Ventilation

[guydickinson]

Wonder if anyone can advise please - after the recent severe rain I noticed one of my cabin vents was leaking a bit so I unscrewed and had a look - one (not the leaky one actually) was an old "Sea Bird" or something with a cowl vent leading to a small box - with, inside, amazingly, an old plastic margarine container sitting there upside down with a hole one end to prevent splashing!! This vent goes straight to the cabin roof. The question is - what do people think the best replacements are these days - another one like that with a "dorade(?)" box, or one of those flat round ones with holes round the edge looking like a spaceship!? Any specific recommendations? Thanks.

 

[roly_voya]

traditional dorade types shift far more aire than any on the muchroom types seem to. Vetus do some neat ones. Always a good idea to site them so that the occasional drip is not to important because under the right wind/rain/sprayconditions they can all let a drop past but so do the hatches, especiqally when you open them or come down in dripping oilies!!

 

[robstracey]

Solar vents are supposed to be good. I have seen quite a few boats with them, and have heard lots of good reports.

I have the mushroom type, which seem to work, but i have a de-humidifyer, which would probably be doing the hard work. In the Heads, i have fitted a small computer fan under the vent to increase airflow, its wired into the light so goes on when that does, and just sips at the power.

 

[2nd_apprentice]

These look rather neat:

Probably less effective than dorade vents though.

 

[jerryat]

[ QUOTE ]
Solar vents are supposed to be good. I have seen quite a few boats with them, and have heard lots of good reports.

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't seen any of those reports then! Most on here, including myself, think they are complete rubbish and provide a ludicrously small movement of air. Definitely NOT worth the money, as they seldom last more than a couple of years anyway.

Totally agree re the computer fans though. We have two wired into the the same circuit as our reading lights (in the sleeping cabin) but switched separately. Next to nothing current draw, extremely quiet and much more effective.

 

[Poignard]

Thanks Jerry.

I have just bought one /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[jerryat]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks Jerry.

I have just bought one /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh sorry TO!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif But it is true, the vast majority who have responded on here don't rate the things at all. The couple we bought, prior to a trip down to the Med. were a hellish price (circa £85.00 each) and had a rechargeable battery 'for nighttime operation'.

Both solar panels were buggled within 15 months IIRC and, though I managed to repair one of them, it only lasted a few more months. The panel design is simply not adequate for marine use - the main thing they're advertised for. The battery bit was a cruel joke, as that was one of the main reasons we bought the things. Even when brand new, in the Med. the fan NEVER ran for more than 35 mins on battery.

Again, really sorry if I've depressed you and hopefully you'll have bought one with better waterproofing and longevity. I still think you'd have been far better off with computer fans. Our 85mm square jobbies cost about £1.50 each or something like that in Spain, so a fair bit less than here, and are still excellent after what is now ten years!!!

 

[Poignard]

Mine is a cheapy from eBay. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Sounds like I'd best not use expensive Sikaflex to seal it in place as I'll probably be consigning it to the deep before much longer!

[Computer fans are not much use to me as my boat is a bit lacking in amp-hours.]

 

[jerryat]

[ QUOTE ]
[Computer fans are not much use to me as my boat is a bit lacking in amp-hours.]

[/ QUOTE ]

But T/O, that's that's the point. The computer fans run on 12v dc and draw just a few milliamps - I think ours are about 80mA - so a really TINY amount of power.

In the Med./Caribbean we used both of them every night, all night, and scarcely noticed the number of amps used in the morning! If you look at the tiny motors you'll see what I mean.

And they're incredibly quiet too - bordering on silent - a massive bonus we hadn't expected.

I wouldn't worry too much, the ones we bought were a straight swop for the usual Ventilite make, so when the things packed up, we just put the Ventilites back! You could simply replace them the same way if things don't work out.

As someone said earlier in the thread said, Dorades are way the best all round, and we fitted a couple of those before getting down the hot spots!!

I really do hope everything works well for you. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif