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Cosmic_Artifac1's avatar
Cosmic_Artifac1
Explorer
Sep 28, 2018

Customer loses remote Dometic loses customer (Fantastic Fan)

Hello all...

I have misplaced the brick remote for my 2 seasons old Fantastic Vent model 6600. After contacting Dometic today it seems they want me to spend nearly another couple hundred dollar to buy some upgrade kit that still offers no manual control over the fan in the advent something happens to the new remote. That is something I am not going to do, fool me once so they say but not a second time...

Dometic doesn't offer the remote so I am wondering if anyone has installed a potentiometer in their fantastic fan that allows them to turn the fan off and on and adjust the speed manually? It is something I didn't notice or think about when I bought the unit at Camping World a couple years ago. The fan is nice however looking back I should have purchased the Maxxair since it can be controlled independent of the remote control via touch panel on the unit itself.

I am not sure what all my options are but I am not paying Dometic nearly $200 bucks for an upgrade kit when I can get a Maxxair for $200 and not have to worry about misplacing a remote or even ordering the model with a remote.

I am kind of glad this happened this past weekend as I have a Dometic CFX-65 sitting in my Amazon cart along with other items that need to be ordered and now I am worried about ordering the refrigerator in case I run into something similar in the future and have to deal with Dometic in this manner with them leaving their customers high and dry.

Sad day indeed because I really wanted that freezer but have lost faith now in Dometic.

Anyway to end the rant I'd like to see if I can get any help or what other people may have done if they experienced a similar situation or have added manual control to their "remote only" operated basically brand new Fantastic Vent fan.

Thanks and I appreciate any help or suggestions as the vent fan is a must even to finish out the season and I didn't plan on installing another vent fan after such a short time when mine is perfectly fine otherwise.
  • Cosmic_Artifac1's avatar
    Cosmic_Artifac1
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2018
    Lynnmor wrote:
    I didn't watch this all the way thru, but it might get you started in the right direction. I have done the PWM and reversing on another brand and it turned out better than factory schemes. video


    aha! excellent man thank you...

    the motor he has in the video is actually not designed for PWM trimming but it still does work you just can't get those ultra low amp draws and totally silent operation as you can with the motor designed for it... which I happen to have already installed because Fantastic Vent did things right before acquisition by Dometic.
  • D_E_Bishop's avatar
    D_E_Bishop
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2018
    Here's another suggestion. May save time and energy, contact etrailer.com and ask them if the speed switch they sell will replace the old style remote sensor switch assembly. They are really cool there. I believe the switch has a center off position, three exhaust and two intake speeds.

    I've got that crappy auto open/close fan in the back and an on/off multiple speed model in the kitchen.
  • Cosmic_Artifac1's avatar
    Cosmic_Artifac1
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2018
    D.E.Bishop wrote:
    Here's another suggestion. May save time and energy, contact etrailer.com and ask them if the speed switch they sell will replace the old style remote sensor switch assembly. They are really cool there. I believe the switch has a center off position, three exhaust and two intake speeds.

    I've got that crappy auto open/close fan in the back and an on/off multiple speed model in the kitchen.


    Yeah that auto open/close feature was just another bell and whistle I didn't need but it came with the lowest amp draw model. I figure already I am going to get rid of that and replace it with the standard crank in its place, the automatic one sticks down too low from the unit anyway and is just annoying. I am also going to get rid of the rain sensor unless I can wire it into switch like the trimmable switch in the video. I already have the reversible switch mounted in my faceplate so that will likely be reused. I might even order a new faceplate and standard crank (yes from Dometic @@) so I can have a clean install with just a PWM rheostat and the factory in/out reverse switch.
  • Cosmic_Artifac1's avatar
    Cosmic_Artifac1
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2018
    This appears to be the exact same controller switch he is using in the video, I think I'll order a couple or maybe even bump the quality up a bit... Seems there are quite a few variations of this PWM DC motor controller out there. Sure beats sourcing a used remote which has been futile and hand over fist beats purchasing Dometic's supposed upgrade kit.

    https://www.amazon.com/RioRand-Controller-Adjustable-Reversible-Reversing/dp/B071H2YQG5
  • mike-s's avatar
    mike-s
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2018
    There must be a $10 learning remote out there. Get one, and find someone who has a working remote you can use to program it.

    (I'm assuming they're IR remotes)
  • phays's avatar
    phays
    Explorer
    Sep 30, 2018
    In a discussion I had with a Dometic rep I was told the new remote fans are IR controlled and not RF. Apparently RF can no longer be used for remotes such as these.

    Don't know if it is true but was told the new controllers don't work well around corners.
  • Cosmic_Artifac1's avatar
    Cosmic_Artifac1
    Explorer
    Sep 30, 2018
    I am not sure what the old remote was but it did work outside the trailer for quite some distance. As with a lot of things say like the buddy heater one always seems to want the setting that are inbetween the factory default settings which devices come with, like the buddy heater would be perfect if you could set it halfway between low and off... hence I have a wave 3 coming in sometime at the beginning of this coming week. I ordered 4 PWM DC controllers just because they're so cheap and pretty cool I'm sure I can find some uses for them, I ordered 2 of the ones in the link I posted and that's what I plan on using for the fan and I will have one for backup which will be plug and play that I will store onboard. It is very basic wiring the thing up since I don't need the bells and whistles such as the rain sensor or thermostat that is already on the fans controller board... After I get it gutted and wired to the new PWM switch I will do some amp draw testing at the motor to see if anything has changed or if I can still pull less than 1 amp down on low setting with that particular PWM switch.
  • Cosmic_Artifac1's avatar
    Cosmic_Artifac1
    Explorer
    Oct 01, 2018
    Hey thanks... I am definitely not interested in that 3 speed switch though, they are extremely inefficient and only offer 3 speeds.For $20 bucks I'd still lose temp control and auto open/close feature anyway so I and others in this boat would just be better off with a Pulse Width DC motor controller that offers much wider range of control over the speed of the fan and pulls a fraction of the current (amps)

    If anyone knows where I can order just this face plate with no switches or electronic or screen without having to patronize Dometic that would be great... I inquired to eTrailer about a simple $8 dollar crank knob like the one pictured here because I want to remove the auto open/close feature and just convert it to manual crank but they weren't much of a help, they only offered to sell me a whole new fan for $124 dollars basically just as Dometic did @@ so I think my original question to them and what I am doing to my current unit just flew right over their head...

  • Cosmic_Artifac1's avatar
    Cosmic_Artifac1
    Explorer
    Oct 01, 2018
    In essence I am down grading my unit not upgrading it. But I am still retaining Pulse Width Control of the motor since my motor is the model that is designed for PWM trimming while remaining silent.

    It's a little odd what I am doing but it's not pricey at all to do, many wouldn't understand unless they had the model fan that I do and they lost the remote lol. When my parts get here and I've figured out where to source the individual items I will make a proper DIY post and ask the moderators to delete this thread, being that a lot of it is rant on Dometic :D

    When all is said and done in the end I envision it looking just as the picture I posted but with my PWM speed control switch in place. That way I have a clean install and no switches or holes exposed from items I am removing like the lift motor mounting and the rain sensor switch.

    I may try to locate a model 1200 face plate and remove that buss fuse since they're known to be problematic and instead use that location for the reversible toggle switch that is supplied with the PWM control, then I can just use a standard automotive blade fuse somewhere hidden inside the unit or behind the trim molding.

    Model 1200 face plate.

    Moderator edit to re-size picture to forum recommended limit o 640px maximum width.

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