What do the Fantastiks do?

[artrosch]

I've lived in this coach for five years and i still don't know what the Fantastik
is supposed to do. I must be missing something. I want it to pull cool air from outside. My understanding is that if I close all windows except one, I might
get some breeze. But with more, or a lot of windows open, that diminishes
to nothing. There is a simple on/off switch at front/left. A knob-turn intensity switch at back left, which I use as on/off. It's the only f'tastik we have in our 98 gasser Mt. Aire. There's a bathroom fan that screams noise, so we never use that.

Any clues? People swear by them so solemnly, I don't know what it's about. BTW, we put one of those hoods over the unit a year ago, to protect it from rain.
Seems like a waste of money, and it might diminish the supply or air? It's the right hood with the right sized opening.

Many thanks

Art
Art Rosch: Night sky photos, healing hands, fine art , poetry, stories

[Dave and Jaime]

What model do you have? Some have an I/O (in/out) switch. If you want to draw air in, should be in the "I" position.

Two other points. 1. You are correct that only one window should be open for the fantastic to operate correctly. That window should only be 3-4 inches open. 2. The manufacturer specifically recommends NOT using the type of vent dome cover you apparently have, as this will increase noise and decrease airflow.

If you have the rain sensing model, the fan vent will close when moisture is detected.

So, get rid of your cover and make sure the window is only slightly open and (if you have the reversible model) place it to the "in" position to draw cool air in. That should get you raving in no time.

[RobRV]

Or Keep it in the Out position crack a couple of Bedroom Windows and the Fantastic Fan will draw Cool Outside air into the Unit and push Hot Stale Air Out!

That Hood really will reduce the Flow in either direction!

[BCook57]

Our work exactly as promised. We use it in the "out" position, meaning it is blowing air out, leave one window open by the bed, and it draws in a lot of air.

We do have the covers on ours. It may reduce the air volume, but I really like the cover during inclement weather. BTW, I had one of mine serviced by Fantastik during the FMCA rally, and the technician said they have no issues with using the covers. Does not void the warranty.

[read & learn]

The vent works too good, as it does what it is made to do, close if there is moisture in the air [rain]. Vents are on RVs for 2 main reasons 1. to help cool down the unit.
2. to remove moisture [condensation] from the unit. Moisture from cooking, yes some of us do cook inside our units and take showers inside.
Now, we must remember Murphy's Law, "what can go wrong will go wrong," happens when you cook, that's right it rains.
That is the reason 1 of the 2 Fantasic vents we have, has a cover above it.

[Noelj]

Installed our several years ago, with MaxxAir cover over it. Cover does not interfere with vent top, and does not seem to affect air flow. Purpose on ours is to keep air moving through coach when dogs are inside and if power for AC goes off. We open regular vent in back, set thermo on fan to come on if temp gets up, set to blow out. Even in full sun with AC off, this keeps inside temps from rising to excess, and moves fresh air through. As cool air sinks, Cool air from AC does not escape too bad while fan is off, but open vents at top help bleed off hotter air. Works for us and dogs.

[D in Davie]

Art:
Thanks for the link to your page. The stars were magical.

[artrosch]

So...perhaps what I don't understand is that the effect is cumulative. Rather than feeling a distinct fan-like blow, it pulls air from all over and circulates it. And maybe takes a while to bring the cooler air inside. Our is a bit noisy, which discourages its use but we're in the middle of a hot streak and the evening air is not getting in when we need it.

Davie, glad you got a look at the star/landscapes!

Art

[JWT]

We have 2 fantastic fans which I think worked well until I covered them with the new Maxxair II vent covers. Had them on for about a month, removed them, now more better. The vent lid hits the Maxxair covers not allowing it to open all the way. Plus we got our natural light back in.

[RobRV]

One Point that is often missed is that Warm Air rises so the air drawn in by a Roof Fan is as warm or warmer than the air inside. It is better to blow Hot Air up and Out and Draw cooler air in from a window which is lower, hence cooler.
That's why the vents are always in the ceiling.
It would be nice to have an Air inlet Fan at floor level to assist in Cooling and to effect a cross flow Hmm!

[bsinmich]

We have the one with a temp. control and rain sensor that will automatically close if a drop of water hits the sensor and then check if it is still raining later. We had a noisy fan in the bathroom that was not a Fantastic Fan. At a rallly last summer we had a rep come from the thumb of Michigan and a rep from FantasticVent come to the CG in Frankenmuth, MI. They installed 13 fans that day and everyone was happy with them. The one in the bathroom is much quieter. The fan is a 3 speed and we can only run it on low. At that speed it closes the bathroom door quickly. I figure the medium and high are only for use in emergencies (which does happen occasionaly in that room). We have a Max-Air cover over the bathroom fan and the rep from the factory said it would cut the airflow but it also served our purpose of not closing the vent at any time. You can't beat a Fantastic Vent and they stand behind it.

[MT flyfisher]

We have MaxxAire model 800 vent covers over our Fantastic Fans. These are the oversized covers designed for high speed fans. We use our fans all the time, and often keep the fan covers open even when we're not using the fans, unless it is too hot or too cold when we're either using the air conditioners or the furnace.

The fans work great but I'd never want to have them without these covers over them, for the same reasons already mentioned.

I called Fantastic Fan several years ago and asked about putting covers over their fans and was told the only reason for not doing it was that the covers made them harder to clean. Our fans now have the type of screens beneath the fan blade that pop out so they can be easily cleaned - the fans in our previous RV's did not. These pop out screens are available from Camping World, and elsewhere, and can be retrofitted on older fans if yours do not already have them.

John

[Max Hubrich]

Art--

You need a sliding roof on you motorhome, not a vent, so that you can shoot the stars while laying in bed ---

Fantastic pictures---- Wow !!

[artrosch]

Max, and everyone else who's taken the time to view my photos (or read my writing etc), this is what I live for. Literally. What I need is a gasoline subsidy so I can get on the road again! I wear a couple of hats. I write. A lot. Because it's cheap and because I love writing. I have a book called "Green Highway" that describes, usually humorously, the process by which my BW and I made the step by step transition to fulltiming in an RV. Like the torture of buying the first Class A coach. This lifestyle has all the benefits of living in a submarine without the constant humidity. I'd be happy to email a copy to anyone who writes me at artsdigiphoto@gmail.com. It's a Word Doc until I can get the scratch to have it printed. Don't worry, I'm literate and I can spell and punctuate.

I love the sliding roof idea. Maybe just a sliding skylight over the bed?

Art
Art Rosch: Night sky photos, healing hands, fine art , poetry, stories
The Blog Of Fascination