Maxxair or Fantastic Fan?

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Which do you prefer?  Maxxair or Fantastic Fan?

And why?

[richard5933]

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.

[Dave5Cs]

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.

[RJ]

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. . . 

[chessie4905]

Fantastic fan with black allweather cover. That auto rain sense version is just something else to go bad.

[chessie4905]

Fantastic fan with black allweather cover.That auto rain sense version is just something else to go bad.

[windtrader]

bus came with Fantastic fan and it works fine, quiet too on low, no auto closer.

[Jim Blackwood]

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

[RollingLiving]

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.

[neoneddy]

I like our maxxair vents.  I installed them in the escape hatches.

https://studio.youtube.com/video/z5McSs3pqEE/edit

[windtrader]

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.

[neoneddy]

Thanks, I grabbed the studio link.

[silversport]

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.

[chessie4905]

A maxxair draws 5 amps vs. 1.9 for Fantastic. Something to consider if on battery usage.

[richard5933]

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.