Trailer Vent Fan

I just checked two trailer vent fans and both were dead. With a little checking I found one had a dead battery and the other had a bad motor. They are both made by NICR and are day/night fans which employ a battery that charges all day, so it can run all night. Why did the battery go dead? I suspect it died because that trailer has been stored inside where the battery soon went to zero volts and there was no sunlight available to recharge it. This condition probably lasted all Winter long. There is an on/off switch, but I'm sure I would put the ship away and forget to turn the fan off or take it out and forget to turn it back on. Better for me to replace the fan with a day only unit made by SUNVENT which is a lot cheaper too......$60 vs $160. The other trailer will probably be left out most of the time and a working day/ night fan is required. Anyone know where to get a Ni Cd 2500 mAh 1.2v?

JJ

On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 7:01:25 PM UTC-4, JJ Sinclair wrote:
I just checked two trailer vent fans and both were dead. With a little checking I found one had a dead battery and the other had a bad motor. They are both made by NICR and are day/night fans which employ a battery that charges all day, so it can run all night. Why did the battery go dead? I suspect it died because that trailer has been stored inside where the battery soon went to zero volts and there was no sunlight available to recharge it. This condition probably lasted all Winter long. There is an on/off switch, but I'm sure I would put the ship away and forget to turn the fan off or take it out and forget to turn it back on. Better for me to replace the fan with a day only unit made by SUNVENT which is a lot cheaper too......$60 vs $160. The other trailer will probably be left out most of the time and a working day/ night fan is required. Anyone know where to get a Ni Cd 2500 mAh 1.2v?

JJ

JJ, why would you want a fan to work 24 hours a day and not just at night when your trailer is parked outside? I am just curious. Temperature in a trailer would be higher than outside if air was not being exchanged at night, at that would be beneficial to reduce condensation potential. Am I missing something here.

Andrzej

On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 7:01:25 PM UTC-4, JJ Sinclair wrote:
I just checked two trailer vent fans and both were dead. With a little checking I found one had a dead battery and the other had a bad motor. They are both made by NICR and are day/night fans which employ a battery that charges all day, so it can run all night. Why did the battery go dead? I suspect it died because that trailer has been stored inside where the battery soon went to zero volts and there was no sunlight available to recharge it. This condition probably lasted all Winter long. There is an on/off switch, but I'm sure I would put the ship away and forget to turn the fan off or take it out and forget to turn it back on. Better for me to replace the fan with a day only unit made by SUNVENT which is a lot cheaper too......$60 vs $160. The other trailer will probably be left out most of the time and a working day/ night fan is required. Anyone know where to get a Ni Cd 2500 mAh 1.2v?

JJ

I get all my R/C stuff from Dave Thacker at Radical RC in Huberville, OH. Very cheap shipping. http://www.radicalrc.com/shop/

The options on store bought equipment are; run the fan 24 hours a day OR run it day only. I don't see any reason to run it nights only? My idea has always been to let fresh air in low at the aft end and let (fan) it out high at the other end. Gets hot enough to peal Velcro inside the trailer, so any circulation has got to help.
JJ

On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 7:01:25 PM UTC-4, JJ Sinclair wrote:
I just checked two trailer vent fans and both were dead. With a little checking I found one had a dead battery and the other had a bad motor. They are both made by NICR and are day/night fans which employ a battery that charges all day, so it can run all night. Why did the battery go dead? I suspect it died because that trailer has been stored inside where the battery soon went to zero volts and there was no sunlight available to recharge it. This condition probably lasted all Winter long. There is an on/off switch, but I'm sure I would put the ship away and forget to turn the fan off or take it out and forget to turn it back on. Better for me to replace the fan with a day only unit made by SUNVENT which is a lot cheaper too......$60 vs $160. The other trailer will probably be left out most of the time and a working day/ night fan is required. Anyone know where to get a Ni Cd 2500 mAh 1.2v?

JJ

I have used www.cheapbatterypacks.com for RC electric batteries for over a decade.
They can make custom packs (pretty much any voltage & chemistry) and are near Portland, OR.

I have been happy with this unit in my trailer for the last 10 years.

No battery to go flat, works on solar with the fan and passively with a venturi-type design when there is no sun but there is wind.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...ct.do?pid=9494

On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 9:28:30 PM UTC-4, JJ Sinclair wrote:
The options on store bought equipment are; run the fan 24 hours a day OR run it day only. I don't see any reason to run it nights only? My idea has always been to let fresh air in low at the aft end and let (fan) it out high at the other end. Gets hot enough to peal Velcro inside the trailer, so any circulation has got to help.
JJ

JJ, I in my first sentence I intended to say day not night. Meaning why do you want to run a fan 24 hours a day instead of during the day only.

On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 7:35:56 PM UTC-4, Andrzej Kobus wrote:
On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 7:01:25 PM UTC-4, JJ Sinclair wrote:
I just checked two trailer vent fans and both were dead. With a little checking I found one had a dead battery and the other had a bad motor. They are both made by NICR and are day/night fans which employ a battery that charges all day, so it can run all night. Why did the battery go dead? I suspect it died because that trailer has been stored inside where the battery soon went to zero volts and there was no sunlight available to recharge it.. This condition probably lasted all Winter long. There is an on/off switch, but I'm sure I would put the ship away and forget to turn the fan off or take it out and forget to turn it back on. Better for me to replace the fan with a day only unit made by SUNVENT which is a lot cheaper too......$60 vs $160. The other trailer will probably be left out most of the time and a working day/ night fan is required. Anyone know where to get a Ni Cd 2500 mAh 1.2v?

JJ

JJ, why would you want a fan to work 24 hours a day and not just at night when your trailer is parked outside? I am just curious. Temperature in a trailer would be higher than outside if air was not being exchanged at night, at that would be beneficial to reduce condensation potential. Am I missing something here.

Andrzej

It was late when I wrote it. I mean why would you want a fan to work 24 hours a day and not just during during daylight hours.

Andrzej

Hi Andrze,
I too think day only is the proper thing to do, but the manufacture had something in mind when they made the day/night unit. I thought they were all day only and was surprised to see they even had a battery. BTW, when the battery goes dead, it becomes a direct short to the solar cells and the thing won't run day or night, but, if you simply remove the dead battery, it works again in the day only mode.
Cheers,
JJ