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Dan,
I haven't put any in the main cabin. The PO replaced the cowl on the dorade in the head with a solar vent sometime in the 1990s. The solar cells or the motor finally died last year. The reason I haven't replaced it is I've had such bad luck with the Nicro solar vents I've purchased over the last 20 years. Everyone I've purchased died within 3 years. That includes the two I put on Sarah to replace the cowls on the transom for the engine ventilation. I used the Day/Night versions with the Nicad battery because I wanted them to keep the bilge ventillated and hopefully reduce the smell. They failed on both accounts. The batteries failed to recharge within a year so the night time operation was lost pretty quickly. Two years later the fan motor stopped working even when held the vent directly into the sunlight. I don't know if it was the motor or the solar cells that failed. So now I have three passive vents on Sarah. The bilge smell didn't go away until I removed all of the sewage hoses last summer.
My recommendation would be to go with the passive vents and forget solar power. If you do go with solar vents, don't waste your money on the Day/Night versions.
Of course others may have had better experience with these vents. There also may be a better manufacturer than Nicro. The fact that the vent the PO installed (looks like a Nicro) worked for more than 10 years says they can be durable. Maybe I just have a skill for picking the lemons.John
On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 7:12 AM, kalinowski < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Has anyone installed the solar powered cabin vent units on their 424? If so, where did you mount them? Are you satisfied with their performance?
Dan Kalinowsk
S/V Lady Leanne II (#135)
Honolulu—
Regards,
John Stevenson
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Dan:
Based on John’s comments, I have another idea for you to consider in place
of the solar vents. I got it from the composting toilet I also installed.
They use small computer fans to provide ventilation. These little fans are
all 12 volt and many draw less than 1 watt, so they can be wired up directly
to your DC system. Best of all, they only cost a few bucks each, so they are
basically disposable. They come in sizes starting at 10 x 10 cm on up.They
could be placed in dorades, etc, if you wanted more active ventilation.Paul
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Well, for my two cents that you probably knew was coming: I've had the Nico day/night vents and they've performed flawlessly for years. My problem has been they've been yanked of the transom in heavy weather on my old boat or have had stuff dropped on them shattering the solar cell. I expect to replace the battery every couple of years – it's a 'D' or 'C' cell battery easily gotten from Radio Shack. Nicad batteries have a limited number of recharge cycles, somewhere in the hundreds so 2-3 years would be about right.
Whatever you do, don't get the plastic ones – go the extra bucks for the stainless ones, although it'll hurt more when they plunge overboard…
Bob
On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 10:10 AM, Paul Lefebvre < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Dan:
Based on John's comments, I have another idea for you to consider in place of the solar vents. I got it from the composting toilet I also installed. They use small computer fans to provide ventilation. These little fans are all 12 volt and many draw less than 1 watt, so they can be wired up directly to your DC system. Best of all, they only cost a few bucks each, so they are basically disposable. They come in sizes starting at 10 x 10 cm on up.They could be placed in dorades, etc, if you wanted more active ventilation.
Paul
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Bob Fine
s/v Pelican
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I put one on the dorade above the head to clear the steam. It didn’t do much.
Since then I put in a medium hatch. That helped a lot.
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I mounted one up in the V-berth coachroof. I removed a chimney that was installed through there and needed to do something with the hole. They last a few years before failing. I suspect that the motor brushes fail. There is no way to service the motor. I’ve replace it once already and the replacement too has failed. Even when it worked, it didn’t push much air. IMHO, don’t waste your money.
I’ll replace it once again with a non-solar unit. The are designed to draw air up through them using a venturi effect whenever air passes over them. This works day or night as long as the wind blows.
There are occasions when the interior gets hot, yet there is no ventilation. This happens on a hot day if there is no wind or if its raining and you can’t open the hatches. Both conditions are rare here in the northeast, but there are other areas of the world where it is common. I purchased a couple of cheap 12v cabin fans for such occasions.
—
Rich Carter
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Paul
That’s a pretty good idea. You may find the fans to be noisy, but you can put a small series resistor in there to slow the fan down and reduce noise. The most efficient way to do this is to connect the pair in series with no resistor. If you only have one or have an odd number, you can measure the resistance of one fan and put a resistor of similar size in series. The resistor method lets you fool with the value if you want to fine tune the speed for minimal noise.—
Rich Carter
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Replying to this olde thread because now that the sun is ocassionally popping out in Seattle, I’m going to be installing a set of nicro vents on my stern rail replacing the plastic air scoops with plastic tube inside that created sort of a dorade.
I just realized though that in order to do this I’ll have to remove the blower fan. A blower isn’t really a necesary pre-start procedure on a diesel, but I saw some other model Pearson owners were running their blowers for cooling while the engine was running if it was particularly hot.
I’m curious what you all think about the blower, if you have one and how you use it in the operation of your vessel.
Thanks!
-pOwners no more...
Thanks Dawn and Patrick! -
@Patrick_DeepPlaya wrote:
I’m curious what you all think about the blower, if you have one and how you use it in the operation of your vessel.
Just realized I should search the forum first and there are all the answers… some have ’em, some don’t and yes some do run them when the motor is running, and I even said it might be useful when you’re charging the batteries….
So much information available if I just look for it. 😉
-p
Owners no more...
Thanks Dawn and Patrick! -
I removed that entire blower system, sealed one of the holes in the aft
cockpit combing, and modified the other into a stern anchor deck pipe. I
agree the blowers could be useful for pulling hot air out of the engine
compartment, but I don’t think it’s a necessity. Meanwhile, all those
bulky hoses were in the way when I was re-wiring and re-plumbing and
re-inventing my boat. So they’re all gone. I went cruising for 2 years /
600 engine hours. No problems with the heat in there. It dissipates
throughout the aft 1/4 of the hull.Tor
Silverheels, P-424 #17
http://www.silverheels.us
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I believe in them for cooling. I have two turbo fans at the transom
which suck air from around the engine and from around my generator/scuba
compressor. In the port cooming box are two 4″ air intakes with hoses
that go to the front of the engine, one just below the engine air intake
so the intake might get cooler (higher density air).Pete
On 4/25/2011 2:03 AM, Patrick_DeepPlaya wrote:
Replying to this olde thread because now that the sun is ocassionally popping out in Seattle, I’m going to be installing a set of nicro vents on my stern rail replacing the plastic air scoops with plastic tube inside that created sort of a dorade.
I just realized though that in order to do this I’ll have to remove the blower fan. A blower isn’t really a necesary pre-start procedure on a diesel, but I saw some other model Pearson owners were running their blowers for cooling while the engine was running if it was particularly hot.
I’m curious what you all think about the blower, if you have one and how you use it in the operation of your vessel.
Thanks!
-p
Deep Playa, #152 http://www.DeepPlaya.com_______________________________________________
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I am currently in Stuart, FL where I met Mark, Beth and Liam Griffin. They have
a nice looking ketch. I asked them if they knew about the 424 list. They did and
they want to be involved. I told them I would send an e-mail to try to get them
on the list.Their e-mail address is: .
lee
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