Fantastic Fan lift knob 'popping out of gear'

[blickcd]

You pull down the knob to raise or lower the lid manually, push it up to have the motor do that for you.

Normally the knob pops or snaps into the up position. Mine seems to be worn out and the knob won't stay engaged in the upward position.

If you have the motor raise the lid, you need to lightly press a finger in the center of the knob as it spins to keep it in gear.

I have replaced the motor and lift mechanism before and know they wear out, but would like to get another year or two out of these parts.

Anyone have a fix to get it to stay 'in gear' yet still be able to operate it manually if needed?

[jcanavera]

Problem I have found now is that with the sale of Fantastic Fan to Atwood, the parts supply is not always reliable. Reliable means while you may be able to find a specific part, the part may not mesh with the older parts on the fan. I've found that the lift lever on my two fans has a pin which holds the other lever in place and both levers hinge together on this pin. The lever connects directly to a spline gear on the motor. I called Atwood and they gave me a part number and you end up having to purchase that through Amazon. Atwood doesn't sell it directly. Fast forward I get the new lever and find that connector that connects to the spline gear is smaller than the existing spline on the motor. I call back Atwood and tell them the problem. The support person says well of course it won't fit. You need to buy a new motor that has the proper sized spline that will fit that new lift lever assembly you bought. So I'm given a part number and I again have to purchase it through Amazon. Yes it fits. Bottom line rather than tear it all apart again I place a wire tie through that connection point in the two rods that holds them together. What I'm going to do is get a small cotter key and use that as the replacement for the pin. I'll keep the motor and lift rods for the day when the motor dies.

Bottom line be aware that replacement parts you obtain for the older fans may not be perfectly compatible with the parts they may need to mate with, which will possibly force to you buy other parts to return your fan to functionality. And to make matters worse Atwood may not make or stock the parts you need and will point you to third party Amazon's sellers for those parts.

Jack

[blickcd]

Jack, thanks for the comments. Sounds like I may have to replace the motor and lift arm, just for the sake of making sure the parts are compatible. I might do some disassembly work on the existing motor and knob in the near future and see if I can come up with a fix. Will try to remember to post an update.

I know that Fantastic was great back in the day but once the company was sold by the original owners it went downhill fast. I consider Atwood to be a decent brand and surprised they don't handle the Fantastic line better.

Reading briefly through this section of the forums, it seems the trend is to replace old Fantastic Fans with MaxxFans, which are supposedly good quality and have good customer service.

My Fantastic fan was a DIY install so replacing with the MaxxAir should be easy enough, but I would like to hold off on the expense for another season or two.