Fantastic Fans

[Off Grid Rving]

Though I wish I could have gotten a fantastic fan earlier, around the summer when it was super hot!

it can never be too late though. Fantasticvent.com is sending me a 6000rbta for the Ogre Rv!

I cannot wait to get it installed. And it will be a fun install because there is currently 4 inches of snow on the roof of the Ogre.

Tell us your experiences with your very own Fantastic Fans.
Lets see some pic's too.

[fromeo]

Nick,

Come warmer weather you will love it and kick yourself for not springing for it from day one.

I put one in our 24' trailer last year and even on low it does it great job of pulling air through the rig. I used the entry-level "Create-A-Breeze" model. It's decent on the battery too, mine measured out at (low/med/high): 1.39, 1.77, and 2.16 A.

With the current build I had one in the list immediately. My brother was not too thrilled with the $100 price tag, but got over that 5 minutes after it was turned on for the first time. We actually used it every day we worked on the trailer after the roof was framed, powered by an old 12v supply I had hanging around. It had to drop 10-15 degrees in there with the fan going.

One thing I will recommend is one of the vent covers for over it so you can run it in the rain. I have no problems with it running through a Maxx-Air 2, and there's some other ones out there also designed for fan service.


Here's some pics of the fan from the build now that it is permanently installed:

(All the way in the rear on the right)


(And from the inside)


- Frank

[Trentb]

So are these just a regular style vent with a high speed/high flow fan? or am I missing something?

[alffink]

Hard to put into words, it's really something that needs to be compared.
But really there is no comparison, between the Fantastic fan and a regular powered vent.

The fantastic fan, can produce quite a bit of wind noise in a tear and should be slowed down. there are at least two different threads on how to put a resistor in the circuit to do just that.

One of the suppliers even has a kit for this purpose.

[Off Grid Rving]

So are these just a regular style vent with a high speed/high flow fan? or am I missing something?

the one I am getting has a thermostat control, so in the summer it will auto kick on when it gets too hot in here.
it auto closes up when detects rain and numerous other features!

[Trentb]

So are these just a regular style vent with a high speed/high flow fan? or am I missing something?

the one I am getting has a thermostat control, so in the summer it will auto kick on when it gets too hot in here.
it auto closes up when detects rain and numerous other features!

Well that's pretty neat.



Just looking at the few pictures I've seen the fan part looked a lot like the aux radiator fans you can buy. and I know those can be bought pretty cheap on ebay and such figured one could retro fit an exsisting vent with one.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FLEXALIT ... 4cf3a28e25

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Hard to put into words, it's really something that needs to be compared.
But really there is no comparison, between the Fantastic fan and a regular powered vent.

The fantastic fan, can produce quite a bit of wind noise in a tear and should be slowed down. there are at least two different threads on how to put a resistor in the circuit to do just that.

One of the suppliers even has a kit for this purpose.

Fantastic Fans are excellent! But I wouldn't dream of slowing down my fan! It does create a little wind noise, but its SOOOOO nice on a hot summer day!

[cracker39]

Just looking at the few pictures I've seen the fan part looked a lot like the aux radiator fans you can buy. and I know those can be bought pretty cheap on ebay and such figured one could retro fit an exsisting vent with one.

Every radiator fan I've heard were very noisy as no one cares how loud they are because they're still quieter than the running engine. The Fantastic fan is designed for low relatively noise levels. I had one in the Squidget and will put one in the PT. I buy the 5000BT from Scott Adohen for $156.99 shipped. That model has 3-speeds, reversible air flow, and thermostat.

I LOVE 'EM.

[aggie79]

One of these days, I'll have my Fantastic Fan installed with a PWM controller and will report on how it works.

[mskobier]

aggie79,
I am in the process of doing a CT conversion. I have also purchased a Fantastic Fan. As with most anything I get, I can not resist playing with it. So I hooked the fan up to a 12v battery and turned it on. It does indeed move a lot of air! Even on the low setting it moves plenty of air. Unfortunately, moving a lot of air usually causes a lot of noise. Which it does. Even on the low setting it is noisier than I liked. I understand that the speed switch is really nothing more than a resistor placed in series with the fan motor to reduce the current. Anyway, I got to thinking about the PWM controllers for LED lighting. There are several available, and prety cheap too. So I purchased two different PWM controllers on Ebay. Here are the results.

PWM #1 Rated at 8 amps.
PWM #2 Rated at 6 amps.

Both were able to reduce the fan speed down to a crawl. Unfortunately, there is a major problem. With the pulsing of the PWM controller and the fan motor being a permant magnet type with commutaor and brushes, the combination sets up a terrible vibration. So much so, that it is even louder than the fan itself! So this is not a viable option.

So the current options.

1. Installl a higher value resistor in line for the low setting and call it good.

2. Possibly place a fairly large value electrolytic capacitor in parallel with the motor leads and the PWM controller. This would have the effect of smoothing out the PWM current. I have not yet tried this method, but it should reduce or eliminate the vibration of the fan by supplying voltage between pulses of the PWM.

Well, that about sums up the issue. At this time, I would not spend the money for a PWM controller to run the fan.

Mitch

[Shadow Catcher]

Or you use a couple of three speed computer case fans with no need for PMW, less than 1 amp, less noise and a whole lot less $$$.

[doug hodder]

I've installed 4 of them in previous tears, just the basic ones, no remotes....I'm glad I did and the new owners of those trailers seem to like them as well. If you turn it down on low, so that it draws air through the windows, with some curtains on the windows, the air hits the curtains and dumps it on you, it brings cool air in over you while you sleep. Worked well for me at Minden Ne. when it was way humid and hot at night...No grinding/cycling of a window shaker AC. On low, I found it wasn't a big noise nuisance, and could sleep easily with it, however it didn't drown out the every 60 minute UP freight train going through town. Doug

[bdosborn]

I had PC fans in the teardrop and they were useless because they didn't draw enough air to feel a breeze. We have an Endless Breeze (Fantastic Fan in a box) for the Boxcar and it works much better. We hang it from a window and it blows air across us and out the window behind us. Doug's right, the air moving directly across you really helps. We always run ours on low and I kind of like the noise. Its works like a white noise generator for me.

Bruce

[LDK]

I had PC fans in the teardrop and they were useless because they didn't draw enough air to feel a breeze. We have an Endless Breeze (Fantastic Fan in a box) for the Boxcar and it works much better. We hang it from a window and it blows air across us and out the window behind us. Doug's right, the air moving directly across you really helps. We always run ours on low and I kind of like the noise. Its works like a white noise generator for me.

Bruce

Bruce
How big is the endless breeze fan? I bought a regular (vent) for my camper and even though I'm not done with my build, I kinda regret that move. I was thinkin if that fan is small enough, I could use it in my camper.
Thanks

[Shadow Catcher]

Bruce
our MM is 400 cubic feet and we had no problem with the 120mm case fans by Antec and never ran them more than half speed they were in the over head vent and blew in, flip the bracket and they blew out.