Basement High Temps and Ventilation Ideas

[Winepress]

Originally Posted by mrfix

my concern from the begining with this coach was very warm basement temperatures, many days i saw over 120 degrees F, the aquahot, the two inverters and a bunch of electronics and no ventilation. Electronic equipment and heat don't get along in the long run so I installed the ventilation system. I plan on keeping this coach so I feel it will pay off. Another consideration is wine doesn't keep well in 100 degree plus heat. Most owners don't have or install basement ventilation, some have inverter issues and some don't. One thing I have noticed is my floors no longer feel warm, my fresh water is cooler and my air conditioners maintain more consistant temperatures probably due to cooler tile floors, I feel the whole coach benefits from the cooler basement.

You keep wine in the basement [emoji15]
Basement is not for wine storage.
Signed,
Wine Snob

[sramer]

Originally Posted by Winepress

Is this a problem? Haven’t seen any posts with equipment failing due to basement heat. Mine gets pretty warm but all has been running just fine for the last five years. Maybe slide motors don’t like the heat, replaced two of them.

I do have a problem with my 360 camera module that is in the basement. When the temps get over 120 the module is dropping cameras. Maybe the module is on the road to failure but I have kept track when it acts up and it always seems to correlate to high temperatures in the basement.

[Dutch Star Don]

I ordered parts for mine, will try and install this week and take photos.

[vlamgat]

Originally Posted by Winepress

Is this a problem? Haven’t seen any posts with equipment failing due to basement heat. Mine gets pretty warm but all has been running just fine for the last five years. Maybe slide motors don’t like the heat, replaced two of them.

Last month my Magnum 3208 dropped off line and my Firefly dropped connectivity after the bay temp had been over 120 for several days. After opening the bay door and leaving it open overnight, functions were restored even though the ambient was at 100.

I have installed some USB powered fans as there is no AC outlets available as I believe the Magnum internal fan is either not working or worthless, but I am going with some external air but am wary of introducing moisture and dust as there is no access to any interior air from this bay without major engineering.

[computerguy]

In my Bounder I installed the lithium batts in the basement.
I try and keep the heat down as much as I can in the basement compartment they are in (along with the inverter). Worst part is driving days. The catalytic converter is near the inside wall so temps can get pretty warm.
I installed a temp sensor activated relay powering a marine bilge fan (high velocity). I dump it into the larger basement compartment as they are not open to each other. I have a whole detailed thread in the Fleetwood forum. It dates back to 2016. It does a pretty good job.

[Dutch Star Don]

I installed a fan today. The hardest part was deciding where to put it. I wanted to use the face of the pass thru bay as there is a dead area on the other side between the bay and the fuel tank, about 18" (Freightliner). Free from dirt and water.

I also needed to install a vent so the fan could draw air in. After crawling around for a while under the coach, I mounted the vent in the back of the first passenger bay. That bay also is part of the dead area near the tank. I had a nice louvered vent but found a 3" pvc pipe coupler worked best. I used some metal mesh that I placed in the center of the coupler with silicon.

I drilled a 3" hole through the back wall of the bay. In my first photo, there is a metal support to the right that gives you a good idea at what height to drill. I should have gone about 3/4" higher, but still worked well. I found that a piece of 3" sewer hose fit perfectly in the 3" pvc coupling. So, I installed a piece of Rhino hose I had, to the rear of the vent. I added a slotted drain cap to it, to keep large critters out. I let the hose hang out the back of the vent and it runs down toward the ground and level with the bottom of the coach.







I bought a 3" inline blower on Amazon that had good recommendations from guys using it to vent their engine compartments.



I installed the blower, up high, in the front wall of the pass thru bay. It's almost level with the inverter and is centered to the inverter. I installed a mesh screen in the motor discharge end to keep bugs out. The blower discharges into that dead are between the bay and the fuel tank. By adding the hose to the back of the vent and situating the pickup down low near the underside of the coach, the vent is not picking up the air that the blower is discharging.





I found the blower I used was very powerful and pretty loud. You could hear it with the bay doors closed. It moves a lot of air. I ordered a potentiometer on Amazon and will slow the speed down to about half and hopefully the noise.

I wired it directly to the coach batteries with a fuse. The potentiometer comes tomorrow, if it doesn't quiet down the blower, I may have to rethink which one I use.

[sramer]

Nice job Dutch Star Don. I may start mine this weekend but I was thinking, for the intake vent of going up through one of the half bath cabinets and installing a 3" pipe so it could pull conditioned air. Not sure if that is a good idea or not.

[computerguy]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

...
I found the blower I used was very powerful and pretty loud. You could hear it with the bay doors closed. It moves a lot of air. I ordered a potentiometer on Amazon and will slow the speed down to about half and hopefully the noise.
...

Dang DS Don (I remember you when I had my Knight and you provided the best upgrades!).
I agree my fan is probably too powerful and a potentiometer is a great suggestion. I may have to do that project.
Did you install it with a temp sensor?
This is the one I used https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Dutch Star Don]

Installed the potentiometer today and on the lowest setting, it's still a little loud. For now, it will work but I think I'll look for a quieter blower. All the hard work of installation and wiring is done, the blower is easy to swap out.

[richpatty]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Installed the potentiometer today and on the lowest setting, it's still a little loud. For now, it will work but I think I'll look for a quieter blower. All the hard work of installation and wiring is done, the blower is easy to swap out.

How about something like this? Should be quieter and blow just as much air…

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07P46D62Q/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=A2F13KK758WMXQ&psc=1

[Dutch Star Don]

I've got a garage full of computer fans, they just don't move enough air. On my last coach, I went with a 110 volt fan and you couldn't hear it. I just ordered a 3" inline 110 volt fan from Amazon. If it's quieter, I will just swap it out. I thought the bilge pump 12 volts would work, but it seems that they're all loud.

[mrfix]

I used an AC infinity T6 blower, it's only 32db at full speed, I can't hear it from inside or outside the coach and the digital controller is pretty slick. It's been installed for a year and half now and does a great job of keeping the basement cool.

[vlamgat]

The noise and fan output is a trade off between 120v vs 12v. The latter are noisier for a given air flow and few will easily accommodate ducting. I use a 12v helmet fan in my race cars and they are all noisy. For now I have tie wrapped a pair of large computer fans on top of my Magnum inverter to accelerate the airflow and cooling and have refrained from drilling inlets/outlets.

I recognize that it far less effective than an ambient or coach a/c duct but these inverters can tolerate high temperatures. Just not the sustained 130 plus that I saw this Summer. It may not work but I do not have 120v access or coach a/c without intrusive engineering. I also do not think ambient is a good choice because of the risks of other ingestion particularly dust and moisture without filtration. Filtration that will restrict air flow as it does on my helmet fans and requires a NACA duct to be effective.

[Dutch Star Don]

I installed a blower on my 2014 DS and eventually used a 110 volt inline fan. I thought I could get away with the bilge blower (12 volt) but it just too loud. I got this 110-volt 3" inline fan today and installed it. It's about the size of a football but fit perfectly up between the frame rails directly across from the inverter.

When I bench tested it, you could barely here it running, but it moves plenty of air. It came with a 4' power cord. I pulled the cord and installed a 10' cord. I will just plug into an outlet in the 3/4 bay.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXVWT9O...t_details&th=1