Fantastic Fan Operation

[Cracker]

I thought that I had asked this question once before but I couldn't find anything using "search." My living room fan operates differently from the bedroom fan in that the bedroom fan opens or closes the roof vent along with turning the fan on/off, whereas the living room fan shuts on/off via the thermostat setting - but leaves the roof vent open continuously unless it rains. The only way to shut the vent, other than manually, is to switch the toggle switch to the "closed" position - and the only way to open it is, again, with the toggle switch, or manually. When closed, with the toggle switch so indicating, the thermostat control is non-functional. During the summer that's not much of a problem - but during the cooler days of Spring and Fall the vent staying open could cool the trailer down excessively as night falls. Is this the normal way these fans operate - or does the living room fan have a problem? The bedroom fan is, of course, controlled by the wall thermostat next to the bed.

[Fyrzowt]

Mine would stay up until I closed it. It had the rain sensor option. The thermostat only turns the fan on/off.
Dave

[Sky]

I have a fantastic fan wall thermostat in bedroom, and in the living room, the thermostat is on the fan assembly. When powered on, the vent opens and stays open (Unless it rains). The thermostat turns the fan on and off, but the vent stays open. I think the designers figured it would be too much stress on the automatic vent to open and close several times a day as the thermostat triggers the fan on and off.

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by Cracker

I thought that I had asked this question once before but I couldn't find anything using "search." My living room fan operates differently from the bedroom fan in that the bedroom fan opens or closes the roof vent along with turning the fan on/off, whereas the living room fan shuts on/off via the thermostat setting - but leaves the roof vent open continuously unless it rains. The only way to shut the vent, other than manually, is to switch the toggle switch to the "closed" position - and the only way to open it is, again, with the toggle switch, or manually. When closed, with the toggle switch so indicating, the thermostat control is non-functional. During the summer that's not much of a problem - but during the cooler days of Spring and Fall the vent staying open could cool the trailer down excessively as night falls. Is this the normal way these fans operate - or does the living room fan have a problem? The bedroom fan is, of course, controlled by the wall thermostat next to the bed.

Yes, that is normal operating procedure for that type of fantastic fan.

[Cracker]

Eureka!!! I contacted Fantastic Fan and got a great "how to" response from one of their techs! If you want the vent lid to close via the thermostat setting, disconnect the two wires on the thermostat that lead to the fan motor and splice them together; then connect the 2 orange wires that go to the vent motor to the thermostat, using two 3/8", 90 deg, 18 gauge, female terminals. That way, the thermostat controls the vent lid and the fan automatically goes off when the lid closes and depresses the shut-off switch for the fan. As an alternate, you can leave the present connections for the fan connected to the thermostat and piggyback the vent lid orange wires to the same terminals, as above. Then, install a small switch on one of the vent lid orange wires and you can selectively have it work either way.

[Fyrzowt]

Great info

[tin sista]

Glad you had a good experience with the fantastic fan company Cracker.

When we bought our new to us excella the fantastic fan in the bedroom had problems operating. We called the company, and they sent us parts and info for free, yes free, no shipping, nothing. We explained we were not the original owners, they said that was fine they stood behind their product. Can't say I've heard of too many places that do that anymore. They are really great at customer service!

[Fyrzowt]

It seems that over and over, Fantastic Fan is a company that gets great reviews by members here for good service. I've had the same experience.
I'd give 'em karma if I could....
Dave

[SilverRanger]

Originally Posted by Fyrzowt

It seems that over and over, Fantastic Fan is a company that gets great reviews by members here for good service. I've had the same experience.
I'd give 'em karma if I could....
Dave

Same here. While at Perry, we stopped at their booth and ended up getting a switch installed to enable us to reverse the air flow on our existing fan. They were prompt, extremely courteous, and even offered to let us clean the fan blades and screen while they had it down. They were done in less than 15 minutes. The switch and installation: $20. Our neighbor had two new fans installed, and was very pleased with the work and the price. It was one of many good experiences we had at our first international rally.

[Cracker]

Originally Posted by Cracker

Eureka!!! I contacted Fantastic Fan and got a great "how to" response from one of their techs! If you want the vent lid to close via the thermostat setting, disconnect the two wires on the thermostat that lead to the fan motor and splice them together; then connect the 2 orange wires that go to the vent motor to the thermostat, using two 3/8", 90 deg, 18 gauge, female terminals. That way, the thermostat controls the vent lid and the fan automatically goes off when the lid closes and depresses the shut-off switch for the fan. As an alternate, you can leave the present connections for the fan connected to the thermostat and piggyback the vent lid orange wires to the same terminals, as above. Then, install a small switch on one of the vent lid orange wires and you can selectively have it work either way.

I woke up thinking about this procedure about 5 a.m. - my normal time for bright ideas - and I just wanted to suggest that anyone wanting to modify their fan should contact Fantastic Fan direct for instructions! Although the fans are only 12 volts I don't want anyone to mess up using my secondhand instructions. The procedure is very simple - but I haven't done it yet and a couple of questions came to mind about the orange wire polarity and the use of a switch to enable alternate functions.

[jcanavera]

They seem to have produced a lot of models that have different operating characteristics. In my '01 Safari, once the air temp matched the thermostat setting, the fan shut down and the hatch closed.

In my current Classic, the front vent has a separate switch to close down the vent lid. The rear only closes when the wall mounted switch/thermostat is set in the off position.

Jack

[Cracker]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

They seem to have produced a lot of models that have different operating characteristics. In my '01 Safari, once the air temp matched the thermostat setting, the fan shut down and the hatch closed.

In my current Classic, the front vent has a separate switch to close down the vent lid. The rear only closes when the wall mounted switch/thermostat is set in the off position.

Jack

I forgot to mention that the Fantastic Fan tech said that they made a unit with the switch built-in to permit alternate modes of operation.