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Al and Missy · 07-01-2016, 10:44 AM

DW bought me the stainless outside range vent for father's day.

On my 2002 Classic 30 S/O the vent is mounted where the vertical outside wall starts to curve into the roof. The sides of OEM plastic vent are curved to match the contour of the wall. The new stainless one has a completely flat flange.

My concerns are:

1. Mounting the stainless flat flange to the curved skin will distort the skin.

2. If I mount the flange with sheet metal screws into the skin, the screws will be under significant stress and may pull out of the skin.

3. The text on the Airstream store site says "...some additional sealing may be required..." which seems to infer the potential for leaks.

4. The stainless flap is substantially heavier than the plastic one and will therefore not open as far, reducing air flow and increasing back pressure. The anemic fan motor in the OEM Ventline hood has enough trouble venting properly. I replaced the OEM hood in my Safari 25 with the Baraldi and it made the vent work so much better! I must be one of the few that has not had trouble with the Baraldi hood, judging from the posts on here about it. Changing the hood in the Classic doesn't seem to be an option as it is a different size and shape from the Baraldi I bought.

Has anyone successfully implemented this transplant and if so, how? I'm beginning to wish I had just painted my old one.

Thanks,

Al

ROBERT CROSS · 07-01-2016, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

DW bought me the stainless outside range vent for father's day.

On my 2002 Classic 30 S/O the vent is mounted where the vertical outside wall starts to curve into the roof. The sides of OEM plastic vent are curved to match the contour of the wall. The new stainless one has a completely flat flange.

My concerns are:

1. Mounting the stainless flat flange to the curved skin will distort the skin.

2. If I mount the flange with sheet metal screws into the skin, the screws will be under significant stress and may pull out of the skin.

3. The text on the Airstream store site says "...some additional sealing may be required..." which seems to infer the potential for leaks.

4. The stainless flap is substantially heavier than the plastic one and will therefore not open as far, reducing air flow and increasing back pressure. The anemic fan motor in the OEM Ventline hood has enough trouble venting properly. I replaced the OEM hood in my Safari 25 with the Baraldi and it made the vent work so much better! I must be one of the few that has not had trouble with the Baraldi hood, judging from the posts on here about it. Changing the hood in the Classic doesn't seem to be an option as it is a different size and shape from the Baraldi I bought.

Has anyone successfully implemented this transplant and if so, how? I'm beginning to wish I had just painted my old one.

Thanks,

Al

Al,

I used 1/4" ID clear plastic tubing, split, to seal and a custom wooden retainer to help with the flow.

I sealed the screws & vent flange with.....

It seals very well is sooper strong.
....very handy in the AS tool kit.

Bob

Al and Missy · 07-01-2016, 01:30 PM

Thanks Bob,

The vent came with foam gasket, but I don't think that will seal up good enough on the curved surface and they ultimately take a set and don't seal very well. I have tubes of 5200 in the fridge, but I may use something less permanent for this installation.

You forgot to mention the custom steel spring in your retainer. Good Idea!

Did mounting the vent distort the skin much? My metal backing plates for the Fantastic Fans distorted the curved roof, but only the birds can see that.

Al

ROBERT CROSS · 07-01-2016, 03:07 PM

......"Did mounting the vent distort the skin much? My metal backing plates for the Fantastic Fans distorted the curved roof, but only the birds can see that."

Nice thing about the custom retainer....it has an automatic closing feature.
If you forget to close it, it will blow off in the slipstream while towing.

No....it's been 8yrs, SFSG.

Bob

cazual6 · 07-02-2016, 11:40 AM

I just bought and installed mine. I bought the sealant from the AS site. Installed easy. The vent flap is heavier, but looks way better. Here is a pic of the original plastic then the new one aluminum (haven't washed from my trip, forgive he dirtiness)

Starlight Mike · 07-02-2016, 01:17 PM

I put the stainless vent on and immediately the stainless on the aluminum caused corrosion( dissimilar metals ). I now have a new plastic vent in place.

Amsterdamer · 07-02-2016, 02:50 PM

I replaced the plastic vent with the stainless version too. It's an easy swap. I used ample butyl tape to seal it, as recommended by my dealer, along with the included foam.

cando · 07-02-2016, 04:13 PM

I changed to the aluminum vent cover and finally got it to quit leaking inside. If you don't have any leaks now I would suggest you return the aluminum cover and spend the refund on something you'd really enjoy. This thing has aggravated me since l bought and installed it a year ago

jayseejay · 07-02-2016, 07:25 PM

We doubled the thickness of the supplied gasket material and tightened the screws only so far as to compress the material about 50-75%. The stainless does not contact the aluminum, so no corrosion, and so far it is water tight. We have not noticed any meaningful restriction in airflow with the somewhat heavier metal flap. Best, Joe

Howard L. · 07-02-2016, 10:49 PM

No problem here. Use the supplied gasket. Bought new ruber backed galvanized washers and stainless screws. Sealed the seams of the vent with a thin line of ParBond. The vent is water tight and sits nicely off the metal side cushioned with the gasket. No distortion of the skin. Looks great.

ROBERT CROSS · 07-05-2016, 05:10 AM

Galvanic corrosion.....changed all external fasteners with stainless screws, nuts & bolts 12ys ago, SFSG.

"It is unusual to see galvanic corrosion on aluminum in contact with stainless steel (passive). In contrast contact between copper, bronze, brass and different kinds of steel alloys (passive and active) and aluminum can cause severe corrosion so it is advisable to provide insulation between the two metals.

Generally, the closer one metal is to another in the series, the more compatible they will be, i.e., the galvanic effects will be minimal. Conversely, the farther one metal is from another, the greater the corrosion will be.
as well as end users of Anodizing."

Bob

dkottum · 07-05-2016, 07:34 AM

We had all new stainless steel covers put on at Jackson Center a coupe of months ago. They installed the range cover so the thick foam gasket compresses more at the middle than the top and bottom to compensate for the curve of the Airstream panel. None of the cover contacts the Airstream panel, I believe the screws are stainless as well. I was there when they put it on, looked like a good installation to me.

I may go back and put some sealant on the top and sides of the cover, mostly to protect the gasket from the sun.

dznf0g · 10-20-2016, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gklott

Installed mine, and it fit well. Used Sikaflex on top and both sides. Used new #8 stainless steel screws. One issue though. When running the vent fan on low, it appears that the flapper does not open. On high, it opens. Has anyone else found this? Is the flapper too heavy? It moves freely when I manually move it.

Yes, I hold it open with a chunk of foam while in use.

gklott · 10-20-2016, 05:39 AM

Installed mine, and it fit well. Used Sikaflex on top and both sides. Used new #8 stainless steel screws. One issue though. When running the vent fan on low, it appears that the flapper does not open. On high, it partially opens. Has anyone else found a way to ensure it opens more?

outofcontrol · 04-07-2017, 02:44 PM

I've found a guy to polish my Airstream and I was stripping off everything that I could to make it easy and clean. I pulled this vent off for the polishing and it's always been an eyesore for me. When I pulled it off, the cracks that were there totally failed, and the thing is junk. I happen to have a shop that works in stainless so yesterday I pulled some scrap together and built this. I gave it the same radius that the plastic one has and it matches the contour of the trailer.

I'll post up some pics once I mount it back up.

-Kevin

I thought about it more... Because I'm deleting the flap (14g stainless is far too heavy to open with the slight puff of fan power) there could be a chance of road spray going up the perforated part. So I added a little dam on the back so water can't just run in there.

rastapoodle · 04-07-2017, 04:14 PM

We usually put a spring loaded clothspin on the range vent cover to remind us to lock the flapper down. We use that clothspin to hold the flapper open with fan on low speed. It's a little extra work, but the new SS range vent cover looks so good on the AS.

Meddle · 07-11-2018, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amsterdamer

I replaced the plastic vent with the stainless version too. It's an easy swap. I used ample butyl tape to seal it, as recommended by my dealer, along with the included foam.

I am about to install mine and want to use butyl tape as well. Did you put the tape under the foam gasket in contact with the trailer (i.e. from top to bottom — vent, gasket, tape, trailer) or another way?

Amsterdamer · 07-12-2018, 06:45 AM

I used the butyl tape along the inside perimeter of the foam gasket and along the edges and under each screw. I left the gasket touching the trailer skin and the vent.

LAWBC · 10-20-2020, 01:08 PM

Just received a new exterior stainless stove vent, supplied foam gasket and couple of questions.

Did anyone used existing screws w/o washers from the plastic OEM vent, (as they appear to be stainless steel) ?

What width of butyl did you use did you need to size it /

waninae39 · 10-20-2020, 01:55 PM

i added thin strip of exterior plywood under the 4 sides on the flap so that it would ensure it would not collapse than i riveted them it.

i also use the red house tape to ensure all was sealed form inside to out.
it also very slippery so grease does not stick to it over time