Here's the fan that I've used for the past 5 yrs and moved from vehicle to vehicle. It cost me $14 at Princess Auto (surplus) and was used to cool mainframe computers or something like that. The really nice thing about this fan is that it's rated for 12-28v DC. Hmmmm.. now what else operates within that range? If you said 'solar panels' you get a big ol' ceegar! <br> My automatic setup consists of this hooked up in parallel with the output of my solar (BEFORE the charge regulator) and it starts up automatically in the morning (slowly at first) and by noon it's pushing out a truly tremendous amount of air. Keeps my rig nice & cool (I can go to sleep with being 40 deg Celsius (104 deg F) and it turns off when the sun goes down. There's a switch hooked up to turn it off manually. It draws 1 amp and is well worth it. <br>
Automatic solar cooling with the mother of all fans
- Thread starter Willy
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VanTrekker
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<p>That is just way cool... I'm impressed! It ramps up as the light increases and solar panel output climbs. Neat! Great job of planning to put it in front of the charge controller. Brilliant!</p>
I'm lazy and this means I don't have to remember to turn on my 'air conditioning'. Also, I've got a dog and a big concern is keeping her cool and comfortable if, for any reason, I've gotta leave the rig for any appreciable amount of time in the summer.<br> What really surprises me is how many people buy these high dollar setups at the RV dealers and the alternate solution is a lot cheaper and effective. What I plan to do this time is forgo using the roof vent (cheap garbage and not worth having) and use the vent where the fridge was. Don't need it, since I have a Waeco cooler, so it can be put to good use. Don't have to be worried about rain and, with a flap of light vinyl or coroplast, it will be sealed up during the night and no mosquitoes can get in. <br><br>
I have a similar set up. I have a 15 watt solar panel that is direct wired to 5 computer fans. Nothing fancy. No controller, no battery. 2 of the fans are behind the fridge and suck air out, helping to cool the fridge even when it is not powered up. 1 in in the battery compartment and sucks air out. the final 2 are in a window and blow air in.<br>They all work when the sun comes up. The best thing about it is they help keep the van ventillated and smelling fresh even when in storage for months on end.<br>
Willy what size solar did you attach or another word what size should I get just for the fan? This is the fan I'm looking at. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...turn_2?ie=UTF8&n=172282&s=electronics">FAN</a>
i never knew these things existed!!! awesome! Is this kinda what it is?<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Powered...r=1-1&keywords=solar+powered+cooling+fans
sl1966
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You know I was looking at your setup and had done something similar to it for an old apt I had lived in once. I didn't want to shell out for and install a window AC unit. I had set a large block of ice in front of a fan on my window sill. The ice was in a tray with a drain that let outside into the yard. <br /><br /> If you can rig some sort of basket with a catch tray, you can put a chunk of ice into the basket. It's a great way to keep cool for as long as the ice lasts. The upside to this is that even when it's hot, the night does cool down as it progresses and the ice lasts a little longer.<br /><br />Although in all due fairness I never used this contraption in the low deserts where it gets insanely hot in the summers. I used it when I used to live in the socal beach cities.<br /><br />
offroad
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This solar fan is awesome. Looks like it keeps cooling 24-7. But how long does the fan last? One year? Two years? <br /><br />Would suggest a thermal switch to not run the fan when temperature is less than 70 degrees outside.
This particular fan is happiest being fed around 18 watts, but it will work okay with 15. I have it hooked up to my total solar feed, which is about 100 watts at present.<br /> I have an on/off switch and am not worried abut the longevity of the fan.. this kind of unit is made for cooling large computers and is designed for long runtimes. ..Willy.
Willy said:
Greetings!
You can put a screen over one side of the vent, works great.
Cheers!
The CamperVan_Man
katelynn said:
Greetings!
These are a joke, never seen one that moved enough air to count...
An endless breeze fan, hooked up to a flexible 40 watt panel suction cupped to the inside of a window works well though.
Cheers!
The CamperVan_Man
She said:
Greetings!
Computer fans don't move much air, an endless breeze fantastic fan, an 02 Cool 12v fan, or a car radiator electric fan, will move a lot more air.
Cheers!
The CamperVan_Man
sl1966 said:
Greetings!
There's 12v Air Conditioners that can be bought or built these days. The ice can last up to a week in these, and most often no ice is even needed.
Cheers!
The CamperVan_Man
offroad said:
I have something similar to this solar fan with the solar panel being about 3x the size. It's very weak and a waste of money. Only cost me $9 on clearance. It runs, but doesn't do much and pretty much junk. It requires that you leave your window down about 2-3 inches. So someone can just pry this part off and stick a coat hanger down to open your lock. And rain water gets through and drips down your door, into your van. If it gets all over inside the door panels and you have power doors, it may short out or rust up the electrical connections.
I'm wondering about putting computer fans at the conversion van sliding doors. They're made for computer boxes so I'm not sure how they'd do in a van that's like 100x bigger. Some people put like 4 of them in a tower case. This one is $8 when on sale: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-EMC-032014-Index-_-CaseFans-_-35103060-L012A
But this one seems like a better choice for $18: http://www.amazon.com/PROCOMP-ELECT...=UTF8&qid=1395932211&sr=8-70&keywords=12v+fan
I'm thinking two of them. One to suck in air and the other pushing it out using the 2 sliding screen doors on both sides.
Willy said:
Greetings!
Things are starting to make more sense now, that big fan is an auxiliary oil cooler or transmission cooler fan, which explains why you got it at an auto parts store.... That's also why it moves so much air than a computer fan.
Cheers!
The CamperVan_Man
Huh.. go figure. Actually, Princess Auto is not really an auto parts store, more near everything but, tho they have some auto related stuff. They have this section where they buy up surplus from auctions and who knows where else. Ammo cans, fishing rods, bags of thumbtacks.. the list is near endless.
Regardless, it's one helluva fan. Not the most quiet, but cheaper 'n dirt and, most importantly, really moves the air. I like the fact that it works over a wide voltage range, which allows me to hook it up directly to my solar (before the charge controller) and not have to worry about burning it out.
That smaller fan, even though it's rated for 12v, also moves a hefty amount of air.. and I've also had it hooked up directly to the panels. Didn't seem to hurt it none. ..Willy.
Regardless, it's one helluva fan. Not the most quiet, but cheaper 'n dirt and, most importantly, really moves the air. I like the fact that it works over a wide voltage range, which allows me to hook it up directly to my solar (before the charge controller) and not have to worry about burning it out.
That smaller fan, even though it's rated for 12v, also moves a hefty amount of air.. and I've also had it hooked up directly to the panels. Didn't seem to hurt it none. ..Willy.
Zil
Well-known member
Most of those DC motors are very forgiving about voltage. i have found some from old servers that move lots of air with low amps. good job Willy.
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