Cabin fan

[wchevron]

slept on the boat with the kids for the first time the other night. it was pretty muggy. the kids ending up sleeping in the cockpit. i was thinking of adding a couple of oscillating fans. should i get the 12v or battery operated. i like the battery operated because you can relocate as needed. any thoughts.

[jnsailing]

I have several small square folding fans that operate on 4 D cells - I got them originally when my daughter was small and we used to travel and sleep in a custom van - Now the van is gone and the fans are on the boat - Since they fold they are easy to store and generate a fair breeze to keep the air moving as you try to sleep

John N.

[Pamlicotraveler]

For the kids' sake...get some good 12v fans. They use very little power and your kids will still want to sail with you when they get older.

I wouldn't want to have to deal with batteries, but if being able to move them is important maybe that would be a good option. The Hella Fans (12v wired) use .5 amps per hour which isn't much.

[Sapperwhite]

I'll second the Hella fans. I have four on my boat. They move a lot of air and have a low power draw. The only bad thing about them is the back doesn't have a guard, so you can stick your fingers in. It doesn't hurt, but a kid may have a problem with it.

[Cruisingdad]

Best ones I have used so far are the Cafreeme (sp?). They move a lot of air. 12v with cigarette adapter, which we clip off and hard wire into boat.

- CD

[Bermuda30]

CD, those Caframo fans look pretty good. Found them here:

Caframo Limited - Fans, Heaters and Laboratory Stirrers

With a 0.34 A draw, they just might be the ticket.

[wchevron]

thanks for the help. i had looked at the caframo & hella but wasn't sure how they worked. i think i may go with a combination of 12v and battery.

[Cruisingdad]

Originally Posted by Bermuda30

CD, those Caframo fans look pretty good. Found them here:

Caframo Limited - Fans, Heaters and Laboratory Stirrers

With a 0.34 A draw, they just might be the ticket.

Yep... that's the one. THanks.

- CD

[labatt]

Hella Turbo fans are the best 12v fans (quiet but strong airflow)... we have a number on our boat. I tested one next to the Caframo unit and found them to push more air at a quieter level. Practical Sailor reviewed a number of 12v fans a few months back and felt the Hella Turbo was the best unit. If you use them, make sure there's room behind them for them to pull air mass from. They get weaker when they are right up against a bulkhead. I can't sleep without a constant airflow, so I've done a ton of fan research. Here's what I can tell you about the battery operated fans - get the West Marine "Crew Fan" - part # 1844851. They are made by Caframo, but are not the same as the newer Caframo battery powered units - they are like the older Caframo's. The new Caframo's can't tilt more than 90 degrees (think about putting the fan on a shelf above you and then aiming it down - more than 90 degrees) and they don't have infinite speed adjustment. The West Marine's can tilt to more than 135 degrees, and have a potentiometer to allow infinite adjustment of fan speed. They are EXCELLENT units except for the replacement cost of 4 "D" cells, but you could look at going rechargeable.

[erps]

We use a combination of fans. The ones I'm happiest with are the little Caframo plug in fans and the fold up box D-battery fans. I was pretty skeptical when I saw the little D-Battery fans. I thought the batteries would go dead in a couple of days and they wouldn't blow enough air. Both assumptions were wrong. The batteries last all summer, they're very quiet and you can move them where you want them. In the winter time, one sits next to the diesel stove to move the heat around. In the summer, there is one on a shelf a couple feet from my pillow for a little quiet air movement.