Vortex fan knob - Hengs OEM

I know this is old but I had the same issue in my trailer. The knob stripped out.

So after reading and being frustrated I ended up at Camping World today. I took a knob out of a new Vortex and wandered over to the window/hardware section.

I grabbed a white, round, replacement knob for the side crank out windows with a 1" shaft, NOT the 1/2" shaft. I compared the splines and they looked the same.

Upon getting home and testing it, it appeare it would work fine, but I also remembered the vent being a tad rough or hard to crank open so I went ahead and pulled the entire Vortex back out to inspect. Once I got to looking, the little plastic gear drive adapter that moves the handle closer to the edge (away from the center) was semi tough to turn.

I took it apart to find all plastic on plastic with no lubricant, bushings, etc. Nothing was damaged at all as this Vortex is less than two years old, just everything dry and tough to move.

I grabbed some Lucas wheel bearing grease and coated every surface, gear, face, etc and put the unit back together and it works ten times better than new, and "should" reduce the chance of stripping my replacement knob/handle. Graphite might be a better choice, but I didn't have any! :-)

Here is the knob I used. The screw that comes with it "looks" too long but its not, it worked just fine.


http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/white-window-knob-1-shaft/36119

Enitre repair was probably 20 minutes and only a phillips screwdriver and some grease is needed.

Hope this helps!

Greg

Reminds me of the crappy plastic knob they put in my C to raise the tv antenna. Stripped after only a few ups/downs trips.

Final update. I went so far as ordering TWO new fans. One identical, one with multi-speed and reverse. NEITHER use the long shaft handle. Apparently, this long shaft knob was not in production very long, and is not available ANYWHERE. So...I'm forced to keep one of these new fans to replace my current one, over one 0.50 knob!!! And I might as well upgrade if I'm going thru the trouble.

So, its costing me $118 (or it would have been $50 for the standard version Vortex) because a $0.50 knob cant be found. That's real nice.

Strike out. The metal handle has too much length, and hits the fan housing, restricting a full turn.

What the heck is wrong with Hengs! 2 months...and still I have nothing. I will end up replacing the damn thing to get my vent working again!

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Here's a couple of links that should get the job done:

"Window Crank Handle, 2 3/16""

"WCM 2 1/2" Jalousie Window Plastic Crank Handle"

HEY NOW! Those are two good looking options to try. And metal too! Never thought of looking at those until you posted them!

Maybe here also Tweetys

Here's a couple of links that should get the job done:

"Window Crank Handle, 2 3/16""

"WCM 2 1/2" Jalousie Window Plastic Crank Handle"

Superglue?