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Great Cabin Fan

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Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/23/2011 : 14:50:39

As part of my re-do of the DC system, I replaced the batteries, charger and cabin lights. Next up: cabin fans.

When I was at West Marine, I played with the fan display. You can push a button and get a 20 second demo of each of the fans. Naturally, some are more quiet than others, some move more air than others, some are quiet and move alot of air....all within quite a range of $$$. I settled on this one:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_11151_10001_46776_-1____ProductDisplayErrorView

It moves alot of air, is decently quiet, and only $50. A great balance of performance for the money, compared to the most quiet one which didn't quite move as much air, or the loudest which only moved a bit more air. I could buy two of the ones I picked for the price of one $$$ one.

I bought one to make sure it was good in the boat like on the display. I installed it in the V berth, where that fan was not working anyway. Luckily, the mount holes lined up so I could reuse the screws and not drill new holes. Hard wired it in and it works great! I'm going to buy 2 more of them, one for the main cabin and one for the aft berth.

Product literature says they only draw .44 aH......no idea what the originals draw so I can't comment on savings.

Scott

When we left, we had just enough fuel to make it to San Juan. And now... we are out of fuel!

Edited by - Joe Diver on 04/23/2011 14:52:28

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2011 : 16:34:56

Little kids and open fan blades?

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2011 : 16:44:36

They're super soft....no problems there. Designed for it.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2011 : 17:36:33

Do you have 110V at the slip? If so, you might want a 110V fan. Underway, I've found there's not much need for a fan as the forward hatch can be cracked open to allow a breeze through the cabin.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/23/2011 : 19:20:05

Oh yeah, one of the "must have's" when I was searching for a sailboat...the 110v shore power system installed. I do have a fan and you can see it in some of the pics I've posted. I tend to run a little on the hot side though, so when I'm hooked in a cove somewhere I gotta have my fan blowing on me, so the 12v cabin fans are a must have.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 04/24/2011 : 18:38:29

I've got one like this one.

Cost $20-25. The model I've got also runs on batteries.

Edited by - dmpilc on 04/24/2011 18:40:20

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 04/24/2011 : 18:49:11

I have two Carframo fans, a different model, and have been very pleased with their low noise and good air movement.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9081 Posts

Response Posted - 04/24/2011 : 19:06:26

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by John Russell
 Little kids and open fan blades?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I have one like that--maybe not 2-speed... It's totally harmless. I'd stick my nose in it. (I could have mentioned something else...) Besides having very light-weight, pliable blades that have very little power behind them, notice that the leading edge of each blade is sort of "suspended" from the blade itself. Stick your (whatever) in there and you'll be satisfied that it's safe.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 04/24/2011 19:07:42

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/24/2011 : 19:14:21

Caframos are awesome, my favorite is a 110 Chinook.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2011 : 07:32:39

I was actually planning to buy another Carframo model, but after playing with all of them on the display, picked the one I linked to above.

Edited by - on

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4024 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2011 : 13:49:44

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">and only $50.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Probably costs $2 to manufacture in some Asian country.
Sorry but I think $50 for a plastic 12V fan to be outrageous.

Edited by - islander on 04/25/2011 13:52:30

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2011 : 20:38:41

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Sorry but I think $50 for a plastic 12V fan to be outrageous.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
It is until you see how long they suffered continuous duty before failure at P/S. Plastic junk gives well engineered plastic products (say, a C-25) a bum rap.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2011 : 21:18:39

The fan I linked to is more than just a "plastic 12V fan"....it's actually built really well. Feels heavy and solid. I think it's going to last a while. If it was cheap crap or a gross ripoff I never would have put my stamp on it and posted it here.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2011 : 05:41:38

Caframo products have always been the best, it is a Canadian company who still seems to understand the social contract between it's self and the customer.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2011 : 06:40:46

Another of my Caframo products, it is a wonderful marine design. It has a "freeze" setting so it will only come on if the temp approaches freezing or can simply run from its adjustable temp control.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2011 : 07:21:11

I am really glad this thread came up, I let my fans go with my boats as I consider them integral to my ventilation scheme so I needed to get some for my new boat. I just bought a Chinook like the two above, and a Dragonfly. Thx Scott!

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/MP81111582.htm

Edited by - pastmember on 04/26/2011 07:24:17

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2011 : 08:02:12

The Chinook and Dragonfly look like they have the same fan blade design as the one I got, but with a different motor/mount setup. Mine has 2 speeds and mounted directly into the holes the old fan used. The others look like nice tabletop fans to use anywhere in the cabin rather than permanently mounted.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2011 : 08:15:19

Thanks for the heads up on the cabin heater. I'm gonna grab one of those.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2011 : 10:45:25

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Thanks for the heads up on the cabin heater.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
It looks just like the West Marine model, but with a better protective finish. The features are the same, but my 3 year old WM has a couple of surface rust spots.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3466 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2011 : 12:53:58

I am sure you will enjoy that fan. Caframo sells many models. I have had mine believe 2 seasons. They swivel in all directions and so I can use the one mounted on the mast support for the VBerth or for the main cabin. The other is mounted in the quarterberth area and can also blow into the main cabin area. My fans have 3 speeds but the slowest speed is generally what I use and never the fast speed. The fans also have a built-in timer to turn the fan off automatically afer 2, 4 or 6 hours.

Edited by - OLarryR on 05/01/2011 12:54:35

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2011 : 15:29:00

Larry,How did you mount the one in the quarterberth.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2011 : 16:05:58

The liner will take carefully chosen screws... I screwed teak panels to my liner.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3466 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2011 : 21:05:08

Gary,

I basically screwed into the liner only as Frank indicated. I do not recall what size screws I used and just how I decided on the proper screws, my guess is that I was able to determine the liner thickness probably in the area up near the deck joint.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2011 : 21:46:34

That's the Carframo fan I was going to buy, the Sirocco....it's twice the cost of the one I got for the V berth, but it's super nice and is the one I'll probably put in the main cabin.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3466 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2011 : 03:22:47

Joe,

Yes, that is the Caframo Sirocco fan. It was expensive but for my purposes, I valued the cage and that it has a gimbal/pivoting joint within another gimbal mount and so it allows almost any angle almost 360 degrees also with the auto timer shutoff which I thought would be of use during sleepovers. In practice, it works fine and it is a good thing that the slow and medium speeds are sufficient for all my uses because at fast speed, these small fans make a lot of noise (but at slow and medium speed, the noise levels are okay). Also. we wind up not using it for the VBerth area as we utilize the extended bunk in the main cabin and the quarterberth for sleeping...so having the ability to turn the fan around almost 360 degrees, in practice, I do not really need that functionality. But the timer is useful.

About purchasing and using this fan: If you can get a good buy on it from other than WM, than probably worth going that other route. However, I decided to buy it thru WM mail order because they did not have it in the store but thought if I had any issues with it, I could probably return it to the store rather than mail it back. As it turned out, part of the outside of the fan that the cage is made of plastic was broken. I was tempted to glue it since that would have been a simple repair but since it was new, I figured I would go to the local WM store and see if I could return it. They recommended I keep it until they get the special ordered one into the store and then they would swap the broken one with the new one they ordered. So, this turned out good for me that I bought it thru WM. The 2nd fan was fine.

In practice, based on the broken plastic cage on the fan I returned, I make it a practice to always pivot the fan grasping the metal cage rather than the plastic cage area which is a bit flimsy. When you look at the fan's construction, you can probably figure out what is flimsy and what is not. There is a solid plastic support that is robust and that is not going to flex/break under normal use but half the cage is made of thin plastic rod matl and that is the area to avoid when turning the fan - better to grasp the metal cage instead. Other than that, fans work fine and at slow speed use very little juice. Even at medium speed, it does not sue a lot of amps but I forget exactly hwat the amp loads are - They are probably listed in the WM or other websites/catalogs.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2011 : 07:45:45

Thanks for the advice on the Sirocco....I'll keep that in mind when I replace my cabin fan. The one I have in there now works, but is probably the original fan...looks like ass, but is decently quiet and moves air well....the amp hour draw is unknown but probably high.

Frank, those teak panels look awesome.....

Edited by - on

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