12 volt fans?

Dougal

Dougal

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 Dec 2006
Messages
895
Location
Wiltshire / Brittany (50/50)
Visit site
Anyone have any experience of those ludicrously expensive 12v marine cooling fans in the catalogues? On average, they appear to be around 4 or even 5 times the price of the cheap car/truck ones from Halfords or eBay etc.
The cheap ones are powerful, but they sound like Concorde on its take off run! Not exactly conducive to a good night's sleep. Current draw can also be an issue, especially with the eBay variants.
 
We’ve got two Hella fans. One bulkhead mounted in the forecabin, the other on a piece of plywood to put wherever its needed. Two speed and very quiet in comparison to the cheap ones they replaced: indeed so easy to fall asleep with one on and them wake up later too cold.... Not cheap but worth the extra. Oh, and all plastic external construction so no rusty, tatty bits. About the same price as Caframo but in stock in the local Greek chandlery when we went looking for new fans a few years back.
 
TQA said:
Caframo fans are the DBs low power consumption and quiet especially on the low speed setting. I can sleep with one on.

Yes they are pricey but worth every penny.
Click to expand...

...and it doesn't hurt (much) when blades hit person.
They can usually be sourced substantially cheaper on e-Bay/Amazon, Dougal.
(All this is assuming it's indeed Caframo you have in mind.)
 
On my last boat (wooden) I had a solar powered vent set in the hatch. I bought it from a caravan shop & it worked very well. It ran for quite a while after the sun went down & whilst it did not pump loads of air it did circulate quite a bit & was quiet.
Perhaps you could fit something like that. Helps with mould reduction in the winter as well.
If you do not want to fit it in the hatch then perhaps fit it to a board & lay it over a hatch area so it pushes air through the boat when you want.
Whilst you are probably concerned about the current heatwave, if you live in the UK then you will be aware that it will not last long & is not a regular occurrence anyway. Hence, major expense will be for the short term one would expect.
Next month you will be posting about supplies of wind proof umbrellas
 
Caframo's aren't really that quiet at all. though Must be four of them on my boat. Still they work well and don't draw too much power.

A larger fan will be often be quieter than a smaller fan as it doesn't need to spin as fast to move the same volume of air.
 
I have two carfrano 747 and two hella turbo fan.
The cafrano are more powerful but also more noisy. The hella, though a bit noisy too, are OK for sleeping.

Edit: I also have another 12v fan that runs via a usb plug. Draws very little power, only one setting but enough air to sleep peacefully and VERY quiet. Unfortunately I don't remember the make/model. Not a "marine" fan (probably called desk fan). Was only around €15-€20 during a winter (!) sale from public.gr shop.

Edit 2: Something like the one shown in this photo. Excellent product.
 

Attachments

  • fan.jpg
    fan.jpg
    22.1 KB · Views: 1
Last edited:
I bought 3 rechgarable via USB port fans on Amazon. Quiet and powerful enough to let me sleep in Spain's early summer temperatures.
Very quiet, easily moved about and low power consumption.
SkyGenius
4.7 out of 5 stars 102 Reviews
Mini USB Fan Rechargeable Silent Battery Portable Fan Speed ​​Adjustable 360 ​​° Fan Small Clamp for Table, Baby Stroller, Bed, Camping, Car, Office, House and Outdoors
 
Last edited:
+1 for Caframo
Tried the cheap ones but now have a Caframo fixed in each cabin and a roving one in the saloon. Incredibly quiet and low power consumption.
If you go to the USA they are much cheaper there!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top