What's wrong with this idea?

[Roger Long]

I'd love to have a solar vent on my boat but there's no good place for it and I hate to cut a hole into the structure for such a thing. I also don't want it in a skylight hatch since I have nice custom fitted covers.

So, I was looking at the deck plate for my new diesel cabin heater and thought, why not there? The vent is for when I'm off the boat and the stove won't be running then. It's a natural draft stove so essentially a duct that goes right down to near floor level. I can leave the door open to get a little less flow restriction.

I just have to remember to remove it and install the smoke head before starting up the heater.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Seems like a good plan.

How much ventilation does a solar fan add?

 

[sailingdog]

Sounds like a good idea... provided you can find one that fits the deck plate properly.

 

[Hermit Scott]

So you only have the smoke head on when you are using the stove? IT sounds like a great idea.

 

[tommays]

I have that good name brand one on the CAL and while the fan turns i would not say it moves much air

 

[Roger Long]

i would not say it moves much air

That's good to know. Excuses not to spend another 1-2 hundred bucks are high on my list right now.

 

[Johnb]

Good idea. I am going to put a solar vent in the lowest of my companion way boards by making an extra one with a Nicro 4" Day/Night mounted in it. Our berth faces North so whenever we are not there it will face due South. There will actually be fewer issues with shadows than if it was mounted on the deck, and I don't have any additional holes to worry about.

That unit is supposed to vent about 1000 cubic feet per hour which should turn over the air in about 2 hours. We will see if it works!

 

[Chuckbear]

I have that good name brand one on the CAL and while the fan turns i would not say it moves much air

These are vents and not fans. Even passive vents make a big difference. The solars with fans can pull air in or out but they are not designed to cool you off on a hot day. Most will have the specs for how much air they move in a given size area, taken with a grain of salt as all manufacturers specs should be. Chuck

 

[Snotter]

It will cost you $100+ everytime you fire up the stove when you forget to remove the ventilator ;-). Also, you really should have 2 fans for a boat of your size--one intake and one exhaust; still, it is an improvement.

 

[Ross]

My three inch computer fans draw .018 amps at 12 volts and move 24 cfm.

 

[Hermit Scott]

My three inch computer fans draw .018 amps at 12 volts and move 24 cfm.

I'm with you on the computer fans. I don't understand why everyone wants solor fans? Is it because there are no wires? Unless you are on a mooring, then I understand. I am going to go with computer fans and run it all to an AC adapter. Because it only needs ventelated while I am not there, and while I am not there it is at the slip with shore power plugged in.

 

[Ross]

You can get an ebay solar panel for 25-30 bucks. and as long as the sun shines the fan runs which is 8-14 hour more per day than before the fans.

 

[Witzend]

Any vent whether powered or not will work best by removing the hottest air from the top of the cabin. The air flow will be from the input air vent on the stove which I presume is no where near the top of the cabin.

 

[Roger Long]

Any vent whether powered or not will work best by removing the hottest air from the top of the cabin.

This is prompted by mildew and moisture; not comfort. All those problems are low down in the boat so wouldn't it make sense to pull air out of that area?

 

[Ross]

Water vapor is lighter than air. H2O versus O2 or N2. That said any ventilation is better than no ventilation. Could you separate the stove pipe near the cabin top easily and conveniently?

 

[sailingdog]

I'd point out that the Nicro vents do actually work quite well if installed properly. The temperature in the cabin on my boat dropped about 15˚ after I installed it. When I installed the second one, it dropped another 10˚ or so.

 

[Ross]

With nearly perfect ventilation the temperature inside the boat should be nearly equal to the outside air temperature.

 

[Benny]

Johnb if you intend to mount the vent in an inclined vertical position make sure that when it rains water cannot get in through it. Their rain shield works well with the vent in the horizontal position but protection from water directed at a side may not be the same. In our part of the country when it rains, water washes down the companionway boards.

 

[Benny]

Roger I like the idea, the vents cutout is usually 3 3/4" to 4" and I don't know what your deckplate opening is but perhaps you may consider using a removable dorade box as an adapter for the installation.

 

[JoeWhite]

Ross - computer fan draws 0.18 AMP not 0.018AMP. It is a good solution when placed on the companionway doors. Why did I not think of that!