FAN Mod and Upgrade

ALMPMinn

I have been considering upgrading the fantastic fan to variable speed. It looks like the 7350 upgrade will provide the update needed to get the variable speed with auto open and close and rain sensor.

The one I have on the camper, came from the factory but I do not see a part number and the manual I got with the camper says nothing about a part number. I have a 3 speed with a switch with in-off-out and a manual lift. It is the one that came with the 2018 XL TAG Outback.

Will the 7350 be an easy installation? Has anyone done this? Will I need a new dome or an I ok with the one that is on currently on the factory fan?

WayneW

I also have a 2018 xl Outback. I recently did the pwm mod that changes the existing fan to infinite speed adjustments and I’m very happy with it. Have you considered that? It’s much cheaper and you don’t have to worry about getting a good seal on a new one. But you don’t get the other options that the 7350 provides.

The existing 3 speeds on the fan are crazy. As someone put it, too fast, way too fast and hurricane were the 3 speeds.

ALMPMinn

WayneW, where did you get the PWM, do you have a link to the place?

WayneW

There are many write-ups on the mod but the best I found was:

http://ourelkhorn.itgo.com/camperII/fansw.htm

The controller I bought was from Amazon, currently $9.99 + $5.99 shipping. Unique goods 6V 12V 24V PWC DC Motor Speed Controller CCM6C. There are many others, but people mentioned that some cause a high-pitched whine. This one did not.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017GQ69AK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I mounted the controller in the right side rear of the fan and the speed control knob in the right side front of the fan by the raise/lower knob.

ALMPMinn

Good Information WayneW, but the PWM that you link, has only 2 ratings and they were bad. Are you sure this was the one you used?

I wonder if this one is better.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F839VNQ/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A298K45OP416LP&psc=1

WayneW

That’s the one I ordered, but I don’t think I would order something with that poor of a rating history! Maybe a supplier changed or ????

Regardless, yes, I would try something like what you have identified before I’d buy what I did, even though mine is working fine!

Sharon_is_SAM

Here are some extensive threads from the TaB forum regarding the PWM MOD and the 7350 upgrade.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/7200/variable-speed-pwm-ceiling-fan-mod-10-bucks/p1

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/8556/fantastic-fan-upgrade-to-7350-dramatic-improvement-in-efficiency/p1

Dr_Doom

https://teardrop-trailers.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/8300#Comment_8300

I used the Rio Rand controller you linked. It works well and does not make noise. It is what most of the guys in the TAB forum used

Fourman110

You know I contemplated that mod quite a bit, but ended up switching out the fan to a Maxxfan Deluxe. It’s a bit more expensive but I have zero regrets. The Fantastic Fan that came with my 2018 Boondock was loud and really didn’t move as much air as I wanted (on blow could hardly feel the breeze at bed level). The Maxxfan is so much quieter, comes with a self covering lid (so don’t need an additional cover plus it retracts providing an overall lower height to the camper. Multiple speeds, remote so you don’t need to sit up to adjust, more air movement on suck and blow, and a set table temperature sensor. It’s such a better option.....

daveandcorlene

Hi Jay, I'm glad that you are happy with your Maxxfan Deluxe. We are wanting to get a Maxxfan Deluxe for the same reasons.

ALMPMinn

I am going to try the PWM this summer and save the Maxx Fan upgrade for a winter project. I guess I just like to tinker....

ALMPMinn

Just to bring everyone up to date, The PWM was a easy install and took about 2 hours, start to finish and I am no expert on electrical tasks. This now makes a fantastic fan a super fantastic fan and very quiet. We will see if this lasts.

JamesDow

I hope the PWM lasts. I noted a number reviews which indicated a quality issue in the long run. That is keeping me from the mod.
Please please keep us updated in six months.

GulfCoast

I just installed the RioRand PWM controller mentioned above on the Fan-tastic Fan in our 2017 T@G. It modulates the fan speed smoothly from a bare whisper to the original semi-tornado mode. There's no detectable noise from the controller, even at the slowest speed.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F839VNQ

The reference suggested above by @WayneW was a big help, especially the before and after schematic.

http://ourelkhorn.itgo.com/camperII/fansw.htm

JohnnyLoco

Nomatter the speed of the 3 speed in the TAG, it calls for a tail rotor to be installed to steer properly.

The_Rigger

Not to resurrect a zombie thread, but I've ordered one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QIFA79K?psc=1&smid=AFAJ27QUDKWR8&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

...To modify my T@G's fan.

GulfCoast

@The_Rigger, I installed a PWM controller last year and it's working well. We've just come home from three weeks in Florida, running the fan every night. It's nice to be able to run the fan at a low, quiet speed. That reference posted a few messages up is very handy for doing the installation.

The_Rigger

@GulfCoast: Yeah, I found that reference quite useful, so much so that I saved a PDF of it. The only thing I'm pondering now is whether to leave the original 3-way switch in for shutting off the fan, or adding a SPST switch for on-off and replacing the 3-way knob with the PWM controller knob. 

GulfCoast

@The_Rigger, I opted for the simplest route and just left the two original switches in place. My excuse was that someone in the future might want to restore the original configuration. 

The_Rigger

I'm not worried about future owners; I'm gonna have this teardrop til I check out, and after that what someone else does with my T@G won't matter to me at all...  Along with anything else.

Another idea I have - and I'm not certain it's viable yet - is to replace the fwd/rev airflow switch, which appears to be just a simple DPDT switch, with a similar DPDT switch with a center off position. That way I could remove the OEM 3-way knob, replace it with the speed controller knob, and use the airflow switch for both directional control and off/on function. That, I think, might be kinda cool.

GulfCoast

@The_Rigger, that's similar to how my system behaves now, other than removing the old speed control.

The original three-speed switch opens the circuit in the 0 position and allows the fan to run in any of the three speed settings. The original direction switch also switches the fan off when place in the middle position. I could remove the original speed switch by just shorting across the in and out conductors. There would be no need to add a SPST switch, since the on/off function is already incorporated in the direction switch. It sounds like we have different direction switches.

The_Rigger

It appears so, @GulfCoast. I was out in the camper this afternoon bjorking around with carpeting and the Froli system (and double-stacking the two mattresses - I'm a Giant, Economy-Sized human) and I gave the fan the Hairy Eyeball... My fan's direction switch has no center-off position.

(I also found, to my dismay, that somewhere in the process of replacing my defective accent lights, the "technicians" at Veurink's broke the fan lid lock knob - the one I had to special order under warranty from Dometic last summer. I guess I have to make a Testy Phone Call first thing tomorrow morning...)

arubino

finished this mod, thanks very much, the fan is unbelievably quieter...much appreciated!

The_Rigger

Well, I attempted to install the PWM controller today, and sadly it came DOA from China or California or wherever... I've filed an Amazon claim for a replacement; we'll see how many of these things it takes to get a functional one.

Addendum: Amazon says the replacement controller won't get here before I leave for the UP, so it appears I'll have to live with the bone-stock 1250 fan on this trip. (I know: First-World Problems...)

ras

I installed the PWM controller a while back.  Really liked it and it ran well for a year or so.  When it died, I installed a MaxxiFan.  I really, really like it.

The_Rigger

Yeah, a MaxxFan Deluxe is on my long-term upgrade list, but I didn't have the price of admission right now; gonna try the fifteen-dollar modification first and see how it goes.

The_Rigger

Update: It may come as a surprise (heh-heh), but Amazon miscalculated the shipping time for my replacement PWM controller; it arrived in yesterday's mail so I took a bit of time before work this morning and pulled the fan apart & installed it...

The controller is a 5-amp model from UniqueGoods, runs about us$9 on Amazon, imported from China (of course) by way of Rancho Cucamonga, California. A little hot glue here and there and the unit fit nicely on the backside of the fan ring, with a 9/32" hole drilled into the face of the fan ring for the control potentiometer, mounted right below the controller board. I curled the pot's leads to keep them clear of the fan ring mounting screw. The wires were all hot-glued to the inner core of the ring, to keep them in place.

I had already hit up the local RV parts house for a Dometic 3-way directional switch with center-off, and had added a Molex connector to the fan's power connection to the camper (I suspected I'd be taking this thing apart more than once), so it was fairly easy to pop the ring out of the T@G and drag it inside to my Evil Lair for modification.

Anyway, unlike the first one, this controller works just dandy-fine. Controls the fan continuously from dead-stop up to full power, with no annoying whine that I hear some other controllers give you. I leave for ten days in Michigan's Upper Penninsula this Friday, so I'll give it the Pepsi Challenge & Torture Test next week - we're supposed to get temps in the high 80s and low 90s, which is annoyingly hot for the UP.

Find the controller I used here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QIFA79K?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

JamesDow

Have a great time in UP. 

The_Rigger

JamesDow said:

Have a great time in UP. 

Thanks; I sure will.

I've found that camping in the UP is kinda like sex; even your worst day doing it is still pretty darn good.