Which cabin fan??

[Nauticatarcher]

+1 for 240V fans running through inverter, cheap quiet and move a lot of air, had two big wall mounted oscillating ones on last boat and loved them, they do require sine wave inverter thogh as modified sine wave kills them

[sartorst]

Totally impressed with the o2 cool fan that that was purchased for 20$ it has been running for 2 years straight with the exception of the weekends that I get to the boat!
I will cut the inverter off and install a 12v plug and mount as someone suggested

[CSY Man]

Originally Posted by Nauticatarcher

+1 for 240V fans running through inverter, cheap quiet and move a lot of air, had two big wall mounted oscillating ones on last boat and loved them, they do require sine wave inverter thogh as modified sine wave kills them

How much stored power loss running a fan through an inverter?
20%, 30%...?

[jamhass]

For those with dead or dying Hella fans (and maybe other brands) see:

Hella fan conversion - Ocean Navigator - March/April 2010

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by jamhass

For those with dead or dying Hella fans (and maybe other brands) see:

Hella fan conversion - Ocean Navigator - March/April 2010

Too much work! A few thousand hrs at $59 is $.03 per hr of use. I can afford this. The inconvenience is a PITA... and supposedly the newer versions have more than 2x the service life costing about $.01 per hr.

Recycle and replace... spend your time on something else!

[sparrowhawk1]

There's another thread where I show putting a furnace filter on the back of an O2 cool fan and it's amazing how much dust they collect. For maximum Cooling for amperage drawn Endless Breeze is a variable speed large fan that is common in the RV industry also in skylights for vans. It costs about 50 bucks. It also goes by another name for the ones that are made for skylights, there are many YouTube videos about it.

[Adelie]

How often do you take them apart and oil the motors?

I do that yearly with my fans and they last 2x-4x longer. Not even sure I'm using the right oil, I use 3in1. I know that WD40 would be wrong.




A house is but a boat so poorly built and so firmly run aground you would never try to refloat it.

[a64pilot]

Another vote for AC fans run off of an inverter.
I have 12 VDC fans too, Carafamo Bora I believe, but you just can't match a 16" oscillating AC desk fan with anything 12VDC, much less a 20" box fan in the hatch for those windless days.
Yes it takes power there is no free lunch, but I leave my inverter on anyway.

Last year I had a "Redneck" ceiling fan, a 20" box fan tied to the hand rails above the settee. Wife hate it, said it looked terrible, but it worked, laying directly under a 20" box fan, really helped cool me off

[leftbrainstuff]

Hella fans seem reliable. Ours are 10 years and still going strong. We have replaced one where the rotary switch fell off. The replacement oscillating hella seems ok but has had little use.

The Cafarmo? seem quieter but based on forum comments they seem to fail just out of warranty so we have avoided them.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[zboss]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Another vote for AC fans run off of an inverter.
I have 12 VDC fans too, Carafamo Bora I believe, but you just can't match a 16" oscillating AC desk fan with anything 12VDC, much less a 20" box fan in the hatch for those windless days.
Yes it takes power there is no free lunch, but I leave my inverter on anyway.

Last year I had a "Redneck" ceiling fan, a 20" box fan tied to the hand rails above the settee. Wife hate it, said it looked terrible, but it worked, laying directly under a 20" box fan, really helped cool me off

We cool down the boat with a $16.88 walmart 20" fan special run through an inverter. Uses about 5.7 AMPS @ 12 volts (as seen using a 12 volt clamp on meter from behind the inverter) when running on high. We use it after the sun goes down to remove the warm air and also in the summer when we are using the stove or cooking.

http://www.laskoproducts.com/20-box-fan-model-b20200/

[ka4wja]

Now I know that the small Hella Turbo fans do not move as much air as some of you are with your big 16" or 20" box fans....but, you are using quiet a bit of energy to run them...
And, you could run a half-dozen Hella Turbo fans, and a few 10" O2 Cool fans, get as much airflow and use a lot less power!

Originally Posted by zboss

We cool down the boat with a $16.88 walmart 20" fan special run through an inverter. Uses about 5.7 AMPS @ 12 volts (as seen using a 12 volt clamp on meter from behind the inverter) when running on high.

FYI, the Hella Turbo fans are very stingy on energy use....at 12vdc, on high-speed, they draw a very small amount of juice! About 1/4 to 1/3 of an amp, using my clamp-on meter (which is pretty damn close to other meters I've checked it against)...
I actually measured 0.28amps to 0.35 amps, on my own Hella Turbos...
(Some will quote the factory spec, of ~ 1/2 amp....but it's a
lot less...)


And, FYI...
For those who want to move a lot of air, and have the room for bigger fans....have a look at the 10" O2 Cool fan!
It moves a lot of air and draws 4/10 of an amp!!
Yes....that's right....4/10 of an amp...

Those that don't believe it, here are two photos showing it in operation, with my meter showing 0.45amps...although at "zero", the meter bounces from 0.03 to 0.06amps....so figure about 0.4 amps of draw for the 10" O2 Cool fan!







And, yes....using an exhaust fan to pull the heat out of the boat is always a good idea....(and I even have one built-in to the hood over the stove/oven, in the galley!)
And, having a hatch over the galley (as I do) is also nice...


And, while they don't move enough air to cool anyone down, those small solar vents DO work! (they keep enough airflow to eliminate mildew, etc. and keep your boat smelling nice, even if closed up for weeks/months in tropical climates....I know, 'cause that's what I do!)
Mine are factory installed, circa 1999, and STILL work today! (I just heard 'em whirring, a couple hours ago!)






Fair winds..

John

[KD on Tropic]

Thanks to all... so many varied and interesting answers to a still perplexing question.... I really do like the idea of 240VAC 20" fans running of the inverter... both forward and aft cabins are large.... so the air movement alone from the standard oscillating fans is tending to answer the question posed.
Being a Tradesman... these will be easy for me to fit... and wire in...
Went out and purchased the Hella unit... great little fan.... probably be good in the galley.... but was lost with the volume of the3 cabins.
As for Caframo... never again... completely and utterly useless... do not last...pathetic customer service.... and very expensive for something that only lasts hrs... we did not even get a year out of all 4.
Put them in in January.... replaced all by August with maybe a max of 40 running hrs each.
Anyway... enough of that.... thanks again for some great ideas..