Fantastic Fan Question for RETRO 150

[Time Out]

Hello friends,

It's been nearly a year since I posted last...please forgive me for that. My wife and I very recently purchased a new 2014 Riverside White Water Retro 150 Tiny Travel Trailer. I have been going over the trailer with a fine tooth comb, repairing some items, adjusting others, adding a shelf, outlets, and converting hot halogen bulbs to new LED lamps throughout the entire trailer. You know, all the stuff that every one of you do when purchasing something new or used

There is one thing that I do have a question about though. Let me explain. There is a small Toilet/Shower room with a 14" x 14" vent opening at the top with a really small 'one speed, one direction' only exhaust fan. I have ordered a new model 4000R Fantastic Fan to replace the "Beanie and Cecil" propeller fan we have now. My plan is to cut an opening near the top of the wood door that opens to the shower room and cover it with a louvered vent. I figure the FF will pull in enough fresh air to pressurize the small room and force the air out through the louvered opening at the top of the door. This would be very nice when stopping at rest stops and such in order to cool off the trailer while relaxing, eating, etc. We could always open the shower door also, but it does stick out in the way though. Do you guys think this would work as well as I think it would?? We have the same fan in our Little Guy 6 wide and it pressurizes the TD quite well and really gets the air flowing when cracking a window. I'll try to post a few images of what I am asking about. Thanks to everyone who offers their thoughts, advice, suggestions or comments. All is appreciated!

Clyde and Linda
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[KCStudly]

I would think about putting the louvers near the bottom of the door. I know that sounds like water will splash down on to them, but from an air flow perspective, it would do a better job of venting the shower stall moisture when exhausting out, keeping more wet air out of the camper; whereas having the vent at the top of the door might let air pass through the space while allowing the moisture to settle and remain.

When blowing in, it is presumed that the showering (...and any other "smelly" operations) have been completed and previously vented out, so less of a concern.

You might go so far as to use both. One at the lower end with a "rain flap" on the inside, and a couple of those articulated dryer vents at the top, with the louvers on the cabin side.

That way when you are trying to exhaust moisture out the flap lifts and pulls from the bottom, and when you are trying to blow in, the louvers lift and the air wafts down from above.

Like a bi-directional check valve system.

What ever you do, make sure to fully seal the cutouts in the door before installing the vents.

[Time Out]

I would think about putting the louvers near the bottom of the door. I know that sounds like water will splash down on to them, but from an air flow perspective, it would do a better job of venting the shower stall moisture when exhausting out, keeping more wet air out of the camper; whereas having the vent at the top of the door might let air pass through the space while allowing the moisture to settle and remain.

When blowing in, it is presumed that the showering (...and any other "smelly" operations) have been completed and previously vented out, so less of a concern.

You might go so far as to use both. One at the lower end with a "rain flap" on the inside, and a couple of those articulated dryer vents at the top, with the louvers on the cabin side.

That way when you are trying to exhaust moisture out the flap lifts and pulls from the bottom, and when you are trying to blow in, the louvers lift and the air wafts down from above.

Like a by directional check valve system.

What ever you do, make sure to fully seal the cutouts in the door before installing the vents.

Thank you KC, for your great suggestions. I was going to quote a portion of your reply, but every word is worthy of "quoting"!

You understood completely where I was going with this little project and you added a great deal of food for thought. I never thought about using the air flow to vent the shower stall moisture. The dryer type vents with the flappers is also a good idea. You were correct about the "smelly" operations being finished before drawing fresh air in That crossed my mind too!

Well, the Fantastic Fan has been ordered, so I have 2 or 3 days to come up with a plan of action. So far, I think the by directional check valve might work pretty well. Hope I won't need a 'building permit' to do this installation KC, you have been a lot of help and you know, I think it's all going to turn out just fine.

Clyde

[KCStudly]

I'm glad that you think my idea has merit. Seeing my words quoted back, I see that I misused "by directional"; should have been bi-directional.

Also, I wonder if the dryer louvers might work just as well on the inside bottom; less likely to to tickle your ankles in a confined space, rather than a single flap of material that might require some experimentation to get to work right.

This is a bit of speculation on my part (I'm not an expert on fluid dynamics), but you might also want to compare the cross sectional areas of the fan and the louvers ducts. I suspect that you will want to have the area of the louvers be approximately the same as the fan, so you may need to use 2 or 3 of the little 3 or 4 inch louvers in each direction. Maybe start with whatever number is slightly less area, but leave enough room in your placement pattern to add another. If the louvers open fully and you sense a change in pressure in the room that indicates too much restriction you might want to add another. If the louvers just open part way, preferably just barely fully open, then they are not overly restrictive.

Might be worth making a test panel out of corrugated cardboard (that fits in the door opening when the real door is open. That way you can easily test different configurations and numbers of dryer vents before you commit. You could even use the same test panel to test both directions (with half as many vents purchased initially) simply by installing them in one of the locations, then flipping and turning the panel to test the other direction with a symmetrical location. Just some more mind dump. Not sure if it makes sense.

[Time Out]

I'm glad that you think my idea has merit. Seeing my words quoted back, I see that I misused "by directional"; should have been bi-directional.

Might be worth making a test panel out of corrugated cardboard (that fits in the door opening when the real door is open. That way you can easily test different configurations and numbers of dryer vents before you commit. You could even use the same test panel to test both directions (with half as many vents purchased initially) simply by installing them in one of the locations, then flipping and turning the panel to test the other direction with a symmetrical location. Just some more mind dump. Not sure if it makes sense.

KC, I caught the misuse of the word "by", but when I thought about using "bi", all I could think of was "bi-sexual" (don't have any idea where that came from) and decided not to use it

My brother is a 'Cardboard Artist' and I have a 'ton' of his cardboard stored upstairs in the garage. I could use a couple sheets of that to simulate the door. That's a good idea too! You might have to lay down for a while with a cold compress on your forehead after all that thinking!

It's been a load of fun chatting with you!

Clyde