I spend quite a bit of time sleeping in my van and for anyone that does similar they'll know how important good ventilation is, especially when active indoors.
One solution is to cut holes in the roof and mount those ugly spinny things, however...
My plan is to buy a 12 V solar panel and connect it to the front vent fans. This will be both flexible and simple since all I'll do is remove the fan fuse and connect my solar panel to the fan-side terminal and earth.
All that remains is what size solar panel to buy? My guess is 5W, which costs around $100!!! But will be a handy and useful purchase. I can use it to charge the battery, disconnect it and use it for something else, etc. I'm not going to mount it at all, just put it on the dash, or out the window and on the roof, etc...
If I downsize to a 2W panel this may have the advantage of only running the fans at half speed, which may be fine since they are a little (actually, a lot!) noisy.
Any comments on the fan power needs would be most appreciated.
Ash
PS: I know you can get those tiny little solar powered "in-window" vents but I've heard that they really don't move much air and can even melt in the sun. The kombi vent fans however are complete beasts and will keep me cool and comfortable in the back all day long.
I would think the Bus fans would be too noisy even on low - but then perhaps mine are noisier than normal.
I've seen another solution. In the fresh air box (inside the Bus, below the dash) some holes were cut, and some computer fans neatly installed, with a nice grille over them so they were unobtrusive. These fans use very little power, and are also very quiet. The larger ones move a fair amount of air (as much as the Bus fans going by the feel of the airflow:duh). And of course they are 12V, switchable to lower voltages for a reduced speed.
Not keen on leaving a window open? I do, though I woke up once with a freakin' arm sticking in the window once! No idea what they/he was after, you can't break in from the rearmost quarter-window. Idiot!
Cheers, A.
the fans use a LOT more than 5W
You might want to open a front window an inch or three instead...
Pay your debts, CxxT
Yep, the fans pull serious power. Noisy buggers too. Every van (3) I have had with them has been noisy. 30 years old too. The window down a bit all I ever used and I aint be too affected by it 🤪
Plus, in the day the point was to keep it all in 🤪
:P
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Cheers guys, and you're right, they draw quite a bit of power. I pulled the fuse and measured the current flow, at a nominal 12V I calculated the following:
Low Speed: 3.3A @ 12V = 40W
High Speed: 5.4A @ 12V = 65W
So yeah, running that off a solar panel is impossible. I like the idea of computer fans, but am exploring all options. Of course leaving a window down helps, but, in my bus there are no rear windows, just the two up the front and you really need some active circulation to get fresh air up the back. And I suppose I have special needs since I want to air the van out all day long, mainly while unattended, so I need to maintain security.
Once I come up with a good solution I'll post back to the list.
Ash
fit one of those devices where you turn your back window into like the front windows on a splitty.
Anyone know what I mean?
azz wrote:fit one of those devices where you turn your back window into like the front windows on a splitty.
Anyone know what I mean?
Rear safari window.
