Quiet 12v fan recommendations please

[pcatterall]

Summer seems to arrived in the South of France and we realise that the cheap vehicle type 12v fans we bought are rubbish!! very noisy!!
We would like to get a couple of decent fans which we could mount in different positions as required. |Not more than 8" diameter and ideally with different speed settings.
Your recommendations appreciated as always.

 

[Salty John]

In my opinion it's between Hella and Caframo. Caframo (Canadian design, made in China) have become very expensive for what they are because of their distributor arrangements. Hella would be my choice now: http://www.hellamarine.com/en/products/accessories/fans/turbo-fan.html

 

[Tradewinds]

Caframo 757 - now seems to be called the Ultimate. Quiet 2 speed.

http://www.force4.co.uk/b/256/Caframo.html

Gone up a lot in price in the last year or so.

Salty John beat me to it.

Hella always seemed to be more noisy & pushed less volume - maybe things have changed in recent years.

Edit: Re: vehicle type fans. If you take the wire frame off you will find they push more air and are a little quieter. Mind your fingers though!

 

[oldvarnish]

Caframo 757 - now seems to be called the Ultimate. Quiet 2 speed.

http://www.force4.co.uk/b/256/Caframo.html

Agreed. Great fans.

 

[Tradewinds]

Yup, got 3 of them - glad I bought a spare as well when they were cheap (relatively ).

 

[Twister_Ken]

Bought Caframo from Defender, a US chandler. Cheaper than UK even inc shipping and customs.

http://search.defender.com/?expression=caframo fans

 

[TQA]

I have several Caframo Ultimate 757 fans. They do the job and I am able to sleep with one on the low speed setting. Keep a spare set of blades to hand.

 

[ribrage]

Summer seems to arrived in the South of France and we realise that the cheap vehicle type 12v fans we bought are rubbish!! very noisy!!
We would like to get a couple of decent fans which we could mount in different positions as required. |Not more than 8" diameter and ideally with different speed settings.
Your recommendations appreciated as always.

I also bought 2 caframos after recommendations from the forum and can agree they work well and are very quiet, i especially like the timer mode which switches the fan off after a set time , especially useful if you go ashore and forget that you put it on , i also use mine to circulate the heat from the flue on the drip feed heater, so it works a lot in the uk winters too and hasnt missed a beat since i fitted it - happy customer

 

[Salty John]

I have several Caframo Ultimate 757 fans.

Not many people know this but we (Salty John Boat Products) popularised this fan in UK and we gave it the name 'The Ultimate Cabin Fan'. Caframo then pinched the name and, to add insult to injury, told us we had to start buying from their newly appointed distributor, adding another level of cost to the product. So, we dropped Caframo.
Thus, my view of the fan is perhaps tainted by my experience with the manufacturer.

 

[alteredoutlook]

how about computer fans - the ones that cool the old PC desktop boxes?

 

[Woodlouse]

I brought a cheap USB desktop fan from Argos. It's whisper quiet, has lasted two years so far and cost £6. I run it out of a 12v socket.

 

[Cardo]

We have three Caframo Ultimates we bought after recommendations on the forum. Great fans. Quiet for the amount of air they push, don't use many amps, and did I mention how much air they push? I have one on me now, fantastic.

Not cheap, but hopefully worth it!

 

[rigpigpaul]

I have four Caframo Sirocco fans. Very quiet, low current draw and can be mounted on a desk, wall or ceiling with 360 degree adjustment. They also fold flat which is handy in a tight space. RPP