AirCon or Extractor Fans?

[Viv Danks]

So we are newbies, but I am a bit concerned (now don't fall over laughing) that our new motorhome may get too hot. I understand the concept of through flow and draught venting but I was wondering what the collective opinion was on either

After market AirCon (apart from lots and lots of cash) v extractors on the roof vents (such as http://www.fiammastore.com/fiamma-r...-caravans-and-motorhomes/fiamma-turbo-kit-fan)

Would appreciate your thoughts or alternative suggestions

 

[mick noe]

This is our attempt at cooling in France today tray of water cloth wicking up from tray fan blowing over seems to help

 

[Viv Danks]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I think that given your views the best way forward is -

Cooling Mat for Flake - Ordered

As we had an effective extractor fan in the old Campervan that made the airflow work I am going to try one of the Fiamma Turbo Kits (only £60) for the center roof light and try and cause that draught again or alternative get VanBitz to fit a FANTASTIC VENT, FAN 6000RBT when they fit the Growler next month.

Thank you again for your thoughts

 

[ukbill]

U r wasting ya cash on the fiamma

 

[veevee]

I would fit a vent fan as far forward or as far rearwards as possible (or fit one to suck at one end and one to blow at the other is even better especially if all windows, doors and centre vents are closed) to get it to suck or blow air through the whole length of the van. You are trying to create a tube where air flows only in one direction. It does work surprisingly well if the fan(s) are powerful enough.

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[DBK]

We've got a Fiamma fan in the rooflight above the kitchen. It is good at expelling cooking smells but it isn't brilliant at cooling. For that we have an Endless Breeze.

Update on dog coat. It arrived but dog has grown overnight and the coat was too small. Next size up arrives tomorrow. Amazon may be bad for local shops but it is very convenient.

 

[DigglyDog]

Update on dog coat. It arrived but dog has grown overnight and the coat was too small. Next size up arrives tomorrow. Amazon may be bad for local shops but it is very convenient

You'll soon be swapping it for a warm fur coat anyway...

 

[CazPaul]

I will second the waste of money on a Fiamma post. Absolute trash their roof window fan, not fit for purpose like most Fiamma stuff is.
I took ours out and replaced with a nice Heki.

 

[daveinspain]

I replaced the rooflight above our bed with the Fiamma Turbo Vent for use at night, but it rattles so much it keeps you awake - typical poor Fiamma quality. Can´t recommend it.

 

[Shrimp]

We don't have air-con and as I said before we open all windows, roof vents, doors & sit in the shade. We also try to park the van with the front facing away from afternoon sun as we have a drop down bed in the front.
At night the bedding gets pushed down and we lie with wet flannels/towels on us, it really helps even in the heat in south of France!

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[ukbill]

It wont work in the heat on spain lol

 

[Viv Danks]

Thank you everyone - I think I am going to save my pennies and go for a Dometic 7350



It appears t obe the best compromise for light / air flow v Cost & Quality

 

[Don Quixote]

Well we had aircon on or MH, but I removed it and fitted 2 x fantastic vents in the bedroom and the hole left from the aircon. We live in Spain and it works well at keeping the MH cool and all runs on 12volt. Reason we removed the aircon was (a) needed 240volts (b) noise at night was way to loud to sleep and (c) cats love fans and will sit under the bedroom one enjoying the breeze - the kitchen one draws the air out.
Still have the aircon unit in garage in Spain if anyone wants to but one.

 

[celticmini]

Has anyone tried a high volume 120mm computer fan or two mounted in roof vent?
I planned trying mounting four such fans two extracting and two blowing, a switch would allow selection one or two fans in either config. So one or two extracting or one or two blowing as needed. They are quiet, or certainly the newer ones are with fluid bearings etc. Worth a try ?

 

[Riverbankannie]

U r wasting ya cash on the fiamma

Having just returned from the heatwave in France, I can confirm that Fiamma fan in rooflight does nothing to help. The only use for it that we have found is to help prevent the smoke alarm going off when toasting bread.

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[Riverbankannie]

We don't have air-con and as I said before we open all windows, roof vents, doors & sit in the shade. We also try to park the van with the front facing away from afternoon sun as we have a drop down bed in the front.
At night the bedding gets pushed down and we lie with wet flannels/towels on us, it really helps even in the heat in south of France!

Wet towels worked for me too!

 

[Richard n Ann]

Has anyone tried a high volume 120mm computer fan or two mounted in roof vent?
I planned trying mounting four such fans two extracting and two blowing, a switch would allow selection one or two fans in either config. So one or two extracting or one or two blowing as needed. They are quiet, or certainly the newer ones are with fluid bearings etc. Worth a try ?

I've ordered 4 x 120mm fans from Malaysia, 2 pounds something each I'm going to fit them in a 6mm piece of plywood, slot it into the skylight and wire them onto a double pole switch to change them from parallel to series wired for fast and slow mode. Running fast they will use about 0.75 amps in total. I think the endless breeze is 2 amps on fast.

 

[MikeD]

Depends when and where you want to holiday.

We had it fitted to our Autotrail, we tour spring and Autumn for about 3 months at a time and rarely used the air con.

I suspect it works out around £150 a day as it won't be worth much when u sell the van.

 

[celticmini]

"I've ordered 4 x 120mm fans from Malaysia, 2 pounds something each I'm going to fit them in a 6mm piece of plywood, slot it into the skylight and wire them onto a double pole switch to change them from parallel to series wired for fast and slow mode. Running fast they will use about 0.75 amps in total. I think the endless breeze is 2 amps on fast."

This is what I planned at first.

I thought about this but the higher spec fans, designed for high spec gaming computers are quiet and very efficient. I have decided on four of them at about £5 each from a UK company. I am waiting for them to confirm that horizontal mounting is ok and the pin config for the four pins connector as used in all new mother boards.

I will let you know how I get on.

 

[veevee]

As Don Quixote writes, it's sucking in one end and pushing out the other, it works

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[Lenny HB]

Having just returned from the heatwave in France, I can confirm that Fiamma fan in rooflight does nothing to help. The only use for it that we have found is to help prevent the smoke alarm going off when toasting bread.

That's not good news, just bought one of the turbo vents that you can hang in a rooflight or use as a stand alone fan.
We had a Fantastic vent in the centre of the last van and it worked brilliantly. Ordered a Fantastic vent in the new van, on the options list it said in the kitchen came fitted at the front of the bedroom. Great at keeping the bedroom cool but does nothing for the rest of the van, that's why we bought the Fiamma fan. Only tried it on the drive not that impressed with it and doesn't work very well on extracting looks like a poor blade design compared to the Fantastic vent. Neary returned it but decided to see how it goes in proper use I suppose you can't expect much for 50 quid.

 

[Zigisla]

That's not good news, just bought one of the turbo vents that you can hang in a rooflight or use as a stand alone fan.
We had a Fantastic vent in the centre of the last van and it worked brilliantly. Ordered a Fantastic vent in the new van, on the options list it said in the kitchen came fitted at the front of the bedroom. Great at keeping the bedroom cool but does nothing for the rest of the van, that's why we bought the Fiamma fan. Only tried it on the drive not that impressed with it and doesn't work very well on extracting looks like a poor blade design compared to the Fantastic vent. Neary returned it but decided to see how it goes in proper use I suppose you can't expect much for 50 quid.

I cannot even get mine to fit in the vents. Although I have mini and midi heki, I have the push up bars and the fan doesn't fit very securely. I will have to use it hanging from the window or keep it just for the dogs.

 

[DBK]

Pricy things these vents.

http://leisurelines.net/dometic-fan-tastic-vent-7350-12v-6669-p.asp

 

[Viv Danks]

Hopefully not quite that much DBK

 

[Camping Gaza]

Computer fans probably a waste of time, you need a high volume of air flow at a slow-ish speed, Thats a big surface area where the blades are concerned thats why endless breeze gets a major thumbs up on here.

I have my own methods of course...

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[Don Quixote]

That's not good news, just bought one of the turbo vents that you can hang in a rooflight or use as a stand alone fan.
We had a Fantastic vent in the centre of the last van and it worked brilliantly. Ordered a Fantastic vent in the new van, on the options list it said in the kitchen came fitted at the front of the bedroom. Great at keeping the bedroom cool but does nothing for the rest of the van, that's why we bought the Fiamma fan. Only tried it on the drive not that impressed with it and doesn't work very well on extracting looks like a poor blade design compared to the Fantastic vent. Neary returned it but decided to see how it goes in proper use I suppose you can't expect much for 50 quid.

Used the correct way and it works a treat in from the bedroom out through the roof vent in kitchen area. Don't miss the aircon at all.

 

[Lenny HB]

Used the correct way and it works a treat in from the bedroom out through the roof vent in kitchen area. Don't miss the aircon at all.

The Fantasi vent works a treat in the bedroom if open the rear rooflight on vent but the Fiamma just can't shift the volume of air the Fantastic vent can and it's naff on extracting.
This is the one I'm talking about.

 

[Jagtazman]

Fantastic vent will not fit in our roof vent, tried it as I know others have a Rapido that does fit. Got a feeling later models have a larger vent and more square. Our is not quite square and slightly smaller than new models based on measurements seen online for vents.

 

[EuroTrotters]

A/C

The Ducted Units (under bench) are usually Quieter.

You can run them on the move. For the Truma Saphir Compact, you will need at least 120ah Alternator and a decent Pure Sinewave Inverter. The Compact is 55amps @ 12v Truma and Dometic do DC Kits. The main difference is that the dedicated kits are automated with the D+ signal from the engine alternator.

The Truma Saphir Vario has three power settings. and on the lowest setting, this is around 35amps at 12v. So I guess you might scrape by with 90ah Alternator.

Some of the things you have to consider when running the A/C units on 12v via inverters are.

*Your Fridge will also need 12v when driving (unless you have Truma Drivesafe LPG kit and can force your fridge into gas use)
*Your other Habitation Systems will be drawing power
*The Chassis will also need charge for its power demands (think headlamps in tunnels etc)
*You should not use the A/C on gradients over 8%. This may cause oil to flow into the discharge side of the compressor.

Solar panels will help. After all, it will usually be bright and sunny when you want it on.

For me, nothing beats a decent A/C unit. It cools, cleans and dehumidifies the air.

TM
RAC Technician 30 years (thats Refrigeration & Air Conditioning - not the alternative to the AA)

 

[Spanda]

Thank you everyone - I think I am going to save my pennies and go for a Dometic 7350



It appears to be the best compromise for light / air flow v Cost & Quality

That is our view, A/C every time. Admittedly our is noisy when it is on full blast, but once it has cooled the van down, we switch it to its lowest setting and the noise is bearable so doesn't interfere with sleeping - though being a bit deaf probably helps lol Ventilation fans are fine in their way, but in really hot and muggy weather, all a fan can do is to stir hot moist air around. The A/C on low, and the heating fan on low (heating off obviously !) and the van stays perfectly comfortable no matter how hot it gets. Our unit is 1800 watts by the way in a 6.2 metre van.