solar vent

[ZimbiIV]

Does anybody use or know if a solar vent is any good?

I need to change one vent 'cos it now leaks in heavy rain.

£35 for a direct replacement £50 for solar are they worth £15?

Paul

[Jonathan]

I know people who believe that the solar powered vents are much better for minimising condensation in enclosed trailers.  The difference with a boat is that you may be sitting in it whilst moored quietly somewhere, only to have that peace shattered by a continuous hum from a (cheap!) fan.  make sure that you can turn it off!

[JawsOrca]

We have one on Orca in the loo. We've put it on vent out though and it does work well. It holds a good charge and works most of the day.. As Jonathan mentioned you do want to be able to turn it off as it will keep you awake... Also the switch (Unless you change) is switchable from inside so you can't put a louvre vent on. It did well on the BSC ventilation calculations too. 

 

[Oddfellow]

Our sister company (Kingfisher Boat Services) that does private work is fitting one of two of these to a private boat right now. The owner of the boat is an importer/reseller of these bits of kit, and wants them on his own boat, so I guess that speaks volumes about his faith in his own product. 

 

We have been given two types. One with an on/off/direction switch which is considerably deeper in it's collar which would make it protrude through the headlining and a slim-line one that is much shallower but without the switch. 

 

Do bear this in mind when you buy. The solar vents MIGHT be much deeper than the normal ones and be challenging to fit. 

[ZimbiIV]

Thanks for the replies I had not thought about noise.

Andy depth is not a problem it vents above the worktop so should be ok.

Will look into this a bit more.

paul

[mbird]

When they start whirring at 4am in the summer it's not much fun!

[stumpy]

A solar vent was one of the first upgrades we did to No Worries, its in the hatch over the forward berth and has been happily spinning for 4 years now. The bearing is getting a bit noisy now but when it packs up it'll definitely be replaced by another one.