# Fan vented roof-lights (trying to stay cool)



## johnTalisman (Aug 18, 2010)

Hi,

I am trying to find a way to stay a bit cooler in the summer without the cost and disruption of retrofitting an air-conditioning unit.

I am considering an Omni-vent or an American product called "Fan-Tastic" fan series 6000.

Can any users of the above products help with feedback.

Do They work? (improve the air flow through the vehicle whilst stationary)

Are they noisy

There is also another product advertised on line which is a called a "12v Compact Air Conditioner Portable Conditioning Unit mini cooler"

This is basically a fan with a water reservoir and some "wicking" function. The unit achieves its cooling by water evaporation.

Has anyone used one of these?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

We have a fan-tastic roof vent on our Hymer and the only thing I can say about is, "it's bloody fantastic"....

It blows and sucks which means if you put it on sucking air out of the van on one of the three speeds, then open a vent above your bed, the air which is blown out of the van draws cool night time air back in via the vent above your bed, which keeps you nice and cool during the night..

You do not even have to bother about the weather, if it starts to rain it closes and shuts down the vent automatically, it hardly uses any power when running if kept on the slow speed.....

So a thumbs up for the Fan-Tastic from me.....

Ray.


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## daffodil (Aug 7, 2014)

I have a TRAV-L-Cool unit on my van in stead of one of the roof lights,

It is amazing,

it has a separate water reservoir(a large plastic bottle affair )which sits on the top shelf of my wardrobe 

It runs on an electric 12v pump (solar powered) and it keeps the van at least 7-8 degrees cooler then outside,

it uses about 3 to 5 liters of water per day working on the evaporation system and whilst not overly quiet its very efficient,

It also works as an extractor van 

But I have a horrible feeling they are no longer in production,

The one you mentioned is probably the same system but more efficient 

if it is GO FOR IT 

PS, I can also run mine on the move with no problems at all 

Good luck with your search


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

We have the 12 volt electric fan thingies in each of our three smaller (400mm?) rooflights, as factory fitted items.

Do they work? 
Yes. In my experience they are actually very good at replacing built-up hot air with cooler air from outside. Generally seem to cool the air inside the MH better if set to blow inwards, rather than suck out.

Are they noisy? 
Yes.
If we come back to the MH in the daytime when it's really hot, and the inside of the van has heated up (despite closing all window blinds and cab curtain before leaving); then we'll generally put all three of them on inwards blow, fan speed 3, for may be 5 minutes. 
At fan speed 1 the noise is much less of course, but we don't feel much benefit for a lot longer.
But on speed 3 for any longer than a short, say 5 minutes, burst and the noise really does become very annoying.
I don't think you'd want to be sat in the MH with one of them running for very long.

Would I buy and fit one if we didn't already have them? 
Yes, I think I would....but the fun bit would I imagine be getting the 12 volt power to the rooflight if such power cabling was not already built in to the ceiling.


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

> "TheNomad"]We have the 12 volt electric fan thingies in each of our three smaller (400mm?) rooflights, as factory fitted items.
> 
> Do they work?
> Yes. In my experience they are actually very good at replacing built-up hot air with cooler air from outside. Generally seem to cool the air inside the MH better if set to blow inwards, rather than suck out.
> ...


Our van gives of a gentle humm, no more than any fan would make when running, of course it gets louder on faster speeds, but the slow speed is adequate for cooling the sleeping area on a night and you hardly hear it.

Ray.


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## chasper (Apr 20, 2008)

I fiited a Fantastic fan last summer and am very pleased with it, it replaced a standard Heki type. When i removed the original the aperture was too big by about 30mm all round! I fitted battens to reduce the aperature and it fitted a treat. I bought mine from America off Ebay, it has a remote control and 14 speeds. I have recently fitted a cowl so it does not close if it rains, i can also have it on when travelling because it is shielded from the wind.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

We have a factory fitted Fiamma reversible fan vent fitted.
It works reasonably well in the daytime but is really good on slowest setting on hot, humid nights.
Fiamma are now doing these and look the ideal solution for a retro fit.


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

We had an Omnivent in a previous van and cannot say that I would fit another one as the cooling effect even on maximum (when it was a bit noisy) was noticeable when cooking but the Heki did a better job otherwise.

Alan


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

We have an Omnivent fitted over the bed.
Would seriously look for something better if I had to do it again. Noisy and not very effective - but better than nothing when it is really hot and sticky.

Patrick


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## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

I use a 12 v 'Endless Breeze Fan' very powerful large fan , light and uses next to no power .
Not cheap but very efficient , check Outdoorbits for prices


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

The evaporative air coolers do work well in countries with low humidity but not good in high humidity.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

I have an Omni Vent fitted near the cooker, the first thing I would say (like others) is that on anything other than the lowest setting its VERY noisy indeed and would almost certainly keep you awake at night !! 

I dont have one but a couple of friends have the "Endless Breeze" fan and they both say its REALLY good but certainly not cheap, having said that its an awful lot less than an air-con unit!!


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## johnTalisman (Aug 18, 2010)

Hi,

Just to close the thread, for the benefit of anyone else who might read this in the future. 

I have decided to buy a fantastic vent. I researched the fiamma turbo vent unit but can't find anyone who is to enthusiastic about them. some people say they are noisy others say they are inefficient. 

There seems to be nothing but praise for the fantastic vent.

I ended up buying mine from a general motorhome accessories supplier. There is a company called Fantasticvents UK. Their units are cheaper as they import directly from the states. The Motorhome accessory shops that sell these units source their units from Novaleisure.

I can't provide any comment on performance as (it being January) I have not had the need to use it.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions.


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