Bathroom fan converting switch to pull on/off

Most small light fixture switches such as the first one in RJsfishin's post are rated at 120VAC and will easily carry 6 or 8 amps So converted to 12VDC it can carry 3.3 amps or so. I believe the little motor used in the fan is .35 amps, it could be 1.35, I don't where my spare is right now to go look.

Look on line and you can find little remote switches(key chain or wall mount type) for $5 to $7 and you would have a nice neat wall switch without rewiring.

path1 wrote:
Thanks everybody...Learned something about elec...

Fantastic fan would be expensive fan switch. But those are good fans and excellent customer service. Nothing like laying in bed 1/2 asleep and not have to get up to shut of fan.


But wife wants a simple pull string that she can reach.

Get something like this Remote control switch. Mount the relay part in the ceiling next to the fan. You can even hang the fob on a string if you want to.

3oaks wrote:
My 2006 Sunline TT had wall switches for the bathroom light and the fan. Also wall switches for some of the other ceiling lights throughout the trailer. It appears most of the RV industry has taken a step backwards over recent years. :R

I had a Sunline with an actual switch in the bath. Sure wish that they were still in business. The company was sold to folks that cheapened the product and ran it into the ground in just a couple of years.

My 2006 Sunline TT had wall switches for the bathroom light and the fan. Also wall switches for some of the other ceiling lights throughout the trailer. It appears most of the RV industry has taken a step backwards over recent years. A simple thing like wall switches should be standard. Even Northwood's Arctic Fox trailers with their higher arched ceilings don't have wall switches. :R

I converted to a pull chain but when I made it long enough to suit DW, it was touching my head. Didn't take me long to scrap that idea and install a wall switch.

Thanks everybody...Learned something about elec...

Fantastic fan would be expensive fan switch. But those are good fans and excellent customer service. Nothing like laying in bed 1/2 asleep and not have to get up to shut of fan.


But wife wants a simple pull string that she can reach.

Go to Lowes or Home Depot and find a person in the lighting area. Ask for the pull chain switch as shown. You can buy the long chains to reach any height. Cut to fit. Very simple install.

It isn't cheap, but you could upgrade the bathroom fan to a Fantastic Vent which has remote control that can be mounted on the wall. As an added bonus, it is quieter than the typical buzzing fans and moves a good mount of air.

There's more to a switch selection than just the voltage rating, actually. That's one limit. There's also a current rating, and many switches are only rated for use on AC circuits (or have much reduced ratings for DC circuits).

A DC circuit requires a more substantial switch design because the current doesn't periodically stop on an energized circuit, and hence any arcing in the switch contacts as the switch is opened doesn't tend to stop as easily.

For an RV fan, though, I wouldn't worry excessively about AC vs. DC switches. The usual failure mode would be for the switch contacts to weld themselves together, and the switch to be unable to turn off. That doesn't necessarily mean the AC switch won't work fine on a DC circuit for a good length of time, of course; just that the maker doesn't guarantee proper long-term trouble free operation. The most common failure mode would be the eventual welding of the contacts together, preventing the switch from opening. If that happens, you have many reasonable options to make do in this case—such as pulling the fuse for the vent fan, or leaving it on, or manually disconnecting the wire connection from the switch until you can install another. A shower vent fan is not in any way a safety critical application.