Cabin Fans

I am needing a few 12V cabin fans to use at anchor (easier and cheaper than an inverter). I just peeked on Defender.com and there are quite a few to choose from. But each has their advantages and disadvantages.

I like the higher CFM of this one, but don't really need oscillation.
Hella marine Turbo 2.0 Oscillating Fan

I like the 3-speeds of this one and the off timer would be a nice feature, but the CFM is pretty low. Plus those safety leading edges seem to me like they would add noise.
Caframo Sirocco II Fan

This one looks okay, but again, kinda low on the CFM scale.
Caframo 748 Bora Fan

Anyway, what do y'all think?

I'm experimenting with an O2Cool DC fan... a couple speeds, rechargeable, or will work on other batteries... and it also has a USB charger thing on it.


Blows air OK. Charges cell phones OK (I've used it to power a cell phone with the Drag Queen anchor watch app active at the time).


Can't speak to reliability, yet. Although I think there was another recent thread on the same topic, and somebody chimed in with their positive input on the same unit...



-Chris

Hella site show the oscillation as on or off.

A year ago I was planning to add 4 or 5 fans this year.

Walked into a West Marine and it had about 8 fans on a display where you could test side by side.

Went simple and inexpensive..Caframo 747.....pic below

The perceived airflow was only bested by the big and noisy Guest fan. Its noise is not annoying and the exposed blades are out of the way and really don't hurt when you stick your finger in them.

We have used the portable ac powered caframos in the Bahamas cruising for several summers and have no need to run the ac when we are at anchor over night. They move enough air so that for us anything below 85 degrees stays comfortable.

I also bought and installed the Caframo 747. For me it was a balance of amp draw, CFM, and noise. I went to defender where they had a display of fans as well. The Caframo 747 was less expensive, had a low amp draw and a decent CFM with fairly low fan noise.

The Hella claims a .33 amp draw, but I would bet that is on Low with the oscillation turned off. Adding one non-oscillating fan in the berth made a huge change. We don't sweat on hot humid nights anymore.

I haven't yet used them on my trawler, but I have a pair of the big Attwood fans that I love. I have used them in both my travel trailer and sailboat in high humidity 95 deg temps. They move a lot of air and are pretty quiet. They were nice being able to run 120v, 12v, and battery operated for times when I didn't have external power.
Attwood Ultimate Rechargeable Fan


They are big, but that helps move a lot of air and keep noise down. On internal battery and low speed they will last almost all night silently, too.

We have a 2 speed non oscillating Hella fan in mounted over each of the berths. They are very quiet, especially on low. We're very happy with them.

I'd be a bit concerned about those non covered fans. Even though they might not do damage, they would certainly may startle someone when trying to turn the fan to low in the dark. Or imagine someone's long hair getting caught up in it. No thanks.

I got one of these and it's worked OK for me:

FRYS.com | Evercool

It's a USB-powered 120 mm fan, 2-speed, on a mag base. It's quiet, portable, easy to position around the boat. It's powered from USB ports on the boat or from a USB battery pack. I like that I can put it anywhere with magnets or velcro, and it's out of the way when I don't need it, no clutter.

We have several Caframo Sirocco fans. My wife loves them. Fairly quiet, and very flexible for aiming where she wants the air.

My only beef with the fans is the way the base is wired and then mounted. It is more complicated than it needs to be. With that said, she wants another fan on the boat, and we will do any Sirocco.

+1 for the Caframo 747 fans. Not too loud and move the air great for their size. I bought 1 and liked it enough to buy another.

I have aa Sirocco in the berth mounted to pull air in the hatch or exhaust air out. I have Hella Turbo 2 speed fans in the galley, solon, and guest berth, you can't go wrong with either one and both use low amps.

loafs and fishes said:

+1 for the Caframo 747 fans. Not too loud and move the air great for their size. I bought 1 and liked it enough to buy another.

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+2!

Giggitoni said:

+2!

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+3 I'm big fan of this model but buy the black one

Thanks everybody!

I just installed Hella turbo, 2 speed. Plastic. Low noise.

Thanks Darlin'

Moving back up the thread, I wonder about the 747 fan. No blade guard or anything. Just blades hanging out there in mid-air? How much of a problem is that?

Tom.B said:

Thanks Darlin'

Moving back up the thread, I wonder about the 747 fan. No blade guard or anything. Just blades hanging out there in mid-air? How much of a problem is that?

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I have a Hella. 2 speed, cage.

Tom.B said:

Thanks Darlin'

Moving back up the thread, I wonder about the 747 fan. No blade guard or anything. Just blades hanging out there in mid-air? How much of a problem is that?

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I replaced older noisey fans that had a metal housing, wire cage and plastic fan blade. I removed the wire housings years ago because of corrosion. I never had a problem except I once accidently hit the fan blade while it was operating and broke the blade. The Hella blades are more flexible and have a housing.

The 747s you can stick your hand right in it in high and it isn't even as bad as a nun rapping your knuckles with a ruler.

I show skeptics all the time by sticking just a finger in...there is a special leading edge that gives way and the motor isn't strong enough to keep the pressure on.

I agree with psn....no issue with the uncaged blades. I have had one for several years and the noise level, air movement and power consumption are all in the excellent range to me. When I added a fan to the master stateroom over the bed, I went with the 748 caged blade to avoid the rude awakening of a finger in the blade in the middle of the night. Not that it hurts, but to avoid the surprise result.

The rubber blade can accumulate some dust that cleans off easily. The black 747 fan seems to conceal the dust better than my white 748.

My wife is short and our fans are high, seems she is always getting a finger hit while trying to reach around behind the fan. They are still installed, so cant be that bad. I eventually just left them on high and put a remote switch in for her. They were on the boat when we got her, I do like the amount of air and low noise and energy consumption. The switch location is a bit of a pain, also if noisy, check blade balance.

Love this thread, great information. I have been thinking about adding a couple of 12v fans in the forward cabin. These would be as much for air circulation in the wet cold months as for the hot months.

Sealife said:

The switch location is a bit of a pain, also if noisy, check blade balance.

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Great point! It's a small rocker switch on the back of the fan that is awkward. You have to push into the back of the fan to select Off-Lo-Hi. If it was a small flip switch that you could flip with the side of your finger vertically, it'd be much better.

dhays said:

Love this thread, great information. I have been thinking about adding a couple of 12v fans in the forward cabin. These would be as much for air circulation in the wet cold months as for the hot months.

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My boat never sits idle without some air moving...dehumidifier, fan or heater and sometimes a combination of two. But it's always the stowable 120V tabletop gear now, not the 12V fans.

I ran my 748 for a few weeks and it started to make a wobble noise at low levels. If I bang it "just right" or adjust through the speeds, it stops. I think I wore it out for running it for weeks without a cool down.