BCM Community
Bus Discussion => Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) => Topic started by: Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM on December 18, 2020, 08:46:43 AM
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Which do you prefer? Maxxair or Fantastic Fan?
And why?
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Without a doubt - Maxxair Deluxe!
Had the top of the line Fantastic on the bus, complete with automatic rain sensor, and hated it. The thing would shut in the middle of the day after a few rain drops, and then not reopen till we got back to a steamy bus. Plus, you can't use it in the rain without the rain cover which is huge and quite noticeable from the ground.
The Maxxair Deluxe with the built-in rain shield moves as much (or more) air and can be used in the rain without worry. Never have had a drop get in, even when used in pouring rain. When closed, it's barely noticeable since there is no need for the large roof wart of a cover.
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Fantastic fan but have never had the other one so don't know about it. We have the older model without the automatic rain thingy and we can run it without any cover other than the one that comes with it.
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Gary -
I've had both, and, like Richard, prefer the Maxxair Deluxe.
I like the lower profile, the built-in rain cover, and the quiet operation on low speeds.
Better warranty, too, since the other brand is now part of Dometic.
FWIW & HTH. . . ;)
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Fantastic fan with black allweather cover. That auto rain sense version is just something else to go bad.
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Fantastic fan with black allweather cover.That auto rain sense version is just something else to go bad.
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bus came with Fantastic fan and it works fine, quiet too on low, no auto closer.
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I just bought a bunch of 8" fans to convert my escape hatches into roof vents. 4 fans per hatch, they will fit inside at the 4 corners. I'll need to make a cover, maybe something like a cowl induction hood scoop and a means of closing it to keep in heat, plus maybe some sort of insulated cover for the inside.
The fans were advertised on ebay as radiator fans, 2 for $20 and seem to be pretty decent ones.
Jim
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Maxxair...really, any model is better than the Fantastic Fan. Being able to use it in the rain, without buying and installing the bulky Fantastic Fan shroud/cover, makes it worthwhile. If it means anything, we had a Fantastic Fan with the cover and took it out (and gave it away, free) to replace it with a Maxxair.
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I like our maxxair vents. I installed them in the escape hatches.
https://studio.youtube.com/video/z5McSs3pqEE/edit
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link that works
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5McSs3pqEE
@jim - i think fan theory has principle that larger and slower moving fan blades are quieter. Think huge paddle fan blades moving very slowly and are silent yet move lots of air. Small fan blades need to turn much faster to push same volume and usually more noisy.
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Thanks, I grabbed the studio link.
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Had/have Fantastic fans when one went south, replaced with Maxxair, like the low profile and better fan speed control. Will replace the other Fantastic with Maxx when it goes south.
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A maxxair draws 5 amps vs. 1.9 for Fantastic. Something to consider if on battery usage.
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A maxxair draws 5 amps vs. 1.9 for Fantastic. Something to consider if on battery usage.
Not sure that the comparison is so easy. The Maxxair Deluxe uses an electric lid opener, and it is possible that the higher draw is only while opening/closing the lid.
I've never seen a draw on my Victron battery monitor anywhere near that level when operating the fan itself.
Not all Fantastic Fan units have auto lid lift, so one without it would have a much lower rating but not necessarily so in real-world application.
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On the electric open, 2 arms for maxx and one on the fantastic. Makes a difference if winds are a problem. Had a fantastic break in high winds on Gulf Coast and replaced with maxx.
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Don, you may be right but being DC fans they will run at reduced voltage which means slower and less current draw. Slower is quieter and with 4 fans on each hatch they should be able to run slow and still move quite a bit of air. Blade design has a lot to do with the noise too and these seem to be reasonably quiet. I'll try to get a photo or two today and post them here.
The main reason I went this way is that I wanted to retain the original function of the escape hatch and as that video shows the locking bar goes right through the middle. The simple solution was to leave that part alone. The top however can be done any way I want it, so if it is possible to buy only the top cowling for the MaxAir that would be the elegant solution.
Jim
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As promised, photos of the fans positioned in the lower cover of the escape hatch. I found a manual Maxxfan on Amazon for $154 so I figured I'd better buy it. Only had one, I'll probably have to pay more for the second one. Could be some interference with the raise/lower control but I should be able to work around that. Obviously I'll need some sort of a grille on the bottom side of the fans. Now the fun part. Because they are 12v and there are four of them I have lots of choices about how to wire them. I could go with 24v and wire them in pairs (smaller power leads that way), and for low/high I could run the pairs in series or parallel. Or if low isn't low enough I could supply them with 12v and run all four in series, or pairs, or all four parallel for low/med/high.
Then a pair of gas struts should complete the package.
Jim
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A maxxair draws 5 amps vs. 1.9 for Fantastic. Something to consider if on battery usage.
If that figure comes from specs, that is max current. The proper way to compare is doing a empirical test with some method for recording equal air volume flow for both then compare the current draw. If entire flow is not available using a wind meter could substitute if the air flows through the same size vent.
I'd bet the actual numbers are much closer but really who cares at all if you are on a pole or a low storage house system.
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https://www.etrailer.com/question-212291.html
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I have both and they both work. I can't say I have a favorite. The Maxxair howls more on the lower settings. We leave it open most of the time because it is in the bathroom. The Fantastic fans don't have the automatic close feature only the temperature sensor.
John
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I have always had F/F never had problems with one,I have power opens and Tstat controls now or you can manually open the fans,remote or wall switches and set fan speeds.the price is getting stupdid on the F/F now though
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I just bought one recently from Camping World at a good sale price , also with Good Sam member free shipping. You're right, priced high. Dometic must make a big profit on them. Probably less than 50 bucks in materials and tooling paid for years ago.
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Might as well add those to the list of tires, batteries, motor oil, propane vs. fuel oil, etc.😁
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I have two Fantastic fans-one in the bathroom that is permanently open just enough so the fan works (if I close both Fantastic fans and all windows are closed, your ears pop everytime someone goes in or out the front door-my bus is that tight), and the other is over the stove. Both have been in since 1994 with no problems. Have the same setup in my truck-both sets are simple with just thermostat. Would never get a Maxxair with that wort like hood on it-it looks hideous. Good Luck, TomC