Nicro Solar Vents

[c130king]

Fellow Mac'ers,

First the good news...my October to February deployment to Afghanistan was cancelled. They cancelled my position completely and they don't have another spot for me right now. Maybe I will get to go next Spring.

Anyway, I will now get to go home to Jacksonville, Fl for Christmas and two weeks with my .

I have been very concerned about mildew the past several weeks...and since my boat will go back in storage again after Christmas I have decided I will do something to help prevent it. So, after reading a lot of posts on Nicro Solar Vents I have decided I need to install one or two of these for the purposes of moving a little air around while the boat is sitting in storage...not so much for comfort while I am in the boat as I don't think they will create much if any breeze.

So I will revive this topic, which has been discussed several times before, just to make sure I have the latest and greatest.

1. I am thinking one installed on the front hatch. I think that would be easiest to do. Thoughts or concerns?

2. I saw the vent on the front hatch of RickJ's and thought it was pretty slick with the plastic deck plate that permitted the vent to be removed and a cover to be installed. I think I want that as well. Looks like you have to drill an additional 6 holes to secure the deck plate to the hatch...lots of holes.

3. 3" or 4". Any issues with one over the other?

4. Will one vent in the front hatch pull sufficient air through the boat to help prevent mildew? I would think it would pull air in around the compainion way hatch as that hatch definitely doesn't seal up air tight.

5. Finally, I have read that some have stated that their vents worked even when their boat was covered with a tarp. Mine will be covered with the standard blue tarps. Does enough light get through to power the vent?

Anything else to think about? I am pretty sure my Dad has either a dremel or a rotary cutter of some sort that will work. I presume the lip of the deck plate will cover any cutting errors?

Lots of plans for my over Christmas...the trick now is to reduce the mod time to maximize on-water sailing time.

Thanks for any advice,
Jim

[Paul S]

we have it on our M. Works great. To install, you just glue it to the hatch, no screws due to the thin fiberglass. VERY easy install. Just cut a big hole in it and put/glue in the sleeve, install the vent. Done.

Works quite well. you know when it stops working, the boat is not as 'fresh' inside. (Battery lasts about a yr or 2)

I got the optional rubber bumper for the inside. No sense in having a hard edge of the vent inside





I am sure a vent higher up would be better, but this is better than nothing, works well, and if you screw up, you just need to fix/replace the hatch instead of the boat itself.

You might want (in case you havent yet) get a hatch holder

[c130king]

Paul,

Thanks for the info. I saw your post on the other threads on this topic. Do you just have the one? And it looks fairly large. Is that the 4" (4 3/4" inch hole) vent? And is yours the kind that you can take out and put in the cover plate?

Where did you get your hatch holder? Are the two screws/bolts that I see just to the port side of the vent for the hatch holder?

Thanks,
Jim

[Chinook]

I installed a pair of 4" Nicrovents in my X last winter, and am very happy with their performance. I am convinced 4" is the best way to go. Lot of airspace in the cabin, and the more air moving, the better. I installed one in the forward hatch, and put the other in the tinted lexan window in the head. Not sure if head window installation works on the M, but I'm happy with how it went on my boat. I set the forward fan to blow into the cabin, and the head fan to exhaust. I also installed a louvered vent to the head, to improve ventilation/air flow. I fretted a bit over the large cutouts, especially the one in the lexan window, but they turned out fine. I made a router template and clamped the template on the forward hatch for the cutout there. I was able to remove a couple of the window screws and actually screw the template onto the outside of the boat for that cutout. I drilled a pilot hole and then used a trimmer bit in the router. The holes were clean and precise, without the chipping which a jigsaw might produce. I doubt that your fans will function under a blue tarp. You'll be better off plugging in one of those dehydrator/fan units, provided you have access to a 110 outlet, when the boat is covered with the tarp.

[c130king]

Chinook,

Thanks for the info. No access to power where I currently store the boat...and the battery has been removed. So no power for any other type of fan. I think I will go with 1 x 4" for now on the hatch and see how well that works. Worst case I screw it up bad, and order a new hatch.

Too bad they don't make one that works off of heat...as I am sure it gets quite warm under that tarp.

Jim

[Moe]

Our Nicro vent did not work for very long under a tarp (until the rechargeable C battery died).

The Nicro vent did virtually nothing for air flow in the bilge or back in the aft berth. When the boat was not tarped, it drew air in between the sliding hatch and hatchboard, across the ceiling, where the hottest air wound up. In ours' location, it would also draw air in the forward hatch. On the other hand, with no leaks from chainplates, etc, and the interior cushions stored in the basement, all the bilge covers open, the interior (including the bilge) sprayed with Lysol before winter, there didn't seem to be a need for air circulation down low.

I think if you wanted better air circulation, you'd need a larger solar panel like Kevin has on his X. Just need to hang it over the tarped mast securely, facing south, and preferably at an angle equal to your latitude, if not higher (for winter performance). Then you could set your own 12V fans in place without worrying about the tarp.

[c130king]

Any recommendations on a solar panel that would do that?

Thanks,
Jim

[Highlander]

Hi Jim

Here's my vent on my Mac19 it will move twice the air of the nicro has a reversable switch no need to change fan blades has two batteries instead of one runs up to 48hrs on a single charge bought from WM in Vancouver BC
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/m ... 024ASF.flv
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/m ... 023ASF.flv

J

[c130king]

J,

What is the brand? It is solar isn't it?

Jim

[Paul S]

i have the bigger of the 2 west sells (4inch maybe). I took the hatch off all together and marked the circle and cut it with a jig saw (or pick your tool of choice). Glued the adapter in, done. It comes with a plug to insert if you like

The hatch holder is west marine stainless one. not sure of the model. works well. admiral has a tough time with it time to time.

yes the screw heads you see are for the hatch holder

I leave it in place under the tarp to sill allow airflow. I keep the bow and stern areas lightly secured so air can flow in and out and reduce moisture.

[ronacarme]

Jim....See the recent thread titled "mildew", including my oct 9 2008 post discussing details of the 3" Nicro solar vent, and the bilge fan powered by a cheapy 5 watt solar plate, on my 2001 X.
Using the mast raising tackle to lower the mast last week reminded me that I should have located the Nicro an inch farther aft on the forehatch, as the tensioned mast raiser line now presses (tho only rather lightly and so far harmlessly) against the side of the Nicro, which could have been avoided by locating the Nicro a bit farther aft.

[Highlander]

Jim,

I Sun "solar vent" made by ICP Solar Technologies

J

[Moe]

Here's what I'd really be interested in, something that can function on its own when the boat is in use and not tarped, but that can be powered by an external power source when tarped.

Nicro 4" Stainless Steel Combo 12 Volt/Solar Vent Fan

How to install it on page 38 of the Nicro Owner's Manual (all models).

I have two questions about that vent I've not seen the answer to, at least yet.

The first is whether an external 12 volt source charges the vent's own Ni-Cad C battery? This is important to know if you want the fan to continue to run when the sun isn't shining. It determines whether or not you need either hook the fan and solar panel to your house batteries (or alternatively add a small dedicated battery for the panel and fan).

The second is what is the current draw when the fan is running? That determines the required size of the solar panel, as well as that of the small dedicated battery previously mentioned.

As to your question of solar panel recommendation, it depends on what you want out of the solar "system."

Without knowing the actual fan draw, I'd guess a 5W panel would run it during the day and, if external power charges its battery, probably during the night as well.

If I were going to leave fully charged batteries on board the boat, I'd probably opt for a 20W panel and controller to keep them up as well as run the fan.

If you'd like the panel to make up battery power used over a weekend during the week, the panel would need to be larger yet. However, in this case the boat would likely be untarped and you could leave the fan set on solar.

[c130king]

I am a little confused about solar panels. When I store the boat for long periods I pull out the batteries and leave them at home on a trickle charger as there is no power at the storage lot. Will a solar panel run an interior fan with no 12v batteries installed anywhere?

Or are you talking about using a solar panel to keep the house batteries charged up but using the house batteries to run the fan?

But for short term storage I won't use tarps and I probably won't remove the batteries. In this case I think the Nicro would work okay to help circulate some air through the boat.

Probably the longest period of time I ever went without using the boat was 3-4 weeks and never had a problem with the battery keeping a charge. But probably will need to get a small solar panel of some sort for trickle charge of the battery (or batteries as soon as I install my new switch and get 2 new Group 24s).

Jim

[Highlander]

Jim

The solar vents have their own nicad batteries that are charged up by the solar panel on top of the vent as long as their is sun light shining on the solar panel the batts stay charged to a certain degree . I like the one Moe showed witch will also run off your house bat when needed , so if your boat is tarped with hydro acces & a trical bat charger you could run the fan all winter & if your slip had hydro !

J