Fans

[pwl]

I am thinking about putting one or two extractor fans in a narrowboat. I am thinking over the galley to vent steam / smells / heat and one in the bathroom. I can think of advantages and disadvantages to both powered and solar.

 

Solar

- no battery drain

- can vent the boat even when it is not in use

however

- in the shorter days will pull heat out of boat so wasting some of the gas used by the Aldi

- in the shorter days it wont vent steam when cooking in the evening as it needs sun

Powered

- can be used any time of the day or night

- uses power

- more work to install

bowever

- can only use it when on the boat

- battery drain

 

What do people think and any recomended makes or to be avoided makes?

 

P

[Yoda]

I am thinking about putting one or two extractor fans in a narrowboat. I am thinking over the galley to vent steam / smells / heat and one in the bathroom. I can think of advantages and disadvantages to both powered and solar.

 

Solar

- no battery drain

- can vent the boat even when it is not in use

however

- in the shorter days will pull heat out of boat so wasting some of the gas used by the Aldi

- in the shorter days it wont vent steam when cooking in the evening as it needs sun

Powered

- can be used any time of the day or night

- uses power

- more work to install

bowever

- can only use it when on the boat

- battery drain

 

What do people think and any recomended makes or to be avoided makes?

 

When else would you want to use it?

 

Get a solar array to charge your batteries, then no worries!

Edited January 24, 2008 by Yoda

[pwl]

When else would you want to use it?

 

Get a solar array to charge your batteries, then no worries!

 

Solar array is in plan but first I need to fund a full epoxy blacking with shotblasting as preperation (The last owner just kept painting over the rust. Also have to have the engine removed and fully serviced. Going to be expensive

 

P

[tosher]

I use 120cm 12v x 0.25amp computer cooling fans, one in the galley mushroom vent and one in the bathroom mushroom vent. They cost less than a fiver and last for 30k hours. The one in the galley is on a simple on/off switch and the one in the bathroom is on a timer switch (stops after 10 minutes). They work very well, draw little current and cheap as chips. tosher

[denboy]

Solar array is in plan but first I need to fund a full epoxy blacking with shotblasting as preperation (The last owner just kept painting over the rust. Also have to have the engine removed and fully serviced. Going to be expensive

 

P

curious why remove the engine for a service ? or is it sick and needs fixing

[pwl]

curious why remove the engine for a service ? or is it sick and needs fixing

 

See what Calcutt say but it gives out white smoke even when warm and looks like it has never been cleaned since it was installed. If it cam out it could also get a good clean and I can get the rest of the crap out the engine room. I just priced up a remove and semi rebuild (worst case scenario). If it can be fixed with a simple service I will have cash for the panel.

 

P

[chris w]

I use 120cm 12v x 0.25amp computer cooling fans, one in the galley mushroom vent and one in the bathroom mushroom vent. They cost less than a fiver and last for 30k hours. The one in the galley is on a simple on/off switch and the one in the bathroom is on a timer switch (stops after 10 minutes). They work very well, draw little current and cheap as chips. tosher

 

 

I use exactly the same fans and set-up Tosher. They work a treat. I actually installed the more expensive brushless fans as they are quieter and are supposed to last even longer. However, the penalty is the price. They rise from a frugal £5 each to a massive £6.99 each. Got mine from Maplins.

 

Chris

[Keeping Up]

I am thinking about putting one or two extractor fans in a narrowboat. I am thinking over the galley to vent steam / smells / heat and one in the bathroom. I can think of advantages and disadvantages to both powered and solar.

The solar ones are not very powerful at all. We've got one for continuous background ventilation in the cabin, which is just fine, but we use a powered one in the bathroom because the solar one would have no noticeable effect on the steam from a shower

[DHutch]

Yeah, the solar ones seam fairly gimicky really.

- Get a fairly wafty pair of computer fans, and then consider solor pannels as a later indipendant decision.

- The draw of even two large ish pc fans runing even most of the day wont be very much compaired to lighting etc.

 

 

Daniel

[Yoda]

Why arn't you using solar through battery? Thats how they are more efficient.

[blackrose]

Solar powered fans seem like a good idea, but all the owners of all the ones I've seen say they don't work or are so puny they're a waste of time. Even if they did work, the thing I'd like to know about them is what happens on a freezing but bright sunny morning? Do they come on and start taking heat out of the boat?

 

I would avoid ECS fans - in my experience they're bloody expensive and crap. I replaced them with Manrose 12v Extract-a-lite fans which so far seem to be very good.

[dor]

If using computer fans, note that not all fans are equal. Check the current rating on the spec plate; they vary from about 0.1 amp to 0.6 amps (and some are 230VAC). This will give you some idea of their suckability.

[Keeping Up]

Solar powered fans seem like a good idea, but all the owners of all the ones I've seen say they don't work or are so puny they're a waste of time.

I've got a solar fan in the bedroom and it does its job there very well, improving the ventilation at all times (even if we have turned all the electrics off when are not on the boat). In that respect it is not 'so puny as to be a waste of time', its effect is quite noticeable. It has a small built-in rechargeable battery which measns that in the summer it runs 24/7; in the winter it usually slows down and stops before midnight.

 

On the other hand, it would be totally inadequate for the job of removing steam from the bathroom or galley; we have a 12v fan in the roof vent for that.

[DHutch]

If using computer fans, note that not all fans are equal. Check the current rating on the spec plate; they vary from about 0.1 amp to 0.6 amps (and some are 230VAC). This will give you some idea of their suckability.

Also most actaully quote the cfm they can shift, which is again a good indication.

- Delta and a few other people do some twin bladed counter-rotating computer fans oftern refered to as 'screamers' and they move a phnominal amount of air and can devolop quite some presure too.

 

 

Daniel

[blackrose]

I've got a solar fan in the bedroom and it does its job there very well, improving the ventilation at all times

 

It must be better than the ones I've seen - perhaps they're not all bad. But what's the point of having one in the bedroom - I mean why not just have a mushroom vent? Also what happens on mornings like today when it's bright and sunny but cold?

[pwl]

Thanks. I will investigate some of the pointers. Computer fans llok like a good way to go.

 

P

[Mike George]

I went in to a computer repair shop and they gave me 5 scrap power units that I recovered 6 fans from, all working. They didn't want paying so I put a fiver in the charity box, so that was 80 odd pence each