Tent/camper fans

[paulj]

Any recommendations or experiences with fans during warm weather camping? While running one off the vehicles 12v system is an option, I'm more interested in something that has its own batteries. Coleman, for example, has 4 tent fans that take 1 - 6 D cells.

paulj

 

[datrupr]

I have a coleman tent fan that runs off of 4 D batteries. It also has an led light that works as both a tent light, and if you want you can run it in "night light" mode. In my large tent it is not all that effective, but it does help some, but in the smaller tents it worke pretty well. It also does not put a huge drain on the batteries. I have let mine run for 3+ days straight and used the light in the evenings and I did not have to change the batteries. Actually, the batteries were still good for the next two trips several months later. I'll see if I can't dig up a pic for you. I think I paid around $25 for it at Wal-Mart.

Here is a picture of it, and if I had know that I could get it cheaper on line I would have gone that route. Wal-Mart online has it for $19.87. It is the Coleman Zephyr LED tent light and fan.

 

[Scott Brady]

Adventure Trailers sent me this little swamp cooler to test. I have used it on several occasions now, and will test it again on my Colorado trip.

In the dry climates in the west, I think it will be quite effective.

Swampy MW1

 

[Mike S]

Hella turbofan

Hella makes a low wattage 12V fan - the Turbo Fan - that works very well in campers, boats, and roof top tents. They are available at most boating supply shops, and plug into your cigarette lighter. There isn't much battery drain involved. A number of our customers use them and they can move a lot of air.

Mike

 

[OverlandZJ]

Here's the fan Mike referred to above.

http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hel...nics_Accessories/Fans/Turbo_Fan/Turbo_Fan.jsp

I didnt see a price but it looks like you could easily have it mounted in the vehicle then switch to a tent once in camp. :camping:

 

[paulj]

I looked up fans at the Westmarine.com site. The Hella fan's a bit pricier, about $60. However they have a variety of other fans in the $20 range. I'll have to stop by a local WM shop and look at their stock.

I'm not in rush though. Our three months of warm, dry summer hasn't arrived yet. With rain and showers predicted this weekend, I'll worry more about rain tarps than ventillation.

paulj

 

[OverlandZJ]

I just picked up a cheap tent fan at WalMart this week. It's an Ozark Trails brand, 10" fan and uses 8D batteries. A bit heavy to hang inside a tent but it was cheap at $13 and i'll be using it this coming weekend.

I had asked Quadratec about special ordering the Hella but havent heard back as yet.

:camping:

 

[Brian McVickers]

Scott - Is that little swamp cooler made by the company we saw at the outdoor show?

Also
I have had LOTS of experience with those Hella Fans. At one time I had 8 of those Hella fans mounted and working in a boat.:suning:

They put out some great wind and draw little power. But they will only survive 4-6 months of continuous use before they SCREAM LIKE A PISSED OFF BANSHEE!! Oh what an awful sound, please make it stop, but it's too hot to turn it off! I even took them apart down to the wires, lubed everything and reassembled, no use, once they are gone they are gone forever. Oh what a dreadful sound!:smileeek:

Now with the Phoenix heat I have a 12v oscillating fan mounted in the back seat to blow on my daughters car seat. I found it at WM for $10 and it has been working well, only one speed setting though.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Now with the Phoenix heat I have a 12v oscillating fan mounted in the back seat to blow on my daughters car seat. I found it at WM for $10 and it has been working well, only one speed setting though.

Brian.........

I have one of those WM 12v fans too.

Couldn't the guys with tents use one of these 12v fans and make their own 12v extention cord to reach from the truck to the tent?

Then they don't have to worry about using up little batteries and all the extra little batteries they will have to carry.

.
.
.

 

[Brian McVickers]

Sure, easy enough.

I have also seen a small computer type cooling fan hooked up to a small solar panel. It would sit in a car or boat window and circulate air. I wonder if there is a way to make or an existing fan that would charge itself during the day, sort of like those solar walkway lights for your hard, and then be usable at night using solar charged battery.

My not be powerful enought to really create ventilation and cooling though?

 

[BajaXplorer]

This is a good use for those 22 ah portable battery/jump start units that many of us carry (which you can recharge while your driving).
BX

 

[Mike S]

They put out some great wind and draw little power. But they will only survive 4-6 months of continuous use before they SCREAM LIKE A PISSED OFF BANSHEE!! Oh what an awful sound, please make it stop, but it's too hot to turn it off! I even took them apart down to the wires, lubed everything and reassembled, no use, once they are gone they are gone forever. Oh what a dreadful sound!

McVOR:

They do not last forever, but I doubt that they were intended for continuous duty use in marine environments? Six months continuous duty = years of camping trips. The price and quality are right for most campers, I think.

M

 

[Brian McVickers]

This is true
I'm sure you could categorize my use of them as abuse!
However I always thought they should be able to take it, maybe since a "marine" store charged so much for them.

 

[HenryJ]

I have a coleman tent fan... It is the Coleman Zephyr LED tent light and fan.

Thank you for this post. I recently picked one up and it was a very nice addition. We used it on the Silver City trip. Our tent is a comfortable four person tent (Cascade Quickdraw) It offered a nice movement of air and pleasant white noise (blades slapping air) for sleeping.

I think , although it does not pack well, it is a nice addition that will be taken on many trips yet to come.

 

[datrupr]

Henry, you are right about the packing, but we store all of our camping gear in plastic totes, so we make it fit. Our tent is a bit bigger than yours, and it does help with air circulation. So far, for the price I have been very happy with it.