How reliable is the rain sensor on a Fantastic Fan?

John&Joey wrote:


My real concern would be the winds in Texas, and what they might do to a wide open vent. In that case the lack of rain could cause the vent cover to be torn off.

As a sidebar note, I use our fantastic fan a lot when it is raining (that vent has a Maxx cover.)

Very true. Right at this time of the year, the winds can gust to 50-70 miles/hour in some places. Come summer, things change to a virtually stationary high pressure system that gives calm winds for the most part, so the chance of a torn off vent cover is low (not impossible, but a calculated risk) during that time.

mlts22 wrote:
...snip...Having the ability to circulate air will help immensely in the Texas heat come summer when the rig is being stored...

My real concern would be the winds in Texas, and what they might do to a wide open vent. In that case the lack of rain could cause the vent cover to be torn off.

As a sidebar note, I use our fantastic fan a lot when it is raining (that vent has a Maxx cover.)

Thanks for the info on this. The reason I ask is that on one of the MHs I'm looking at, there isn't much space up top, and a vent cover is may not be a possibility, especially if I want to install a solar array that will be of any meaningful benefit, due to the shade caused by a vent cover.

Since the MH already comes with a lower tier Fantastic Fan, I might as well upgrade it to a 6000 model that has a thermostat and rain sensor. This will keep things in the rig from overheating too much when Texas starts getting the 110 degree temperatures come June.

Don't TRUST the sensor. I had wet bedding twice . Called the Co. and *****ed. the said because the rain maybe came from an angle it wasn't hitting the sensor or maybe it was defective. They sent a new one. I installed it. I got wet bedding once more and installed a vent cover. Really did not want to do that because the bedroom fan sits at an angle but No more trouble.Fan itself is an excellent product and very quite.

I'm different, I guess... I spec'd my Tiger when it was built with the MaxxAir MaxxFan Deluxe similar to this:


Mine is a white manual model. It's survived 8 years of being parked outside, tree limbs, etc. Mine stays open most of the time except in cold weather, driving or parked, rain or shine, running or off. It's let a very little water in once... a very fine mist during a hard rain when the gusty wind was coming from the rear.

IMO, it's much less obtrusive on a small RV than a FF with a permanently installed cover. Plus there's not a worry about the reliability of sensors, electronics, motors, or power. It's open in the pic below:


Jim, "Mo' coffee!"

sljkansas wrote:
The rain sensors work great. BUT if you get a down pour, they won't close fast enough from getting a puddle on the bed. I installed the covers.

I'll add a Ditto to this comment...

The rain sensors work great. BUT if you get a down pour, they won't close fast enough from getting a puddle on the bed. I installed the covers.

The sensor itself is nothing more than a pair of wires very close (Well printed circuit traces) and is thus very very very reliable.. The electroincs that read it I can not comment on.

One issue.. Absolutly pure water, I mean ABSOLUTLY pure, will not trip it.. Rain is never that pure.

mlts22 wrote:
Of course, the best solution to the issue is a Maxx-Air vent cover, but I wonder how reliable the rain sensor is on a Fantastic Fan.

I'm looking at a couple "B" motorhomes, all of which have low/midrange fans for the vents, and I would like to replace them first thing to 6000 model Fantastic Fans. Having the ability to circulate air will help immensely in the Texas heat come summer when the rig is being stored, and if there is a freak thundershower, hopefully the fan will close the lid almost immediately.

in a word...very. sometimes almost too reliable. the only issue I have is that during a fog or mist I have to lock it open or closed as it will cycle between the two positions. but I would absolutely buy a FF with the rain sensor again.

as for using Maxx-Air...we tried that a few years back (to be fair we used a similar product but not the Maxx-Air covers). the covers really restricted the flow of air. we would not do that again.