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Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight
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jimihd
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 5:00 pm    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Yes, it’s PC fan used to suck out hot air, quiet and power saving. You can feel AP 182 at 2m away with max 2000 rpm, but the noise level is not acceptable at quiet night.
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 10:47 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

A little better option might be a Fiama or similar skylight. Fan, thermostat and easy opening. Fits kind of ok. Some trimming of the hole and new panels was required on my Hightop.
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 9:59 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Can you even feel the air moving? How far away from the fan? those look like computer fans, and I know I can't feel mine more than an inch or two away from the fan.

always felt like getting adequate ventilation inside a bus on a hot day was almost impossible.
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Last edited by nemobuscaptain on Sat Jun 06, 2020 11:28 am; edited 2 times in total
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:44 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

I use 2 silverstone’s AP 182 (500 ~2000 rpm) attach to a 3mm acrylic board (should use 5mm). The acrylic board comes from a local shop with laser cut based on my drawing (adobe illustrator). I bent 2 pieces of acrylic strips with a pocket torch to support the assembly. Wish that help !

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2017 7:45 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Nice solution, I have been searching for somthing like this for days now.
Thanks for the post, I will do something similar soon.
I was planning to use this 230mm fan.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BFF-SCF-23030WW-RP-BitFeni...SwWnFWASJ9

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chase4food
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 7:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Some new progress as well as feature creep. First is finding an enclosure for the temperature control board that can be mounted to my planned destination. Second is to make provision for on/off ideally also switch off the controller to save from 16mA of phantom current. I want to make it as intuitive to use as possible. To utilize the skylight open and close position to provide this function is the choice.

Some of the design challenges that had not been addressed are:

1. Properly fusing the entire circuit. The fuse must be small and ideally fit inside the enclosure.
2. Finding a compact enclosure. The enclosure must be small enough to fit in the Westfalia's balcony just behind the driver seat. It must have provision for the digital display, and the access to the board to set the desired variables.
3. A provision to switch off the fan as well as the temperature controller when the skylight is closed and the fan operation is not desired.

First, I set out to find an enclosure. I scrounged the house for a small plastic enclosure, I narrowed down to three.

1. An ugly all transparent plastic jewel box.
2. A plastic box for bicycle tire repair kit.
3. A plastic box that shipped with the iPhone earbuds.

The iPhone earbud box is the most attractive, but from the construction, I may not be able to hollow out the built in features for snug fit of the earbuds that is built into the base.

enclosure for iPhone earbuds
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the size is just about perfect
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I examine the construction closely. After a while I was quite sure it is made by gluing two pieces together. I set out to find out with the Dremel tool with the cutting disc. Cutting plastic can be tricky and the friction caused a lot of vibration as well as heat.
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just as I expected, it is formed by gluing two pieces together
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next is to clean out the uneven features inside
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the highest feature of the board is at the relay, and the height is just a few millimeters less than the inner height of the enclosure
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i use 3M VHB tape to secure the temperature controller board to the enclosure base
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the back side
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as I would not need to change the programming parameters too often, I would not make provision to provide access the three push buttons without opening the case
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here are the three enclosure candidates
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before tackling the wiring I test fit the enclosure to the intended mounting location
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I like this the most as it obscure the display normally
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My idea is to utilize the skylight open and close position to trigger the switch. This can be done either with the use of a microswitch, or a reed switch. Both has their strong points and weaknesses. I prefer microswitch over reed switch for reliability. However mounting a microswitch requires more precision. I also want to use something I already have on hand. I actually have both.

I leaned towards reed switch very quickly because it can be done without a lot of mechanical precision - as long as the magnet is strong enough. I need a normally closed reed switch.

it turned out my reed switch is normally open, except the reed relay that I have; I would just use the reed switch inside the relay and ignore the relay coil
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next I set out to scrounge a PTC self-recovery fuse; I found two 1.5A ones on this 1394 interface board
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the problem with extracting these PTC fuse is, they tend to disintegrate from the soldering iron heat; I just apply more heat and tried to square up the top and bottom the best I could
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i managed to tack in the PTC fuse inside the case and wired it to the ground side as it is easier
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all wired up on the controller side and ready for bench testing
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i used a piece of rare earth magnet from a harddisk drive and it can open the normally closed reed switch from a distance up to 1.5 inch; note the 4-conductor telephone wire I use in order to provide for the reed relay switch function at the skylight
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The rough plan is to embed the reed relay on the foam board and secure it with epoxy. The magnet would be attached to the clear part of the skylight with silicone caulking for easy and clean removal.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 5:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

nocreditnodebt wrote:
Not a vanagon, sorry

But here is my roof ventilation.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Top fan is a silverstone fm121, adjustable speed upto 110CFM and 0.4a max
Bottom fan is an Arctic Cool f12 and spins the opposite direction. Claims 53 cfm and 0.15 amps. Two inline fans spinning the same direction do not work well in my experience. Noisier and no significant airflow improvement, perhaps even a detraction on both fronts. The counter rotating blades appears to be the key.

With SS fm121 fan on high speed, turning on lower fan decreases SS fan noise significantly, vastly improves airflow, can reduce rpms a lot for same airflow, less overall amp draw.

I use these through a Mushroom type vent, and older version of this:

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/nicro-ventilation--day-night-plus-solar-vents--P012_363_001_516

I removed the guts of this solar vent after they got noisy and opened up the restrictions for more airflow.

Never worry about rain.

I made a 3/4 inch thick step down ring, from 4.75 inch diameter to 4.0 inches for the nicro vent's opening.

I can cook pasta in my van underneath this vent with fans on high, without fogging the windows, except if I have no air inlet able to replenish exhausted air, and if it is raining outside fogging is unavoidable no matter what.

I'd like a bigger mushroom style vent and a larger fan, but this works good enough.


Computer fans has evolved a lot in the recent decade, mostly in the fan blade design as more PC firms finally pay attention to the obnoxious PC noise.

Fans, like audio speakers, generally require a baffle to function efficiently, especially for the low frequencies. That is why bass enclosure loud speaker is also called infinite baffle. Without a baffle the air expels by the blade will wrap around and recycle through the blades again causing turbulence and greatly reduce performance. Similarly with woofers. Without a properly designed enclosure, the sound waves emits from the front side and the back side of the speaker cone are 180-degree out of phase, and they cause destructive interference between themselves.

There are a lot of downsides of stacking two muffin fans together. Neither can have laminar flow and they work against each other. Additionally, the unsynchronized RPM of each creates disturbing audio beating which sound like strange humming that comes and goes.

I know. There is helicopter that has stacked rotors. If I haven't mistaken they are space quite widely apart and rotate in opposite directions.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 5:17 pm    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Just a bit more thought on the design. I have been thinking about a nice way to prevent the fan from being left on when the skylight is closed. I thought a snap action small microswitch strategically placed to shut off the fan when the skylight is slightly closed from the fully open position would be a nice touch.

So far the fan and the temperature controller perform flawlessly. The fan is so quiet spinning at low RPM, most of the time you don't realize it is running. I am not planning to add a safety screen due to it's safe low speed. Adding a screen will increase noise as well as reducing the CFM.

I might still perform the hack to bypass the relay, by just using the power transistor that drives the relay as a solid state relay for the fan. That will save 50mA of overhead current.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 5:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

DwarfVader wrote:
chase4food wrote:
Most of these computer fans are not designed to operate in this vertical position.


this is incorrect... most case designs this day include housings for vertical and horizontal use... Case fans in the 80-120mm range these days are good for horizontal or vertical usage without issues of any kind in wear or performance loss over hundreds of hours of usage.

I can attest to this personally... I have:
7 of these. And they have been running continously for years now.

You can buy "cheap" and sure you'll end up with shitty fans... But to invest in good fans for this kind of project is a minor investment at best. Seriously, if you want to buy the nicest 120mm fan you can get you're looking at under 40$ and that fan will perform oral sex for you. For 20$ you can get any one of half a dozen bering types of fan (all fluid) that will last for a decade of continuous usage. (24/7/365) So as long as you don't buy the cheapest 4$ fan you can buy.... In this application, it comes down to How the fan is built and how it moves air.

This project is brilliant simply because the long lasting solid design plus the simplicity of it in terms of design, make it something anyone can do... be they a wrench or not.


DwarfVader, Thanks for chiming in and share your experience with computer fans.

You know what, I realized my posts have gave the impression that I use a 120mm fan. No. I did built my first ventilation fan with a NMB 120mm fan which I mentioned in this thread. That is for my James Cook which has a horizontal air flow direction. Most of these 120mm fans has no problem with orientations. This NMB fan is my favorite as it is the quietest in its era (circa 2000). These 120mm fans easily last years running 24/7.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The one I use to build for the Vanagon skylight is a 200mm fan. This size is not very widely used except in the baddest gamer PC tower cases. I cannot see anyone would mount it for vertical air flow as it would simply be too wide a case. It has sleeve bearings. I know, you can spend more for one that claims it has fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) over at Neweggs.

this is the "specs" on the one I bought for $13 from Frys
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this one has FDB, but I am very skeptical of FDB being used on low speed fan; HDD is another matter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...-_-Product

I actually tested the two vertical pull directions of this fan that I use. It does not like pulling air downwards at all. I can see an immediate rise in current consumption when pointing down and the fan does not run smoothly. So far I observe no stress when it is mounted to pull air upwards.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 4:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

chase4food wrote:
Most of these computer fans are not designed to operate in this vertical position.


this is incorrect... most case designs this day include housings for vertical and horizontal use... Case fans in the 80-120mm range these days are good for horizontal or vertical usage without issues of any kind in wear or performance loss over hundreds of hours of usage.

I can attest to this personally... I have:
7 of these. And they have been running continously for years now.

You can buy "cheap" and sure you'll end up with shitty fans... But to invest in good fans for this kind of project is a minor investment at best. Seriously, if you want to buy the nicest 120mm fan you can get you're looking at under 40$ and that fan will perform oral sex for you. For 20$ you can get any one of half a dozen bering types of fan (all fluid) that will last for a decade of continuous usage. (24/7/365) So as long as you don't buy the cheapest 4$ fan you can buy.... In this application, it comes down to How the fan is built and how it moves air.

This project is brilliant simply because the long lasting solid design plus the simplicity of it in terms of design, make it something anyone can do... be they a wrench or not.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 4:07 pm    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Not a vanagon, sorry

But here is my roof ventilation.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Top fan is a silverstone fm121, adjustable speed upto 110CFM and 0.4a max
Bottom fan is an Arctic Cool f12 and spins the opposite direction. Claims 53 cfm and 0.15 amps. Two inline fans spinning the same direction do not work well in my experience. Noisier and no significant airflow improvement, perhaps even a detraction on both fronts. The counter rotating blades appears to be the key.

With SS fm121 fan on high speed, turning on lower fan decreases SS fan noise significantly, vastly improves airflow, can reduce rpms a lot for same airflow, less overall amp draw.

I use these through a Mushroom type vent, and older version of this:

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/nicro-ventilation--day-night-plus-solar-vents--P012_363_001_516

I removed the guts of this solar vent after they got noisy and opened up the restrictions for more airflow.

Never worry about rain.

I made a 3/4 inch thick step down ring, from 4.75 inch diameter to 4.0 inches for the nicro vent's opening.

I can cook pasta in my van underneath this vent with fans on high, without fogging the windows, except if I have no air inlet able to replenish exhausted air, and if it is raining outside fogging is unavoidable no matter what.

I'd like a bigger mushroom style vent and a larger fan, but this works good enough.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 10:59 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Royb wrote:
Tis better to blow in fresh air or to pull out stale? Or make it reversible? Imponderable....


Generally better to pull out stale or hot air, especially in this chosen location. Hot air rises, and you don't want to waste energy fighting it. The fan will be noisier as well working against back pressure they are not designed to. Brushless motors in computer fans are not reversible. Even if you could, the fan blades are optimized to spin in one direction.

BTW, Vanagon has excellent flow through ventilation so I don't bother to open any window a crack most of the time for this ventilation fan to function when parked in the sun.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 10:53 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Tis better to blow in fresh air or to pull out stale? Or make it reversible? Imponderable....
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 9:39 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

j_dirge wrote:
chase4food wrote:
There are some thinks that the artist foam board is a bad choice.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Its a fine choice for mocking things up.. but once wet, it is headed to the trash bin. (I have used the stuff off and on for some 25yrs in various design projects.

There are thin sheets of vinyl/plastic that would work every bit as well.. not coast much more.. and last thru more than a few unexpected thunder showers.

These sheets of material show up for free in at the strangest times.. like in packaging.. Just keep your eyes peeled as life moves forward. Something will fall in your lap..
That is, if you don't want to take the time to visit a Tap Plastics.


Thanks for all that chimed in for the discussion. I love conferring the merits and tradeoffs of designs, especially choosing of materials for a given job and my expectation of the service life as well as use cases. If this is a for sale product, no way in hell I would even entertain it especially the choice of the fan. Most of these computer fans are not designed to operate in this vertical position.

Second, if the foam board get wet from a downpour or thunderstorm it is a failure on my part, not the choice of the material. The foam board getting trashed is a secondary concern. The primary concern is the fan electric motor and the brushless control electronics. BTW, anyone who plan to do this should not overlook the need to provision a properly sized fuse (err on the safe side with very low amperage).

What deemed to be appropriate material can be very culturally dependent. Most people in the West would never entertain using uncoated paper for windows and doors. Yet this practice is done in many Asian countries, especially Japanese use of the washi paper. I even considered using washi paper to face the Truckfridge, in addition to wood veneer and plastic laminate.

Nothing in our material world is permanent. All is relative to one's view of time horizon.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 8:22 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

chase4food wrote:
There are some thinks that the artist foam board is a bad choice.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Its a fine choice for mocking things up.. but once wet, it is headed to the trash bin. (I have used the stuff off and on for some 25yrs in various design projects.

There are thin sheets of vinyl/plastic that would work every bit as well.. not coast much more.. and last thru more than a few unexpected thunder showers.

These sheets of material show up for free in at the strangest times.. like in packaging.. Just keep your eyes peeled as life moves forward. Something will fall in your lap..
That is, if you don't want to take the time to visit a Tap Plastics.
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:21 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

I think it's an excellent choice... simply because it's cheap and easily replaceable, not to mention lightweight but strong enough to maintain form and be a baffle still.

I think this is a brilliant idea over all.
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:06 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

There are some thinks that the artist foam board is a bad choice. I will just point out one more benefit. It's low mass and softness mitigates sympathetic vibration/resonance. Normally, I mount computer fans with rubber vibration isolators. This big fan doesn't come with them and the ones I have don't work for it. The foam board work swell without.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:02 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

chase4food wrote:
Cool! Nice to see others do the same. Is the fan just supported by the home made frame without a baffle? If so you will see significant increase of air flow by mounting it on a baffle like mine. When I tested the fan by itself, it moves meager amount air as the air get sucked back and recirculates thru the fan. Once mounted into the skylight, the difference is day and night.


Yes, just a bracket fab'ed out of some scrap aluminum. No baffle. I usually open the skylight a few inches when I run the fan, and the exhaust flow seems decent... but I'm certainly not opposed to more.

I like having the stock functionality of the skylight, though - as both a passive vent and a light - and blocking off around the fan would close off more than half of that area. I don't run the fan often, but I have the skylight open quite a bit. Still, I'll test your baffle method with some cardboard and see what I think. If I like the payoff, I'll probably use something like plexi to at least retain the light. Thanks for the tip!
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 8:48 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Chuey wrote:
Boats use an aspirin for automatic closing of hatches during rain. The aspirin melts pretty fast and trips something to close the hatch. In some, it's a linkage and when the aspirin melts, the hatch closes by gravity as it is as if the linkage "broke" and let the hatch down.

Chuey


Nice to know, though I suspect it is another old wife's tale, but who knows. Boaters tends to be a bunch of most practical people that can think out of the hatch.

I must confess I deliberately mentioned the automated hatch closing as a bait to attract debate. In my James Cook there is actually such "feature" on the powered skylight. The rain sensor works by resistance change cause by the wetness deposited on the sensor, and is clearly designed by the most simpleton of designer. You can guess how well that work. Every owner I know wants to defeat this stupid feature.

To close the skylight normally, you have to hold the IR remote button down or else you just close a small step at a time. It is designed to be litigation proof so they don't get sued when someone stick their neck out of the hatch and got caught by the closing skylight. I take advantage of the rain sensor as it will close it with one wet touch. Laughing
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:58 am    Post subject: Re: Another man's ventilation fan - for the skylight Reply with quote

Boats use an aspirin for automatic closing of hatches during rain. The aspirin melts pretty fast and trips something to close the hatch. In some, it's a linkage and when the aspirin melts, the hatch closes by gravity as it is as if the linkage "broke" and let the hatch down.

Chuey
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