Refrigerator fan upgrade

Well, the second unit, in as many years, has failed. The small 12V computer cooling fans start slowing down and making noise. The sleeve style bearing has given out. Now when this thing is working it is great. The refer stays colder, with little or no hot spots and the coils don't ice up. But having to replace them every year or so is not an option in my opinion. At first I thought I would just try to replace the fans with new ones, maybe even ones with ball bearings. Most of the replacements I found were anywhere from $3 to $7 each and no guarantee they would hold up any better. In my search for new fans I came across a new product that claimed to be the solution. It's pricey, but if I don't have to replace it every year maybe it will be worth it. It was easy to install. I opted for routing the +12V wire out the same access hole with the thermistor wire to the back of the unit and using the supplies wire splice to tap into the +12V at the circuit board. The -12V wire has a clip that pushes onto one of the cooling fins. The unit itself is held in place with two big square pieces of Velcro. Obviously, it's too soon to tell if it was worth the cost but I'm liking it so far. It looks as if it were designed from the factory as opposed to the clip-on ones I had before. I'll do an update at some future point on how it's holding up. If you're interested in reading more about it here is the link. http://shop.smartrvproducts.com I have no affiliation or interest in this. Just reporting my observations so far.

Kim

This is the new unit installed in my refer.
 


This is similar to the original eBay fan unit I had except mine was blue and had an alligator clip to hold it to the cooling fins and provide the -12V ground.