I need a low profile roof vent. Do they exist?
- Thread starter bee
- Start date
Solar powered vents and the other marine fans I came across are not comparable. Fantastic and Maxair fans move a lot more air, are thermostatically controlled, and shut air tight.
I chose the fantastic over the maxair for one reason. I liked the maxair deluxe better in truth, but I need a fan I can use with snow on the roof. A fantastic with a maxxair cover can do that. Also fantastic has a double pane lid available which is nice.
But either fan will cast a huge shadow.
It only takes one cell on a solar panel to be in a shadow to drop the panel to 66% Some solar panels will shut down completely.
There are 2 solutions most people use. The first and more common is to not worry about it....The 2nd is to just use more smaller solar panels and try to space them out better, but that is hardly ideal, when a small 140watt panel is $300 and a 240watt panel is $400
I chose the fantastic over the maxair for one reason. I liked the maxair deluxe better in truth, but I need a fan I can use with snow on the roof. A fantastic with a maxxair cover can do that. Also fantastic has a double pane lid available which is nice.
But either fan will cast a huge shadow.
It only takes one cell on a solar panel to be in a shadow to drop the panel to 66% Some solar panels will shut down completely.
There are 2 solutions most people use. The first and more common is to not worry about it....The 2nd is to just use more smaller solar panels and try to space them out better, but that is hardly ideal, when a small 140watt panel is $300 and a 240watt panel is $400
DesertBoater
Adventurer
Could you try turning your existing 180 to try to reduce the shadow?
Thanks
Yeah that is basically what I am looking for, wish it was bigger though, Its only rated for 100cfm which seems low for a fan that large. I take it you have used one? Does 100cfm sound right, my computer fan is rated higher then that.
Desert Rancher
New member
Look at the Sureflo Comfort Air. Have 2, work great and half of a F/Fan$.
~DR
~DR
Way late to the game here, but maybe someone else could use this info. Fantastic fan has a low profile lid and also a low profile base option. Lowest possible exterior height is 2 1/2".
Link to the dimensions of most options:
http://www.rvvent.com/pictures.htm
Link to main page of dealer that can actually get you the options:
http://www.rvvent.com/index.htm
Link to the dimensions of most options:
http://www.rvvent.com/pictures.htm
Link to main page of dealer that can actually get you the options:
http://www.rvvent.com/index.htm
Well after giving up, and settling on the fact that I was going to have to make something custom I think I found what I was looking for. I have never seen one in real life so if someone has hands on experience I would like to know more about them quality/functionality.
http://www.pacet.co.uk/roofmountedfans.php
Does anyone know where to buy them or good companies that will ship to the US?
The benefits over fantastic style fans that I see are:
-Does not add to vehicle height when open, will not catch on branches (and get destroyed) when you forget to close it.
-Its low profile prevents it from casting a shadow onto solar panels. This is huge by the way. Depending on your exact solar panel if you block one cell you can expect a 30-50% decrease in power output. If you block a single row of cells your output can drop to zero.
-Less noticeable when in operation if you are trying to not attract attention.
-Usable in the rain, no rain sensor like with fantastic that noisily opens and closes the vent throughout the night.
http://www.pacet.co.uk/images/menu/roofmounted.jpg
http://www.pacet.co.uk/roofmountedfans.php
Does anyone know where to buy them or good companies that will ship to the US?
The benefits over fantastic style fans that I see are:
-Does not add to vehicle height when open, will not catch on branches (and get destroyed) when you forget to close it.
-Its low profile prevents it from casting a shadow onto solar panels. This is huge by the way. Depending on your exact solar panel if you block one cell you can expect a 30-50% decrease in power output. If you block a single row of cells your output can drop to zero.
-Less noticeable when in operation if you are trying to not attract attention.
-Usable in the rain, no rain sensor like with fantastic that noisily opens and closes the vent throughout the night.
http://www.pacet.co.uk/images/menu/roofmounted.jpg
Abitibi
Explorer
Does it have to be on the roof? I've seen a few where they were mounted on the side or even rear doors. My ambulance has the intake on the upper side and two exhaust at the upper rear... I can dry my hair when all 3 are going! (Ok, I'm bald but it still moves a lot of air)
Cheers
Mr. D
Cheers
Mr. D