Extractor fan for the galley - will this work?

[chasroberts]

I'm having a bit of a problem with mould on the inside of the cockpit tent and I suspect this may be due to steam etc from the galley despite normally having all the sides open. (I cook most evenings on board) I have a mushroom vent above the cooker but would like to see if I can 'force' a bit more air/steam through there as opposed to it drifting out into the cockpit. Most cooking is done tied up with shore power available. All the commercial type extractors I have looked at have needed a larger opening than is there for the vent and I do not want to have to enlarge it.

What will fit nicely is a 12V fan which I robbed off an old computer prior to scrapping it so my question is this really; will the fan be up to it or is the moisture just going to ruin it in short order? Replacements are cheap/free from the same sources and of course 12V means it is always available, shore power or not.

Many thanks as always for your thoughts or experiences.

Chas

 

[Trident]

I ran a computer fan in a ventalite vent above my galley for a year with no damage to the fan at all - sadly it also seemed to make no difference to the galley steaming up which is what I installed it for but it certainly helped with cooking smells so I'd say go for it.

 

[Cymrogwyllt]

Only one way to find out. try it

 

[pvb]

There's a lot of moisture in Cap d'Agde...

 

[Colvic Watson]

They are useful for pushing air over a very small area like the back of the fridge but would do almost nothing to empty a galley of steamy air.

 

[usernamenotvalid]

Would a hood be any good? Just to direct the steam to the vent. It's gonna rise anyway. You'd just avoid it being diverted around the cabin by air movement.Could be temporary just whilst cooking. Thinking shape wise along the lines of a traffic cone (probly a bit bigger) trimmed to suit the vent. The thought of you being arrested for stealing a traffic cone would be quite conical.:nonchalance:

 

[chasroberts]

Thanks to all for their thoughts. I realise that it probably won't cure the problem outright on it's own but working on the 'every little helps' principle thought it might be better than nothing. Owing to the boat layout (window above the galley) there's not much scope for a hood although I did try to think of a way it could be done unobtrusively. Will give the fan a try in Spring and see what happens. Once again, thanks to all.

Chas

 

[chasroberts]

There's a lot of moisture in Cap d'Agde...

There certainly is. Not all of it where you'd expect either!

Chas

 

[Colvic Watson]

Every little helps but a computer fan does very, very little for a cabin volume. Much better would be a £25 bilge blower mounted there, that would really clear things up!

 

[makingplansfor]

I have been pondering exactly the same and stumbled on this. Was a surprise to me that a hairdryer has a 12V DC motor and it certainly appears to shift enough air....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F9fvqhZxGA

 

[Hydrozoan]

I have a computer fan fitted below a vent but it does not do more than help keep a small airflow through the boat.

Google "12V extractor fan" and a number of low voltage extractor fans will appear. I haven't done detailed comparisons, but the flow rates look to be higher than most computer cooling fans - though you can get beefy types of those, too e.g. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=2331.

Of course, you also need to consider fan diameter vs. vent diameter - and greater airflow means greater power consumption, but if you want it only while cooking that may not be a problem to you.

 

[pappaecho]

Running 2 x 65 inch computer PSU fans from servers, both installed in sliding windows, connected to an old 20watt solar panel. No controller needed, they run in sun, still wwork in light cloud, but not when it is raining. Keeps the damp away n the winter.

BTW, a human beathes out 2 litres of water per night, so dont always blame the galley - it may be you!

 

[fireball]

You can get larger volume computer fans for not a lot of money - they shift a bit more air, but generally a computer fan isn't much cop - however, if it's free it's always worth a try!

 

[coopec]

What sort of hairdryer has a 12V DC motor? It would have to be one that designed for caravan/marine use surely. The one that I use in my workshop is one discarded by my wife and that is certainly 240V.

OK I've seen the video clip but I'd take Lazy Kippers' advice. I have an inline blower in my toilet (exhausting into the chain locker) and that blows 700 cf/min

 

[chasroberts]

Again, thanks to all. That hair drier 'fan' is something else, huh? There presumably must be a transformer of some sort to drop voltage from 240 to 12V? Didn't see a mention of it in the video anywhere. The drier looked like a 240V as the cable was wired up with blue/brown cable. Not sure I'd let him near anything electrical that I owned?

Cheers guys

Chas

 

[Colvic Watson]

Running 2 x 65 inch computer PSU fans from servers, both installed in sliding windows, connected to an old 20watt solar panel. No controller needed, they run in sun, still wwork in light cloud, but not when it is raining. Keeps the damp away n the winter.

BTW, a human beathes out 2 litres of water per night, so dont always blame the galley - it may be you!

You sure about that 2 litres? I think it's half a litre.

 

[cliffdale]

BTW, a human beathes out 2 litres of water per night, so dont always blame the galley - it may be you!

I would say it's more like 0.2 litre per night.

 

[Jamesuk]

Boats were never designed to be mould free, cleaning is the best way to keep on top of it. Run dehumidifiers or have air flow so put computer fans sucking air in at the bow and computer fans sucking out of the dorades at the stern. You really need to have fans running all the time to make cleaning mould a more delayed affair.

The spacers between the hull and the interior are awful for mould. It is a shame boat builders could not develop a system like they have on aircraft for blowing air through the cabin.

Anyway. I would go to RS components and ask for the bad-ass fans they have and put them two together and make a frame for them to fit inside the port light. Then again, i might just keep on cleaning. Once per week with vinegar is enough, for the hard areas, use G101 from autosmart

 

[Heckler]

Every little helps but a computer fan does very, very little for a cabin volume. Much better would be a £25 bilge blower mounted there, that would really clear things up!

Those bilge blowers take a lot of amps, the pooter fan, milli amps
S

 

[Hydrozoan]

Those bilge blowers take a lot of amps, the pooter fan, milli amps ...

Just two examples, not necessarily representative but should give an idea:

Bilge blower 76mm 3 amps 145 CFM open flow, 100 CFM in system

Computer fan 80mm 0.09 amps 21 CFM (open flow I presume)

I suspect that the computer fan flow rate would drop comparatively more if up against resistance in a system.

So if the OP wants to remove steam from short periods of cooking, and based on my own experience of what a computer fan achieves in a vent in the galley, I think the bilge blower type is by far the better option, if power use, fan length, noise etc. can be tolerated.