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kamadeca · 08-14-2019, 09:46 AM

Hi folks,
Did a search for this topic but didn't come up with anything specific for our problem.

I am trying to clean the blades on our Fantastic Fan (after 2 weeks in a very dusty climate). I can take off the inner screen, unscrew the centre screw that holds the blade to the shaft, but when I try and pull the blades down they get caught on the housing inside the trailer. I have looked at YouTube and most videos just show people pulling the fans straight down - can't do it on the Airstream.

Do I have to get up on the roof and undo the motor mounts? Hope not.

Any suggestions, hints would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Malcolm

uraljohn · 08-14-2019, 12:54 PM

We had a 2017 23D and now a 2019 FC25 and the fan blades come right out. Remove inner screen, remove center screw, blade slides right off. I just went outside to eyeball our fans in the 2019 FC25 just to see if I could see where you might be having an issue, but no joy.

Can you get the blade loose from the shaft or is there not enough clearance?

Possibly a call to Fantastic Fan, there number is in the book that came with your AS. Have your model number handy. Maybe your fans were designed a bit different. Good luck.

AL13 · 08-12-2020, 03:38 PM

Bringing this one back to life. While enjoying a nice weekend out of the house in the Airstream I realized just how grungy the Fantastic fan and inside of the cover has become. Easy enough to clean, right? Look at the operation manual, grab some cleaning products and a screwdriver...nope. The diameter of the fan (ring around the blades) is just a little bigger than the inside opening. Pulling down on the fan, it stops at the inside of the opening, just before it comes off of the shaft. Somebody out there has dealt with this and holds the solution. The blades can be cleaned with more effort than necessary but there is no reaching through to clean the inside of the cover. What am I missing?

dznf0g · 08-12-2020, 03:50 PM

Hey, at least you can get the blade off the motor shaft. Consider yourself lucky. I clean it with one finger, in place, which really doesn't work.

pcskier · 08-12-2020, 03:59 PM

You either have to just work around each blade from down below. Or what I did was remove the screws from the recessed panel that are adjacent to the screen (Not the ones that hold the trim to the ceiling--the ones recessed where the switches and controls are) and carefully drop that assembly, it can come down quite a bit without having to remove any wires. While holding it with one hand, remove the fan blade. You can let the assembly hang by the wires wile you clean the blade. Also makes it possible to clean the edges of the fan blade housing.

ROBERT CROSS · 08-12-2020, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Hey, at least you can get the blade off the motor shaft. Consider yourself lucky. I clean it with one finger, in place, which really doesn't work.

The 'one finger' works fine for us...we don't look up.

Bob
🇺🇸

dznf0g · 08-12-2020, 05:05 PM

Which finger do you point up?

AL13 · 08-12-2020, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Hey, at least you can get the blade off the motor shaft. Consider yourself lucky. I clean it with one finger, in place, which really doesn't work.

So...sometimes it becomes an issue of principle. I chose the rear fan so all the dirt would drop on the table instead of the mattress. The fan blade is not individual blades. The blades end in a ring, making the whole blade assembly a one piece circle, just larger than the inside opening (I know, pictures would be great but I just didn't anticipate a multi-hour project with a lot on ins and outs). The blade assembly will not pull completely off of the shaft, so...out come screwdrivers. For starters, remove the fuse. Remove 3 screws, then two more which hold the manual up/down control for the cover. Once the screws are out, the inside cover can drop enough to pull the blades off the shaft and with a little effort it can pull at a slight angle through the opening of the cover. Everything is a lot cleaner now and reassembly is just a matter of reversing the process. Which goes well and it looks really good. Turning it on, the cover goes up...and the fan does nothing. Words, many words, most of which aren't allowed on the forum. Disassemble, check for loose wire or something obvious. Nothing. Reassemble and more words. Well, at least it is clean. Turn it on to check the cover raising and...up it goes as the fan comes on. Go figure. The lesson here is...don't look up into the fan again. The rear fan is completely clean, the front fan is clean and the cover isn't. After 9+ years, this will be the only cleaning. If it gets to that point again, we will sell this one and buy a new Airstream.

dznf0g · 08-12-2020, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AL13

So...sometimes it becomes an issue of principle. I chose the rear fan so all the dirt would drop on the table instead of the mattress. The fan blade is not individual blades. The blades end in a ring, making the whole blade assembly a one piece circle, just larger than the inside opening (I know, pictures would be great but I just didn't anticipate a multi-hour project with a lot on ins and outs). The blade assembly will not pull completely off of the shaft, so...out come screwdrivers. For starters, remove the fuse. Remove 3 screws, then two more which hold the manual up/down control for the cover. Once the screws are out, the inside cover can drop enough to pull the blades off the shaft and with a little effort it can pull at a slight angle through the opening of the cover. Everything is a lot cleaner now and reassembly is just a matter of reversing the process. Which goes well and it looks really good. Turning it on, the cover goes up...and the fan does nothing. Words, many words, most of which aren't allowed on the forum. Disassemble, check for loose wire or something obvious. Nothing. Reassemble and more words. Well, at least it is clean. Turn it on to check the cover raising and...up it goes as the fan comes on. Go figure. The lesson here is...don't look up into the fan again. The rear fan is completely clean, the front fan is clean and the cover isn't. After 9+ years, this will be the only cleaning. If it gets to that point again, we will sell this one and buy a new Airstream.

No, I get it, believe me. My vintage 2007 blade assembly WILL NOT come off the shaft, even with removal of the set screw. At least not without breaking it.