Fantstic fan

Fred Mc · July 17, 2018, 01:06:02 PM

I?m considering a fantastic fan to use when we can?t use the a/c and apparently these fans move a lot of air with Lillie power used. Anyone have any real life experience on how effective they are

Thx

Fred

Geoff · July 17, 2018, 01:48:50 PM

I have a couple of Fantastic Fans. I can open one with no fan and use the second one to pull the air through and out. Nice to have.

GnarlyBus · July 17, 2018, 02:12:24 PM

We decided against having air conditioning (for now) and instead installed two Maxxair Deluxe fans. We put them in the emergency exit roof hatches. They're low profile, can be set by thermostat (good for our bulldog) and have many speed settings. Plus, they're very quiet. The maxxair design does great when it's raining.

The fans manage to pull a lot of air through the bus. Even with just one on the cooling effect is very noticeable.

buswarrior · July 17, 2018, 03:44:45 PM

Inspect these for noise.

Buy the quietest ones, and ones that can change direction, blow in or out.

Those max hoods, that can stay open in a rain storm, are really nice, often you really want some air movement, yet have to button up for the rest of the windows for the rain. Also can be confidently left open and on when away from the coach, with no worry about the rain.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · July 17, 2018, 04:00:32 PM

I have had several Fantastic Fans and I highly recommend them. The warranty is not as good as it once was. Used to be if anything ever went wrong they sent you replacement parts asap no questions asked. However after Dometic bought them out, they now have a limited warranty and the $99 model may not have any warranty if I remember correctly.

I like to use a CLEAR cover over mine so I can leave them open in the rain. Just because it is raining outside, doesn't mean it is cool on the inside, especially if it just starts raining in the summer and things start cooling off. They say if you put the rain cover over it, it will cut down on the CFM but I never worried about that because they move so much air anyway. Also the rain sensors tend to wear out over time and you may end up with it raining inside your bus if you don't buy the extra cover.

Also, the cheaper version $99 has an opaque cover but the more expensive ones have a translucent cover so it lets a lot more light in. Big plus in my book.

I buy the most expensive ones because I like the auto-close rain cover and the thermostatically controlled fan and the ones with the remote control even though I never use those features. I have noticed though in the last two I bought, if you open them with the remote then try closing them, they tend to try opening more so it takes a couple of button pushes to coax it to close. Same thing when opening it. They both have done this since I bought them. I would complain about it, but it is not worth the effort. But if your new one does this, it might be worth complaining to see it can be fixed while it is still new if this bothers you.

Even though the warranty is limited, I still like these units as they are very quiet and move a LOT of air in a short amount of time.

Jim Eh. · August 14, 2018, 08:15:26 PM

Quote from: Geoff on July 17, 2018, 01:48:50 PM
I have a couple of Fantastic Fans. I can open one with no fan and use the second one to pull the air through and out. Nice to have.

Why not run one in reverse and really move air?

silversport · August 14, 2018, 08:59:20 PM

Short answer is they are worth the money, but in triple digit weather pulling/circulating that heat really does not help cool anything.

muldoonman · August 15, 2018, 05:25:02 AM

Have 2 and Leave one running 24-7 to keep air moving in and out while it's parked in the barn. Put the MaxxFan Plus models in mine as they have 2 lifting arms on cover. Had 2 Fantastic's (single lifting arm) and a turbulent wind storm broke one cover and arm. The Maxx Plus seem to be built better and 10 speed.

Jim Eh. · August 15, 2018, 06:48:05 AM

Quote from: silversport on August 14, 2018, 08:59:20 PM
Short answer is they are worth the money, but in triple digit weather pulling/circulating that heat really does not help cool anything.

But it does get rid of the melting plastic smell.

Geoff · August 15, 2018, 03:27:54 PM

Quote from: Jim Eh. on August 14, 2018, 08:15:26 PM
Why not run one in reverse and really move air?

Don't need to. There are all sorts of ways to move air around using the Fantastic Fans , depending on what your goal is.

chessie4905 · August 15, 2018, 03:28:09 PM

We had one of these in our Brill. Attached a 110 volt box fan in place. It would really move the air and super quiet on low. Also worked as emergency escape hatch.

https://www.amazon.com/Hengs-68631-2-Elixir-Escape-Garnish/dp/B0027XK788

KevinHornbuckle · August 18, 2018, 11:47:46 PM

Quote from: GnarlyBus on July 17, 2018, 02:12:24 PM
We decided against having air conditioning (for now) and instead installed two Maxxair Deluxe fans. We put them in the emergency exit roof hatches. They're low profile, can be set by thermostat (good for our bulldog) and have many speed settings. Plus, they're very quiet. The maxxair design does great when it's raining.

The fans manage to pull a lot of air through the bus. Even with just one on the cooling effect is very noticeable.

That's just what I need. Thanks for the review.

TomC · August 19, 2018, 10:16:57 PM

I have two Fantastic fans-one over the stove, and the other in the bathroom. With both on high sucking air out with two windows open, it really moves air. Highly recommend. Good Luck, TomC

richard5933 · August 20, 2018, 03:28:42 AM

We had a FF 7350 with rain sensor installed on our coach. I didn't want the huge rain shield over the top and hoped that the rain sensor would be enough to run without fear of our interior getting wet. The sensor works well and dutifully shuts the lid at the first drop. However, that became a problem as the thing kept closing at the first (and sometimes only) drop.

Still not wanting a huge rain shield on the roof, we installed a MaxxFan Deluxe this weekend. When open it has an integral rain shield - when closed it sits flush to the roof and doesn't stick up like the traditional rain shield. So far so good. Slightly quieter than the FF, but has a strange wind tunnel quality to the sound. Must be cause it's pulling air through a tunnel. Moves lots of air and we'll stick with it for a while to see how it does.

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · August 20, 2018, 10:38:08 AM

I have had several Fantastic Fans and love them. They are relatively quiet (on a lower setting) and move a LOT of air. I also generally cover mine with transparent roof vent covers because I like to be able to run the fan sometimes when it is raining outside to air the place out and the transparent covers still let in a LOT of light.

I was told by a Fantastic Fan representative that the roof vents covers are not recommended because they cut down the CFM quite a bit, but they put out plenty of air flow in my opinion even with the covers on them. Besides, after a few years, the rain sensors are generally the first things to fail and I do not want the inside of my bus flooded when I am gone for the day in the rain when they do fail.