fantastic fan upgrade April 06, 2019, 07:55:22 pm I've got the old 3 speed motor in my fantastic fan. I know they sell an "upgrade" kit that gives the auto-open, rain sensor, remote control, and screen. I really want the new 10 speed motor as well. Does anyone know if the motor is attached to the part of the housing that the mothership likes to seriously attach to the roof? I was hoping I could buy a new unit and just swap stuff out. I know I've read horror stories here on the forum saying it's a nightmare to pull the top piece off sometimes.Sean
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #1 – April 07, 2019, 12:46:41 am You might check with Fantastic Fan people. My reading of that was you were just replacing the innards - not the trim piece around the opening (that LD likes to glue on well), nor the vent cover, but the rest of it. But unless someone replaced what you wanted in a model that you have, I would not trust without checking with the manufacturer.
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #2 – April 07, 2019, 03:42:31 am Hi Sean. I have it on good authority that you want to keep the motor, if it is about 3 1/2" tall. The newer (after Atwood bought them) model is a shorter pancake motor with noisier bearings. (I think that was the complaint). This was covered some time back, but you can add a PWM motor controller, to give you a fine resolution, continuously variable, speed control. It works well with the original motor. An Amazon link: Amazon.com: RioRandâ„¢ Upgraded 6V-90V 15A DC Motor Pump Speed Controller: Gateway This controller has two heat sink (aluminum finned objects) that are electrically 'hot' so they need to not touch any grounded metal parts. This is the thread from about 3 years ago, that led me to upgrade my fan. It is quieter, easier to adjust to low speeds and saves power to run at night. (or day). Fantastic Fan efficiency improvement....RonB As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #3 – April 07, 2019, 10:01:04 am Sean,I second Ron on this. I retrofitted the two original ceiling fan speed controls in my rig with RioRand PWM controllers a couple of years ago. They've worked great!
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #4 – April 07, 2019, 12:07:32 pm Quote from: henness - April 06, 2019, 07:55:22 pmI've got the old 3 speed motor in my fantastic fan. I know they sell an "upgrade" kit that gives the auto-open, rain sensor, remote control, and screen. I really want the new 10 speed motor as well. Does anyone know if the motor is attached to the part of the housing that the mothership likes to seriously attach to the roof? I was hoping I could buy a new unit and just swap stuff out. I know I've read horror stories here on the forum saying it's a nightmare to pull the top piece off sometimes.I'v done it and would would not do it again for several reasons.In our LD's bath, I upgraded the Fantastic to the remote control model. My wife is short and has hard time reaching the ceiling controls. The installation takes some time. While the Fantastic's frame remains glued into position, the interior pieces all must be removed. The kit I used did not come with a new motor, supposedly it used the old, soup can-shaped motor.Once installed, the fan motor would only run at high speed, even with a special jumper installed on the circuit board, for use with the old motor. A call to Fantastic informed me that the old-style motors usually do not work with the electronic speed control, so they sent a new motor and fan assembly, arriving the next day. The old soup-can motor has been replaced with the new style flat motor, a definite downgrade. The new motor and bracket is installed from the roof side, with the vent wide open. Other than having to work from the roof, it wasn't a bad install.The new, flat fan motor has a whine, when running, that gets louder as the speed increases. Another call to Fantastic resulted in another motor and fan that was just as noisy as the first, it's the nature of the new motor design. The new motors have noisy brushes and I have not found a way to quite them. Wish the old, quiet motors were still available.One advantage of the new motor and fan assembly is the fan can be removed from the inside of the RV, for cleaning.The remote can be wonky, at times, it gets the fan direction wrong or not responding correctly. Since our Fantastic fans have covers, the rain sensor function is wasted.My suggestion is to keep the old motor, assuming it is still in good condition and install a PWM motor speed control, as Ron suggested. It will save a lot of power when the fan is operated at low speeds.Our bath's Fantastic Fan had used the same PWM speed control and we had no complaints, except for the controls being at ceiling level. I would reinstall the old setup but the original motor's bearings are worn out, the result of it running a few thousand hours each summer.I used to recommend Fantastic fan but with the new motor, not anymore. I'm wonder if the MaxxAir fans are as noisy, if not, they may be a better replacement and are available with a remote.Larry
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #5 – April 07, 2019, 12:26:10 pm Thanks for all the replies. Guess I'm going to keep the soup can motor I've got. It's loud as heck on high, but it's just fan noise, the motor itself has no whine or bearing squeaks. I'll look at the PWM controller on Amazon. For you folks that have installed them, where did you put the control?
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #6 – April 07, 2019, 12:50:46 pm Quote from: henness - April 07, 2019, 12:26:10 pmI'll look at the PWM controller on Amazon. For you folks that have installed them, where did you put the control?With some trimming of plastic, the speed control will fit under the fan's cover and will use the stock speed control hole to mount the PWM control. If done right, no one will notice it.Larry
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #7 – April 07, 2019, 12:58:20 pm Quote from: henness - April 07, 2019, 12:26:10 pmThanks for all the replies. Guess I'm going to keep the soup can motor I've got. It's loud as heck on high, but it's just fan noise, the motor itself has no whine or bearing squeaks. I'll look at the PWM controller on Amazon. For you folks that have installed them, where did you put the control? Just for the record, ALL the FF motors are single-speed, with various methods of reducing motor current to determine running speed. The traditional 3-speed switch uses resistors, which simply waste power dissipating it as heat. PWM control is the most efficient method - I am unfamiliar with the Amazon one mentioned - and some are compact enough to fit in the enclosure. Our bath fan is simple - exhaust only, so I added it without eliminating anything. Our lounge fan has thermostatic control and bi-directional, so I eliminated the speed switch and put the PWM speed control in its place. Note that if you keep the FF 3-speed switch, always turn it to high. Any other speed setting again wastes power. As Larry said, install high-flow covers on the roof and skip the rain sensor and motor. This way the fans are fully functional in hot, rainy weather.Steve
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #8 – April 07, 2019, 03:22:02 pm "I'm wonder if the MaxxAir fans are as noisy, if not, they may be a better replacement and are available with a remote."LarryI have long since replaced all 5 vent fans with the MaxxAir MaxxFan non-remote models in my 30' rig. In my estimation they are less noisy, particularly on lower speeds, than the Fantastics and you have the added benefit of having an integral rain cover.
Re: fantastic fan upgrade Reply #9 – April 07, 2019, 07:19:13 pm Sean,It was a bit of a squeeze, but I installed mine without having to trim. I can't see it from the below. As I recall, I mounted my controller vertically above the 'shroud' in one corner."Guess I'm going to keep the soup can motor I've got. It's loud as heck on high, but it's just fan noise, the motor itself has no whine or bearing squeaks." Mine is just as noisy, but I've found that I rarely need to run my fan on high. I usually run both of mine at reduced speed...much quieter, but still very good ventilation.
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