Computer fans for ventilation

[Jim Wortelhock]

I'm new to narrowboating but have been a motorhomer for 10 years.  I have used computer fans to help cool gas and compressor fridges in summer in NZ. 

I have ordered a couple of fans off ebay which I intend to fit inside the mushroom vent in the galley and dinette. I hope to ease condensation caused by the use of the propane oven and hob.

Although it cannot compete with a dedicated extractor, I think it's worth experiment. 

Any thoughts? 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

10 minutes ago, Jim Wortelhock said:

I'm new to narrowboating but have been a motorhomer for 10 years.  I have used computer fans to help cool gas and compressor fridges in summer in NZ. 

I have ordered a couple of fans off ebay which I intend to fit inside the mushroom vent in the galley and dinette. I hope to ease condensation caused by the use of the propane oven and hob.

Although it cannot compete with a dedicated extractor, I think it's worth experiment. 

Any thoughts? 

A common technique. A search will give plenty of threads. For fridge compressor cooling, people cut holes in the floor boarding and fit fans to draw cool air from the boats bilge and blow it over the coils. Sometimes synced to run only when the compressor is to save power.

Fans in the ceiling vents will actually reduce the ventilation when they are not turning. A running fan is consuming power, which is in short supply on board. Opening a window, or hatch will work too for getting rid of cooking condensation.

Jen

Edited December 16, 2020 by Jen-in-Wellies

[BEngo]

I have had a computer fan in the shower space mushroom vent  for 30 odd years.  For an electrical cost about 5-7 Amp minutes per shower if is well worth the reduction in condensation there.  There is another in the kitchen, but that is less effective, probably because the kitchen is a less confined space.

N

[PaulD]

1 hour ago, BEngo said:

I have had a computer fan in the shower space mushroom vent  for 30 odd years.  For an electrical cost about 5-7 Amp minutes per shower if is well worth the reduction in condensation there.  There is another in the kitchen, but that is less effective, probably because the kitchen is a less confined space.

N

Appreciate these days it' s advisory but a fan in the vent would affect the high level ventilation calculations.

[OldGoat]

I have old fashioned computer mainframe type 24v  fans which I run at 12v (too pwerful at 24) and have them in both loo / bathrooms, fridge location and kitchen. They've been going for at least 20 years without problems - but I do have spares...

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

I have old fashioned computer mainframe type 24v  fans which I run at 12v (too pwerful at 24) and have them in both loo / bathrooms, fridge location and kitchen. They've been going for at least 20 years without problems - but I do have spares...

 

Better to have and never need, than need, and never have.

[IanD]

If you're going to do this, best to choose fans which are protected against dust/water and designed for long lifetimes and decent airflow, like the Noctua IndustrialPPC series -- 2000rpm for extraction, or 3000rpm if you want a gale and don't mind the noise...

 

https://noctua.at/en/products/product-lines/line-industrial

[Slim]

I have 2 bog (sorry) standard 12v computer fans in my bathroom. 1 in the shower and 1 above the toilet. They are both inside standard mushroom vents secured with dabs of silicone. Both switched by a 3 way switch fed from the light circuit and a very small dedicated solar panel. Worked for the last 15 years with no issues.

[Jim Wortelhock]

Wow! Great responses to my question. 20 plus years from a computer fan?That's good going. I thought I'd do well getting a couple of years out of a 12 volt fan.

[billh]

A bank of six 12v fans in the pigeon box above the engine, ventilates any fumes there. I think they came from a Sun Microsystems server. The fan frames are aluminium  and sometimes get rained on, but don't seem to mind. We had two more under the cabin mushroom vents but they were not very effective so removed. Fans are about the only computer parts that are any use on a boat. More interesting are  the aircraft electrical parts such as  ex WW2  bomber switches  and indicator lamps and ex railway locomotive parts incorporated into the vessel.?

[IanD]

9 minutes ago, Jim Wortelhock said:

Wow! Great responses to my question. 20 plus years from a computer fan?That's good going. I thought I'd do well getting a couple of years out of a 12 volt fan.

The Noctua industrial fans have an MTBF of 150000 hours, which is 17 years running 24h a day -- and the IP67 rated ones are not only completely dust tight but waterproof up to 1m water depth, which should come in handy if your boat sinks... ?

[billh]

15 minutes ago, IanD said:

The Noctua industrial fans have an MTBF of 150000 hours, which is 17 years running 24h a day -- and the IP67 rated ones are not only completely dust tight but waterproof up to 1m water depth, which should come in handy if your boat sinks... ?

So, fitted in the roof  and set going in the right direction  they could re-float the boat?

Edited December 16, 2020 by billh

[ditchcrawler]

20 minutes ago, Jim Wortelhock said:

Wow! Great responses to my question. 20 plus years from a computer fan?That's good going. I thought I'd do well getting a couple of years out of a 12 volt fan.

I have 3 X 12 volt ones in the floor behind the fridge all connected in series and running on 24 volts, they are on all the time we are onboard.

[Slim]

1 hour ago, Slim said:

I have 2 bog (sorry) standard 12v computer fans in my bathroom. 1 in the shower and 1 above the toilet. They are both inside standard mushroom vents secured with dabs of silicone. Both switched by a 3 way switch fed from the light circuit and a very small dedicated solar panel. Worked for the last 15 years with no issues.

Forgot to mention the 2 in the kitchen sucking air from behind the fridge and the 2 in the aft cabin behind the finair elements blowing warm(ish) air out. The 2 in the kitchen are wired to a switch in parallel whilst the 2 in the aft cabin via a 3 way off/1/both. These 2 also ventilate the bilge where any water might drain.

I like 12v computer fans

I  

[matty40s]

2 hours ago, IanD said:

If you're going to do this, best to choose fans which are protected against dust/water and designed for long lifetimes and decent airflow, like the Noctua IndustrialPPC series -- 2000rpm for extraction, or 3000rpm if you want a gale and don't mind the noise...

 

https://noctua.at/en/products/product-lines/line-industrial

I hardly think my approx £3 for a cheap Maplins computer fan  9 years ago was a bad choice.

[IanD]

13 minutes ago, matty40s said:

I hardly think my approx £3 for a cheap Maplins computer fan  9 years ago was a bad choice.

Didn't say it was, so long as it carries on working. If using it to extract from a shower I'd pick something more suited to the job (and admittedly more expensive), but whatever floats your boat... ?

[matty40s]

35 minutes ago, IanD said:

Didn't say it was, so long as it carries on working. If using it to extract from a shower I'd pick something more suited to the job (and admittedly more expensive), but whatever floats your boat... ?

I'm not sure it would, but then, I wouldnt put it in that difficult position.?

[Momac]

I bought a cheap desktop usb fan (must have been in 2019) which has a surprising benefit in circulating air . Not the best time of year to find them in the shops

https://www.homebargains.co.uk/products/15429-status-coolbreeze-4-usb-mini-fan.aspx

.

[Alan de Enfield]

9 minutes ago, MartynG said:

I bought a cheap desktop usb fan (must have been in 2019) which has a surprising benefit in circulating air . Not the best time of year to find them in the shops

https://www.homebargains.co.uk/products/15429-status-coolbreeze-4-usb-mini-fan.aspx

.

 

I picked one up a couple of years ago at one of those "end of lines factory shops" £2.99

Mine is a 'pillar-box' red.

 

They do move a surpring amount of air drawing roughly 0.4 amps (at 5v)

Edited December 16, 2020 by Alan de Enfield

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I picked one up a couple of years ago at one of those "end of lines factory shops" £2.99

Mine is a 'pillar-box' red.

 

They do move a surpring amount of air drawing roughly 0.4 amps (at 5v)

 

What they move more air than an Ecofan?

 

I don't believe it! ???

Edited December 16, 2020 by cuthound
Spillung

[Jim Wortelhock]

On 16/12/2020 at 14:18, IanD said:

If you're going to do this, best to choose fans which are protected against dust/water and designed for long lifetimes and decent airflow, like the Noctua IndustrialPPC series -- 2000rpm for extraction, or 3000rpm if you want a gale and don't mind the noise...

 

https://noctua.at/en/products/product-lines/line-industrial

My 60mm Noctua fan arrived yesterday and is running in the galley. The quietness belies the fact that it's shifting quite a bit of air. Expensive as fans go but the quality is there. Another cheaper fan is now fitted in the dinette and combined,  have cut down on condensation from cooking. 

Thanks for the heads up Ian.

[IanD]

37 minutes ago, Jim Wortelhock said:

My 60mm Noctua fan arrived yesterday and is running in the galley. The quietness belies the fact that it's shifting quite a bit of air. Expensive as fans go but the quality is there. Another cheaper fan is now fitted in the dinette and combined,  have cut down on condensation from cooking. 

Thanks for the heads up Ian.

60mm???

 

Noctua fans do seem to have a better airflow/noise tradeoff (and guaranteed lifetime) than anything else in the market, probably because they spend their time and money working on things like the bearings and the acoustics and airflow of the fan instead of pretty coloured LEDs and fancy packaging ?

Edited December 21, 2020 by IanD

[Detling]

On 16/12/2020 at 15:08, billh said:

A bank of six 12v fans in the pigeon box above the engine, ventilates any fumes there. I think they came from a Sun Microsystems server. The fan frames are aluminium  and sometimes get rained on, but don't seem to mind. We had two more under the cabin mushroom vents but they were not very effective so removed. Fans are about the only computer parts that are any use on a boat. More interesting are  the aircraft electrical parts such as  ex WW2  bomber switches  and indicator lamps and ex railway locomotive parts incorporated into the vessel.?

I used to have a similar set from a DEC. PDP11 very loud but created a Gale. Dread to think of the power consumption of a computer with less power than the one in my fridge to f!ash a few light and keep it cool.

[matty40s]

On 21/12/2020 at 14:19, Jim Wortelhock said:

My 60mm Noctua fan arrived yesterday and is running in the galley. The quietness belies the fact that it's shifting quite a bit of air. Expensive as fans go but the quality is there. Another cheaper fan is now fitted in the dinette and combined,  have cut down on condensation from cooking. 

Thanks for the heads up Ian.

Hi Jim, which fan did you buy, and how did you wire it, via switch, or direct from oven/hob??

 

I'm thinking of building a cooker hood, or adapting a hood shell, with twin 92mm fans out of a dedicated mushroom, after seeing the price of 12v cooker hoods!!

[Jim Wortelhock]

Hi. I managed to get a 12 volt feed from the overhead light then ran the wires to the mushroom vent half a metre away then via a neat, small switch from Bumble Solar. I used a 60mm fan, could have been bigger but it shifts a surprising amount of air. It's made quite a difference in the condensation.