Two Fantastic fans

[rubicon327]

I would definitely rule out the A/C if Escape only offers Dometic or Coleman. They are supposedly putting the Houghton unit on the 23 so I would ask if they have Houghton options for the other trailers now. I did a custom mini-split but if I hadn’t I would definitely have installed a Houghton rooftop to replace the Dometic jet engine.
https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-conditioners/

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by MoreQuestionsThanAnswers

Our teardrop has only a Fantastic Fan. We have never been uncomfortable at night due to temperatures by running the fan with windows open. However, we are never in the trailer during the day. Are we nuts to consider a 19 or 5.0 without a AC unit?

We live in the Pacific Northwest. 70 percent of our nights will be Washington, Oregon. However, we also plan trips to Palm Springs, Arizona, etc.

I use my Coleman AC the same as I would the AC at my home, whenever needed. I have mine setup to run off my batteries, but that’s mainly for traveling with my cats.
I wouldn’t want to limit my travels when there’s an easy solution.
I found myself at the Lost Dutchman in Arizona last June, very few people there, I’m definitely going back.
Without my AC I wouldn’t have considered going anywhere near Arizona.

[outwiththedogs]

We have a 2020 19’ trailer. We went for 2 fans, no AC. When we bought our trailer we lived in Denver—hot summer days with cooler nights. We are now in Anacortes, just north of you. I am very heat sensitive and we avoid camping in hot and humid weather. My reasoning is that if it is too hot to be outside it is too hot to be camping. That is for me, lots of friends absolutely love the heat. Having 2 fans helps a lot, we put one on pulling air in from outside and one moving air from inside. We travel with 2 older dogs that are fine with just the fans. Our trips to hot places tend to be in the cooler seasons.
If we lived in the south or Midwest I might have made different decisions but this works for us and our camping style of mostly dry camping.

[Civilguy]

Perhaps not incidentally, the power draw on these roof vent fans can range up to around 5 amps at full speed. The lowest speeds tend to pull less than one amp.

A pair of 6 volt batteries can readily provide 50 amp hours, which could equate to two fans operating at a mid-range speed at 2.5 amps each for ten hours; 2 x 2.5 x 10 = 50.

We had a little wheelchair battery in our teardrop trailer and it was a big surprise to me when we ran it flat operating a Fantastic Fan overnight.

Of course that was before solar panels, back when we had to walk to the restroom uphill both ways in the snow…

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

Perhaps not incidentally, the power draw on these roof vent fans can range up to around 5 amps at full speed. The lowest speeds tend to pull less than one amp.

A pair of 6 volt batteries can readily provide 50 amp hours, which could equate to two fans operating at a mid-range speed at 2.5 amps each for ten hours; 2 x 2.5 x 10 = 50.

We had a little wheelchair battery in our teardrop trailer and it was a big surprise to me when we ran it flat operating a Fantastic Fan overnight.

Of course that was before solar panels, back when we had to walk to the restroom uphill both ways in the snow…

Wow, I can run our fantastic fan for four or five nights and only be at 85%. I don’t run above 50% often, because it’s just not needed in the small trailer. I’d hadn’t really considered the fans had to work that much harder in the big trailer, but of course it makes sense.

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Originally Posted by outwiththedogs

We have a 2020 19’ trailer. We went for 2 fans, no AC. When we bought our trailer we lived in Denver—hot summer days with cooler nights. We are now in Anacortes, just north of you. I am very heat sensitive and we avoid camping in hot and humid weather. My reasoning is that if it is too hot to be outside it is too hot to be camping. That is for me, lots of friends absolutely love the heat. Having 2 fans helps a lot, we put one on pulling air in from outside and one moving air from inside. We travel with 2 older dogs that are fine with just the fans. Our trips to hot places tend to be in the cooler seasons.
If we lived in the south or Midwest I might have made different decisions but this works for us and our camping style of mostly dry camping.

Thanks, I’m leaning this way if I buy new.

[Civilguy]

My bad; I just checked our build list and the dual 6V batteries are listed as 225 Ah.

So, 50% capacity for conservative drawdown for the pair of batteries when new would be something north of 100 Ah.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

Perhaps not incidentally, the power draw on these roof vent fans can range up to around 5 amps at full speed. The lowest speeds tend to pull less than one amp.

A pair of 6 volt batteries can readily provide 50 amp hours, which could equate to two fans operating at a mid-range speed at 2.5 amps each for ten hours; 2 x 2.5 x 10 = 50.

I think you are overstating individual fan amp draw. You’ll find that a MaxxFan will draw pretty close to these numbers below. I tested with a small meter back in 2017. Almost identical for intake or exhaust mode.

SPEED AMP
1 —— 0.1
2 —— 0.2
3 —— 0.3
4 —— 0.4
5 —— 0.6
6 —— 0.9
7 —— 1.1
8 —— 1.5
9 —— 2.0
10 —- 2.8

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I think you are overstating individual fan amp draw. You’ll find that a MaxxFan will draw pretty close to these numbers below. I tested with a small meter back in 2017. Almost identical for intake or exhaust mode.

It wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong; see above concerning the battery capacity!

Yes, I’d expect the intake and exhaust power draw to be quite similar.

I see 48 watts cited on an Amazon listing for the 7000K, so that’s 4 amps at 12 volts nominal. It’s not clear if that’s an anticipated draw under a specific load.

The data on Amazon is formatted similarly to the airxcel manufacturer’s site, but the manufacturer doesn’t even list power or current specifications.

What sort of meter do you use? I’d be interested in having the capability, but can that be done with an inexpensive meter?

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

It wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong; see above concerning the battery capacity!

Yes, I’d expect the intake and exhaust power draw to be quite similar.

I see 48 watts cited on an Amazon listing for the 7000K, so that’s 4 amps at 12 volts nominal. It’s not clear if that’s an anticipated draw under a specific load.

The data on Amazon is formatted similarly to the airxcel manufacturer’s site, but the manufacturer doesn’t even list power or current specifications.

What sort of meter do you use? I’d be interested in having the capability, but can that be done with an inexpensive meter?

We’ve all been there. The fan I tested was the 6200K manual lift version. At the time I had an inline power meter hooked up to measure instantaneous amps and amp-hr on the small DC trailer loads. It is very similar to the one linked made by Powerwerx. Today I would just shut everything off and read my Victron battery monitor.

https://powerwerx.com/watt-meter-ana...e-dc-bare-wire

[John in Santa Cruz]

awhile ago I measured the current draw of my Maxxfan Deluxe at various speeds and posted them. Dunno if I have records of those numbers. I think it started around a 0.1 amp or something on the lowest of the 10 speeds, whisper mode. The highest speed was indeed something like 4 amps, ~50 watts. I rarely use it above speed 3-4 of 10.

ah, someone elses measurements...

[BillMcgTenn]

As you've seen, folks have many different opinions based on type of use (boon-docking, shore power, etc.), geographical and altitude locations, and personal heat tolerance.
This is just one more opinion from the SE US, for what it's worth.

We use our Escape as a place to stay, a mobile hotel room if you like, while we visit east, west, middle, north and south, hike, fish, bird, herp, sight-see, etc. We stay in it during the day usually only during in-climate weather, during trips.
The Coleman in our 21NE has worked admirably and is a necessity in the hot/humid SE most of the year. This is true from east TX to FL, and north. For some in the SE, this is adequate, but for us heat weenies, air conditioning is essential!
.
When we go off shore power in SE AZ in the sky mountains, Colorado Mtns, Dakota Hills, New England, etc., the single Maxxfan is perfect at a low speed, drawing air, with a window open, bringing cool, dry air in at night, for sleeping.

[CE Vogel]

I live a few miles south of the OP. My trailer has AC, a generator, and three Maxxfans. Most of my travels are dry camping in the Pacific NW, Idaho, and into central California early spring through late fall. In three years, I have never run the AC overnight, and only a handful of times during the day. On the other hand, the three Maxxfans get daily use, often at full speed. I also have an Endless Breeze 12V box fan for the hottest days. Temperatures cool off nicely at night where I camp. On the other hand, if I were camping in the south or midwest, I would have ordered the dual AC option for my trailer. What you need depends on where you camp and your camping style.

[sherminator]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

Our factory AC is quite noisy ... The few times we tried running it through the night, we found the noise very bothersome. I don't like to sleep with ear plugs as I prefer to maintain situational awareness, but that might be an option which would work for others.

"Situational awareness" while sleeping made me laugh - not at you, but at me. I try to maintain situational awareness as much as possible, but it's pretty much not possible for me when asleep. I won't bore anyone here with the various stories, but there are many. Fans cycling don't bother me in the least.

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by sherminator

"Situational awareness" while sleeping made me laugh - not at you, but at me. I try to maintain situational awareness as much as possible, but it's pretty much not possible for me when asleep. I won't bore anyone here with the various stories, but there are many. Fans cycling don't bother me in the least.

Linda tells me that if I could make money eating and sleeping, I would be a wealthy man. I can sleep through pretty much anything.

A word of caution about constant ear plug use. If you need to sleep with ear plugs, buy good quality, hypoallergenic ones, usually made of wax. A former co-worker used to sleep with cheap, drug store ear plugs for years, then his body began rejecting them and eventually lead to an autoimmune disorder which cost him his right ear.