Maxair Mounted Vertically?

[wistful vista]

Hi everyone, I'm a newb in the van planning stage and these are  my first questions on the forum (with more to come ): 

  1. Can a Maxair or Fantastic fan be mounted vertically on a rear door?  Would it still function properly?  This could save scarce roof real estate.
 
  2. Could a vertically mounted fan also possibly be used to exhaust an interior mounted window air conditioner installed in a cabinet (so that the a/c unit doesn't stick out of the van)?

  3. Are there good reasons why I've never seen or heard of these fans being mounted vertically on a door or a side wall?

  4. Are these stupid questions?

 

[Redbearded]

Not sure if some of the features would work properly mounted on a wall, but you may want to look at the Fantastic EZ-Breeze fan which looks like it can be mounted under solar panels as long as there is a bit of a gap, (at least this is what I'm thinking about doing for my setup). They flow about 330CFM compared to like ~900ish for the other fantastic fans.

 

[Trebor English]

I have a MaxxFan. I don't see why it wouldn't work. It might be impossible to seal if the door is not flat. It might break it if you slam the door shut often. The location on the door may allow the fan to hit the van when the door opens all the way.

 

[user 423]

Are there good reasons why I've never seen or heard of these fans being mounted vertically on a door or a side wall? 

When you're traveling down the road, air turbulence will suck exhaust fumes back into the vehicle if you leave a rear window open. So it might not be a good idea to have a vent back there unless you could seal it up before driving.

 

[tx2sturgis]

As far as airflow, it will work fine. Now, what we don't know is if the bearings in the fan motor are rated for horizontal loads. I would assume they are, but I don't know for sure.

 

[closeanuf]

Bob has a youtube video with a guy that built a van and trailer recently who mounted an electric radiator fan to his rear window and opened the window when wants to exhaust.  that could be done in the rain too.

 

[acfdexpo]

http://www.lilsnoozy.com/snoozy-gallery.htm  This trailer mounts them that way for a bathroom.

 

[breeze]

It would also allow easier entry into your van on the sides Steel encased walls are wonderful in many respects. If you have windows on the sides, then no difference and no problem. Just do it! Maxxair products seem like a quality product that will work with you if something does not work as intended. (Their roof AC is who I'd go with if and when I decide to do that too - the lightest and lowest roof ac on the market.) They service the RV market and have top quality products in every respect. You would be chancing absolutely nothing going with a vertical orientation of their product. In RV's, it's all be done before, so never think you are the only one who has ever had a certain need.

Let us know on this thread about your improvements and problems. It's always something that everyone wonders about in their own van system.

 

[user 423]

Bob has a youtube video with a guy that built a van and trailer recently who mounted an electric radiator fan to his rear window and opened the window when wants to exhaust.

Oh,yeah. You could turn it on while driving and shouldn't have to worry about engine exhaust entering. I didn't think of that in my earlier answer.

Actually, I just wanted to prove gsfish is right about sometimes getting stupid answers.

 

[highdesertranger]

radiator cooling fans take a lot of power. highdesertranger

 

[tx2sturgis]

The big ones do but the smaller ones, made for motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATV's etc use a lot less power. Back in January I bought a 7 inch universal radiator fan that uses 80 watts, and that can easily be controlled with a generic 10 amp PWM controller. I intended to use it on my cargo trailer...

:dodgy:

 

[Matlock]

My fantastic fan is mounted on the rear wall, hinged at the top. Works just fine there leaving my roof free for solar. I don't think I've seen anyone in a van post one here but I know of a few versions in back door windows I found on Google image search.

As far a bearings and mounting vertically, not an issue according to Fantastic customer svc. The newer "pancake" style fans are all ball bearing.

Oh and I always close the plastic top when I'm moving, as well as the rear door. Dust and exhaust and small critters might get sucked in, so.....

Just my .02 cents

 

[wistful vista]

My fantastic fan is mounted on the rear wall, hinged at the top. Works just fine there leaving my roof free for solar.

Thanks Matlock, I was hoping someone had installed a fan vertically and would respond with their experience.
Sorry for the late reply, it's been a looong day.

Thanks to everyone who responded with their advice and opinions.  According to my current timeline, I will be purchasing my high top van in the spring and then converting it in my spare time over the following months.