the evap is wide open, freezer side is "plumbed" similar to a shroud/radiator in an older auto engine bay.

Benesesso · 02-16-2013, 07:46 AM

On this old Hotpoint, the alum. fan blades are visible. Unfortunately the fan motor must have burned out, when the guys in my lab. let ice fill up the whole freezer area, which stopped the fan from spinning--for a few years while I was in Italy.

Agree with the heat flow idea, but I'd like a few confirmations. It doesn't look easy to replace the fan, and the minute I do the compressor will die.

rapidoxidationman · 02-16-2013, 07:59 AM

Which side of the fan blade edge shows the contamination that would indicate it is the leading edge of rotation?

NICO · 02-16-2013, 08:56 AM

Can you get some CPU cooling fans in the same vicinity? Not sure about the voltage issues, but you're a pretty smart feller and I'm sure it can't be that difficult to sort out. Myself, I'd just start a thread here and ask for someone else to figure it out for me.

Benesesso · 02-16-2013, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NICO

Can you get some CPU cooling fans in the same vicinity? Not sure about the voltage issues, but you're a pretty smart feller and I'm sure it can't be that difficult to sort out. Myself, I'd just start a thread here and ask for someone else to figure it out for me.

I have a small fan that would work. Have to use thin flat wire and run it over the door gasket. But it would only work well if the airflow is from the freezer to the cooling plate (blowing past the old fan).

Hoping someone will go open their freezer door and see which way the wind blows.

HeavyMetal · 02-17-2013, 12:40 PM

On my old Hotpoint the fan blows out over the food. Hope that helps!

Benesesso · 02-17-2013, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeavyMetal

On my old Hotpoint the fan blows out over the food. Hope that helps!

Thanks. After looking at the shape of the fan blades, I came to the same conclusion.

02-16-2013, 07:12 AM	#1
Benesesso ^OP Beastly Adventurer Joined: Jul 2008 Location: West of Phoenix, Arizona Oddometer: 8,501	Which Way Does Your Fan Blow? Meaning your refrigerator's freezer section, that is. Does it blow forward over the food or backwards over the cooling plates/fins? __________________ US out of the UN, UN out of the US.

02-16-2013, 07:21 AM	#2
NICO NWGS's pwner!1!!1! Joined: May 2006 Oddometer: 18,630	You able to access your fan without pulling the inner housing/trim panels from your freezer? Both my refrigerators have the fan inside the housing and I have no idea which side of the evaporator unit the fan is on. Sorry. That said, it seems like it would make sense to pull air through the evaporator. At least it does in my mind's design section. Atmosphere side of the evap is wide open, freezer side is "plumbed" similar to a shroud/radiator in an older auto engine bay. __________________

02-16-2013, 07:46 AM	#3
Benesesso ^OP Beastly Adventurer Joined: Jul 2008 Location: West of Phoenix, Arizona Oddometer: 8,501	On this old Hotpoint, the alum. fan blades are visible. Unfortunately the fan motor must have burned out, when the guys in my lab. let ice fill up the whole freezer area, which stopped the fan from spinning--for a few years while I was in Italy. Agree with the heat flow idea, but I'd like a few confirmations. It doesn't look easy to replace the fan, and the minute I do the compressor will die. __________________ US out of the UN, UN out of the US.

02-16-2013, 08:56 AM	#5
NICO NWGS's pwner!1!!1! Joined: May 2006 Oddometer: 18,630	Can you get some CPU cooling fans in the same vicinity? Not sure about the voltage issues, but you're a pretty smart feller and I'm sure it can't be that difficult to sort out. Myself, I'd just start a thread here and ask for someone else to figure it out for me. __________________

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02-17-2013, 12:40 PM	#7
HeavyMetal Adventurer Joined: Oct 2009 Oddometer: 20	On my old Hotpoint the fan blows out over the food. Hope that helps!