If you’ve never experienced issues with a refrigerator – or things didn’t get cold enough, you are probably wondering why you would put a battery operated fan in your fridge. Don’t they just freeze anyway? Well, we are about to explain a few things to you.

RV fridges can be set up a little differently. Hence the need for some help keeping your food cool for long periods. They also represent a relatively inexpensive and easy way to adjust your appliances without buying a whole new one.

There are many battery operated RV fridge fans out there. These cool items keep your fridge cooler than the fridge alone. Let’s go into reasons why would you want one and show you a few we like.

Why would I need a battery operated RV fridge fan?

One of the main goals of a typical RV fridge is to use as little energy as possible while cooling food. This can involve using smaller motors for a smaller area, or even using propane to evaporate heat in a different process than standard refrigeration.

Especially when your fridge is full, this means that your milk, juice, and foods might not be as cold as you want them. A lack of serious chiliness doesn’t normally help food safety itself, as the temperature range should be 40 degrees, but a fan could help speed up the cool down without pushing the fridge or your electrical too hard.

Does your fridge cool slowly?

A battery powered fan could help spread and push the cool air around more quickly. Ever notice how pleasant you feel sitting next to a fan in the summer, even with the air conditioner off? Your food will get this effect too.

Save on electricity or gas

Especially for off the grid camping with an electric fridge, this helps. You can raise your fridge temperature a bit to make it run less often – and accompany it with a battery powered fan that only needs occasional recharging versus a constant flow of electricity.

Hot Weather

Hot weather can make a fridge heat up faster and require more electricity to keep up. There are other options including a battery powered fan to ensure your food stays cold when temperatures rise.

What are some options for battery powered fridge fans?

Titan 12 Volt DC Double Rack Mount Fan

This fridge fan is slid onto the vents in the back of fridge. The Titan is among the best because it features 6 cool settings including an automatic setting which works well enough for most. It’s also water and dust proof, so it can sit at the back of your fridge for a long time without gunk affecting its performance. 

The Titan is also more expensive than average, but well worth it to keep your fridge cool under many functional conditions without worrying about burning it out.

Valterra Fridge Cool Fan

The Valterra is a bit more flexible and installs either on the exhaust vent or inside the fridge on the main vent. The difference between the Valterra and the Titan is both in a lesser price and a couple unique abilities. First, the Valterra is more designed to handle hot days by being installed on the exhaust vent and pushing warm air out faster.

The Valterra also has a thermostat that can keep it off when the temperature is below 80 degrees but turns on above that – that way you don’t waste battery when the RV is already a normal temperature. 

While it doesn’t take up a lot of space, some RV owners will appreciate being able to install this fan on the outside – and it still has quiet operation so you don’t sound like you have a jet in your kitchen.

Camco Fridge Airator

Want a smaller fan for a smaller fridge? Camco has you covered with a fridge fan that has about a month long battery. 

The Camco is cheaper and smaller than other options, but comes with a charcoal filter to capture bad smells too. The only downsides for the Camco are that it’s not automatic and some found it’s on and off switch to be hard to reach when installed on the rear vent fins.

Best of all, this one is generally cheaper than the rest though it does need monthly small maintenance. 

Strong Quiet

Strong Quiet is an apt description for this fan, too. It’s strong and gives you a worry free experiencing while not making your fridge excessively loud. 

The Strong Quiet lacks a thermostat so it is a manual off and on, but it’s great for the price and purpose of keeping the fridge consistently cold.

What is important to you for a fridge fan?

Given the above, how often do you want to change out batteries? Do you want to be able to connect the fan to your fridge’s power? 

Most of the above fans generally work well – it’s a matter of much extra you want to pay for the convenience of basically forgetting about the fan and letting it do its job. 

If you live in a rather hot area that also does cool down, a fan with a thermostat is your best bet because you don’t really need it to run all year round.

If your fridge is not cooling as well as you want, any of the above can work and stay on full time too – which gives you time to shop for a fridge while assuring your fridge stays cool enough before you replace it.

Things to do in addition to a fan

The fan can do lots by itself, but there are more things you can do to keep the fridge cool.

• Place a curtain in front of the fridge, especially if the fridge’s location is in direct sunlight
• Instal a stainless steel magnet to reflect heat away from the fridge.
• Clean out the fridge exhaust fans and the evaporator coils (on the back) to ensure the fridge is capable of cooling efficiently.

These are fairly cheap and easy methods of making the fridge even more efficient and help use less fan battery.

Conclusion

A fridge fan can certainly help people who’s refrigerators need a little help cooling down and staying cool, especially on hot days, or when the fridge is stuffed full. 

Battery power has also come a long way from huge, inefficient batteries. Smaller batteries, including lithium ion and AA push smaller, more efficient motors. Even the smallest battery powered fans only require a battery once a month.

The above information will hopefully help you solve your fridge’s cooling problems.