Nicro Marine Solar Day/Night vent

mortyd · Sep 3, 2014

nicro is still very much in business and quite helpful,

Bob S · Sep 3, 2014

I'm not a fan of this fan pardon the pun. I got just about a year with my first fan. Returned it for a replacement albeit at no charge but got one season with the second. I replaced the battery a few times but the fan barely spins. I believe the problem is in the motor. There was someone on the C30 site who successfully replaced the motor with one from Radio Shack. Is it worth the effort. It certainly is low on my priority list.

Coriolisbc · Sep 3, 2014

Yes, I have one too, it is starting to slow down on certain days, any rebuild hints will be helpful to me as well

dj2210 · Sep 4, 2014

Bought mine from WM and it failed within six months. WM gave me another and so far so good, knock on wood.

mortyd · Sep 4, 2014

i must be a lucky guy because mine is just fine. however, without a battery, the fan works in the light and that's much better than no fan at all to ventilate the boat.

Elysium_Van_Isl · Sep 4, 2014

Hi,
Interesting timing as WM currently has them on sale for a hundred bucks off. I grabbed one last week to replace the ancient one that is currently above the head (and completely seized).
I noticed a couple things - the same product seems to be sold under both Nicro and Marinco brands. I couldn't see any difference in the product at all between the two boxes. Also, the clear cover above the solar cell is still being made from plastic (and it is 'dimpled'). I really didn't like this. On the old one the plastic hazed out to yellow and I'm sure was the reason the fan failed. It did still last quite a long time though. I knew the Previous owner to the boat. The fan was there when he bought it and I'm sure I saw it working for at least 3 years of him owning the boat. In fact it was old enough that the mechanics have all changed in design and the new one even has a slightly larger hole size. (3-1/4" to 3-3/4").
I also mentioned that the plastic cover over the PV cell has a dimpled surface. That doesn't make sense to me as it could only reduce the amount of light hitting the cells. It's not like it needs to be non-skid!!!!
Anyway, to answer your original question - I am about half way through rebuilding the old fan. I picked up a new motor from an electronics shop (like Radio Shack) and am just trying to figure out how to get a piece of glass cut for the top. We'll see. I also got a pair of new industrial rechargeable batteries. I'm going to recycle the one that came in the box on the new fan, swapping in for the better quality. (PNW winters are looong).

I definitely think these things are best to be run in pairs - one on suck, one on blow.

Bob S · Sep 4, 2014

Elysium_Van_Isl said:
Hi,
Interesting timing as WM currently has them on sale for a hundred bucks off. I grabbed one last week to replace the ancient one that is currently above the head (and completely seized).
I noticed a couple things - the same product seems to be sold under both Nicro and Marinco brands. I couldn't see any difference in the product at all between the two boxes. Also, the clear cover above the solar cell is still being made from plastic (and it is 'dimpled'). I really didn't like this. On the old one the plastic hazed out to yellow and I'm sure was the reason the fan failed. It did still last quite a long time though. I knew the Previous owner to the boat. The fan was there when he bought it and I'm sure I saw it working for at least 3 years of him owning the boat. In fact it was old enough that the mechanics have all changed in design and the new one even has a slightly larger hole size. (3-1/4" to 3-3/4").
I also mentioned that the plastic cover over the PV cell has a dimpled surface. That doesn't make sense to me as it could only reduce the amount of light hitting the cells. It's not like it needs to be non-skid!!!!
Anyway, to answer your original question - I am about half way through rebuilding the old fan. I picked up a new motor from an electronics shop (like Radio Shack) and am just trying to figure out how to get a piece of glass cut for the top. We'll see. I also got a pair of new industrial rechargeable batteries. I'm going to recycle the one that came in the box on the new fan, swapping in for the better quality. (PNW winters are looong).

I definitely think these things are best to be run in pairs - one on suck, one on blow.

I agree pairs will work better.
Marinco is Nicro's parent company. They are easy to work with as they honored my claim even though it was just beyond their warranted period. Our season is short compared to most on this site. I'm not sure if covering my boat over the winter has anything to do with it (canvas Fairclough cover) but I have tried replacing batteries and even in full sun I have to spin the fan by hand and it will barely run for a sew seconds. Ross has been an advocate of using a small solar panel with a pair of 12v fans from salvaged computers. That's probably the most economical and reliable way to ventilate.

Elysium_Van_Isl · Sep 4, 2014

jonelli said:
Elysium, so, you're keeping the fan itself, and changing the motor? Can you explain?

That's right. The 'theory' so far, is to wire in the new 12V motor and use as much of the original housing/parts as possible. The fan and housing (apart from the plastic solar panel cover) are in good shape, so as long as I can get the new motor to fit (it's close, but not identical) then I think I'll be OK.
I had considered the idea of trying to make a computer fan work should the repair fail or if the fan blades themselves are now too stiff to spin. Problem there was the round hole-square peg issue! All the computer fans I have seen have square frames. BTW - the computer fan was the perfect solution to a repair on my Newport cabin heater.
I have been hitting the internal housing with CorrosionX to try and get everything spinning again.
If you like, I can snap some photos when I next work on things. Should be this weekend.

mortyd · Sep 5, 2014

like i said, they're among the good guys. i have always wondered so many members of this forum seem afraid to call maufcturers, especially catalina yachts who is very much still there.

dj2210 · Sep 7, 2014

Thanks for posting the rebuild kit. For that price it's probably worth having one inboard when it does break.

Bob S · Sep 11, 2014

There was someone on the yahoo site who successfully repaired his using a $3.00 motor from Radio Shack
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102822
http://support.radioshack.com/support_supplies/doc19/19830.htm

I bought one locally and will try over the winter.

Admiral · Sep 13, 2014

Elysium.

Where did you find WM having $100.00 off sale? Can you post a link. I could not find the discount.

Nicro Marine Solar Day/Night vent

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