Cabin Fans

Feb 13, 2015
15
Hunter 466 Oban
Morning All from Scotland,
Any advice on the best cabin fans?
Have heard good reviews about hella marine twin turbo fans, but not cheap!
Guy
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Of all the fans I have played with, the one I like the most for quietness and low power draw is the Caframo Sirocco.. yes expensive .. http://www.caframo.com/marine/marine_products_12voltfans_sirocco807.php

Another way to get low power draw and quiet is to adapt a "computer" fan. They are available in many sizes and capacities. Some forum members have made little frames and added switches to come up with nice looking and efficient fans. something like this :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120mm-25mm-...2-Wire-PC-Computer-Cooling-350A-/180961603105
Or similar .. Some of these have speed control capability..some are more quiet.. lots of different ones out there..
 

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Of all the fans I have played with, the one I like the most for quietness and low power draw is the Caframo Sirocco.. yes expensive .. http://www.caframo.com/marine/marine_products_12voltfans_sirocco807.php
.....
After looking at a lot of fans (at West Marine you can run them side by side at some stores) I bought the ....



.... Caframo above. Loved it so much so got a second one. Not cheap but I haven't seen anything move the air like they do on so little amps. Also the timer is nice since at night you usually don't need it all night so it can go off while you are sleeping saving even more elect. The gimbal mounting also means it works in any situation. Buy one of these and you won't regret it.

I also bought.....



.... a couple of their fans with no shield that work ok to place here and there as needed.

....Another way to get low power draw and quiet is to adapt a "computer" fan. They are available in many sizes and capacities. Some forum members have made little frames and added switches to come up with nice looking and efficient fans. something like this :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120mm-25mm-...2-Wire-PC-Computer-Cooling-350A-/180961603105
Or similar .. Some of these have speed control capability..some are more quiet.. lots of different ones out there..
I tried this with 2 different fans.....






.... and didn't like the outcome at all. I know people swear by it but put one of these next to the Caframo and there is no contest. They just don't move air very far. If you can get it very close to your face you will feel it but you need one for both people if using it at night and it has to mount very close to you. The Caframo was mounted in the V-berth, see first picture, by the hatch and blew fresh cool air from the hatch opening over both of us.

We normally, at night, ran the Caframo on low and at that setting it is 210 mA or 2.5 watts. For comparison the computer fan I used was 130 mA or 1.56 watts, about 2/3's the Caframo but didn't move anywhere near the same amount of air.

I have a lot more info on both here...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/inside-31.html

Sumner

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NYSail

.
Jan 6, 2006
3,048
Beneteau 423 Mt. Sinai, NY
Cafe amp fans are great. Quiet and move a lot of air. Have 4......
 
Sep 6, 2011
82
Oday 322 Hawkestone YC Lake Simcoe
I looked at the westmarine type fans and found them very expensive as well. As an option I installed two fans that I purchased form a truck supply store ( $35.00 CDN ea) that are quiet and made of steel. They work great
 

arf145

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Nov 4, 2010
484
Beneteau 331 Deale, MD
I installed a couple of Caframo Bora fans on my last boat and was very happy with them: quiet, good airflow, low draw.
 
Apr 24, 2006
868
Aloha 32 Toronto, Lake Ontario
Good Canadian price on the Caframo Sirocco - $10 less than WM, free shipping and CAD dollar at Binnacle.

Although they state 100ma on low - Sumner, you found it was over twice that?
They claim 200ma on medium and 250ma on high - but it's probably like "EPA mileage" claims....

Think I might just buy one.

Chris
 
Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
Just a note, if you decide to go with a computer case fan, and make your own frame and such, make sure you buy as large and slow of a fan as you can. The smaller and faster the fan spins, the noisier it is.

I have a very low TV stand, that my receiver barely fits into. I removed the cover on the receiver, and mounted 2 larger computer case fans. They blow across the receiver, so I don't have to worry about (the lack of) convective cooling. I can't hear them at all.

I have a single guard less Caframo that Sumner has posted. I think it would would work very well mounted to a surface as pictured. However, I have tried to mount mine sideways to my rod-style chainplate, and have also tried to replace the base spring with something heavier, but the fan still sags. I thought I had a picture , but I don't...
 
Apr 24, 2006
868
Aloha 32 Toronto, Lake Ontario
Many of the muffin (computer) fan suppliers list CFM, amperage and noise levels.
You can spend a bit more and get a high CFM fan that is virtually silent (usually these are the twin ball bearing curved "flex" blade type).

If you are buying at a surplus type shop, the lower amperage rating usually means quieter - usually a result of higher quality bearings and blade design.

I found an 80 CFM fan at our local surplus shop that only draws 70MA and is almost completely silent (15DBA). Cost about $3 if I remember.

What I did was take a small 12 volt gel cell with me and power up each fan. Some sounded like a railroad locomotive!

Chris
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Being comfortable while on the hook is best achieved with an "whole boat" approach. Reduce the sun load with sunscreens, improve the ventilation (the boat always points into the wind while on the hook BTW) with forward hatch scoops and dodgers (to create a vacuum) and fans to keep the air moving over your body for those calm wind nights.
Moving air is moving air so if you are at the slip then a 120 volt window fan in the companionway is the most effective. On the hook, "personalized" fans of the "runs on batteries" type are very handy. I have 2 three volt (2 D cell) fans that we use when the winds die during hot weather and they work great. The batteries last about 4 nights and you can put them where you need them to have a breeze across your body. not a big fan of permanently mounted fans as you need lots of them for all the locations.
 

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
..Although they state 100ma on low - Sumner, you found it was over twice that?
They claim 200ma on medium and 250ma on high - but it's probably like "EPA mileage" claims....Chris
I don't think I measured it but found conflictin claims as to the amperage. If I remember right the numbers I posted might of been the numbers West Marine was quoting at the time.

Here are the numbers on Caframo's site now...

0.34 A at 12V; 0.23A at 24V
... notice they have amps at 12 volts and 24 volts and the .23 (230 mA) is if you are running them on 24 volts. .34 amps on 12 volts.

Here is what West Marine is saying now....

12V DC Sirocco Fan, 0.25A High Draw, 0.20A Medium Draw, 0.1A Low Draw, Black
So both are saying lower than the numbers I post some years back and West Marine's numbers are way off Caframo's.

I need to take the one out of the Endeavour and get it back in the Mac withing the next couple days. When I do I"ll try and remember to run it and see what my amp meter says.

Buy one, you won't regret it. I have also tried the truck fans and they put out a lot of air but consume a lot of amps or at least the ones I have at home did. No problem if you are running down the road and getting those amps off the alternator and/or the big battery packs those guys have,

Sumner

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Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links
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Apr 21, 2014
80
MacGregor Venture 22 Launched, San Diego,CA
Morning All from Scotland,
Any advice on the best cabin fans?
Have heard good reviews about hella marine twin turbo fans, but not cheap!
Guy
If you want a fan that will move a lot of air and it's very inexpensive. Try an automobile electric radiator fan they are DC 12 Volt so you can chane the direction on air flow. If you want to control the speed install a reostat. I am going to build a frame and install mine in the forward cabin hatch.
 
Dec 13, 2010
123
Hake 32RK Red Bank
I agree with Kloudie1---tried a lot of different fans over the years these are quiet , move a lot of air and are adjustable on three axis and they have a variable timer though I rarely use that feature.
 
Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
Cafram

Cafram like at WM with protective cage and 2 speed are on my boat for many
years very quiet and low draw.
Don't use auto fans they use too much power and noisey.
Nick
 

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
....Although they state 100ma on low - Sumner, you found it was over twice that?
They claim 200ma on medium and 250ma on high - but it's probably like "EPA mileage" claims....Chris
I have two of the fans (the ones with the cage/3 speed/timer) and took one over to the other boat today and ran it and with my 'pretty cheap' HF VOM got:

.17 amps on low
.27 amps on medium
.41 amps on high

The meter only reads to 'hundreds'.

I also did the same with ...



... the boats meter that only reads to tenths and interpolating it look about the same. The fan also has the solid state timer circuit in it. I'm wondering it they are testing the fan 'only' without that circuit.

When I got to the boat the battery was on float on the solar panels and I turned them off and waited 5 minutes or so, still the battery was at 12.8 volts during the test readings.

Still I can't ever remember us running it on high and actually with it pointed at us from about where our knees are in the V-berth only on low. It moves a lot of air,

Sumner
 

capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
O-2 Cool makes some really great 12/120volt portable 10" fans that are quiet and move quite a bit of air. Unlike most boat fans they come apart for cleaning and all but one (brushes went; non replaceable) have run over 2 years almost continuously without problems.
I just cut off the 120 volt ac wall plug and replaced it with a cig lighter plug. They are also better on power draw than my Hellas.
Oh yeah, and they are CHEAP! Really cheap. You can get 3 of these for the price of a Hella.
 

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Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
If you want a fan that will move a lot of air and it's very inexpensive. Try an automobile electric radiator fan they are DC 12 Volt so you can chane the direction on air flow. If you want to control the speed install a reostat. I am going to build a frame and install mine in the forward cabin hatch.
these are extremely high amp draw and very noisy... I installed a 10" radiator fan in my atv trailer as a bathroom fan.... and it will hide any and all unusual noises coming from that area, and keep the air as fresh as a daisy... it will move a LOT of air very quickly. (i need to put diodes in the line to lower the voltage)
but I have options to charge from with my trailer, I have solar, i have a generator and I have my pickup... and sometimes shore power.

the rheostat will still cost you power, as it is only dissipating the power you arent using into heat....its better to put a couple of diodes in the line, as the diodes will lower the voltage about .83 of a volt for each diode.

the manufacture says to make sure the wiring can handle 25amps, and to use a 20amp fuse.... these are not good numbers for use on a boat.

on a boat you need something that is not power hungry, or that will only be used for short duration's and infrequently.
for the bathroom fan on our 34, I used a 4" ATV radiator fan, with diodes in the line to lower the voltage.... it isnt as noisy as when there is full power to it, but the amp draw will still probably be at 3-5.... with this much draw, its not acceptable as a cooling fan, but well worth the cost to vent the head when there is some serious thinking going on in there:D
 

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