Suggestions for 120 VAC portable fans for engine room use?

They would be used during summer engine room maintenance chores to cool me,
and to run 7 x 24 to prevent mildew,  and / or to cool the fuel polishing
pump when it's being used.  That pump runs at 105F when the engine room is at
85F.  For you non-tropically-challenged types, that's 85F without the engines
/ genset having been run in days.  8-)

Don't be confused. These portable units would NOT be used for engine room
ventilation.  There are separate 12VDC fans for that.

We've used several 10" - 12" portable 120VAC fans in the engine room.  The
problem is the fans don't hold up long when exposed to summer operating
temperatures of 120 - 130 deg F.  Their bearings seem to go; perhaps lose
lubrication?  Corrosion is NOT a problem.

Would rather pay a little more for durable fans that I can leave in the E/R
rather than storing them elsewhere until needed.  They're needed from May -
October so otherwise that'd be a lot of back-and-forth.

No joy in the Grainger catalog or my attempts at internet searches or local
stores.  Local stores naturally enough only stock standard household fans.

My backup plan is to buy 12" standard 120VAC fans and just replace them
annually.  (I got nervous when first discovering the problem.  I turned off a
fan, and the blade stopped instantly vs. coasting down.  When I turned it
back on, it had a different / unappealing sound.  I don't like to think of a
fan running 7 x 24 in the E/R that could overheat or short.)

Terry & Christine Smith
M/V "Fiddler's Green"
Great Harbour 37 - #14
Houston, TX

The request  for suggestions on 120V fans  struck close to home.

Last week I suffered a computer crash. Things went from bad to worse in a
domino seriss of events.
First the hard drive crashed, then the  monitor died, th the  video card
went south and  finally the CPU and  also the power supply had to be
replaced.  Although I had done some backups, when the  main computer
failed I had no means of accessing the  backed up data.
No sooner than I fixed one thing than the next crashed.  Itss been fun!  <
NOT >  ;-((((

What really hurt is the fact I know btter;  but forgot!
Electronics need cooling air and fans get dusty.  They need maintenance.
Trouble is,  when the blades are spinning 24/7  you don't see the dust and
tend to forget.

The computer was purchased  back in May 1998 and has been left running
pretty well  constantly.
The CPU ( which has a fan on a heat sink  cooked causing the  computer to
hiccup and screw up timing control signals and  other functions.  That may
have contributed to the hard disk crash.
A surface scann showed about 50 hits where the magnetic media is damaged.

The clogged  power supply fan  which normally pulls air through the
computer cabinet  slowed down and caused tthe power supply to cook.
Whether this caused voltage  spikes  or not is  a moot point.
Lack of cooling for the built in monitor most likely caused  it  to fail,
burning out the cathode tube heater.

Well I had to replace all the cooling fans plus the other  damaged
components and equipment.
If there is a lesson to be learned its this.

Filter the air if possible.
Check and clean the filters often.
If in doubt use a cheap indoor/outdoor type thermometer  as a sensor  and
put the display wher you can see it.
At less than $10  USD  each this is a low cost upgrade, that pays big
dividends.

What has this got to do with boats?    PLENTY!!
On board boats  we tend to  cram all sorts of stuff into every nook  and
cranny; often without consideration for adequate airflow.
In my case I built the  computer into a combination desk-wall unit  in my
motorhome much as you might do on a boat.
Had the unit been sitting out in the open on a tesk top  chances are it
would not have gotten so clogged, or else I would have noticed it sooner.
It might also have kept cooler and thus lived longer.

As for longevity, the  fact these fans ran 24/7 since 1998  is a good
indication that ball bearing fans do last longer and  are worth the money.
However,  cooling a cabinet is not the same as  coling an entire engine room.
Check the CFM  rating of the fans you plan to use.
Look for a complete air change every 30  minutes  for ventilation (
mustiness ), every two to ten minutes if you also want cooling.

Cheers

Arild

<<<<<Judging from tthe number of misssing characters and double hitts...>>>>>

Arild:  On a software course I took once, those were referred to as
PEBCAK errors.

(problem exists between chair and keyboard)

Gregg

This brings to mind something that I once wrote in about to Living
Aboard Magazine, but which I probably did not mention here.  That is,
one can overcome the cooling problem by tying a small auxiliary fan to
the unit you want to cool.

For example, we have a built in microwave oven the cabinet for which has
totally inadequate ventilation.  The original owner put a 240-volt
computer fan on a switch in the cabinet, to cool it.  The problem is one
often forgets to switch on the fan; just about as often the fan gets
left on (as it is very quiet) and, if you leave the boat, runs 24/7.

Another example is the little Norcold fridge on our previous boat.  It
ran for hours on end until we added a tiny 12-volt auxiliary fan and cut
a hole so that the heat could escape.

We have found that there is generally some place where you can find
switched 12-volts or mains voltage in an appliance.  In the case of our
microwave oven, it was the internal light bulb.  We added a socket at
the back of the microwave, labelled it "fan" and hooked it to the aux
fan.  For the fridge, it was the compressor.  The only thing you have to
watch for is that modern appliances sometimes have fairly light-duty
switching, often solid state; use a fan that is just big enough to do
the job and not some big honking blower that will draw too much current
and destroy the device you wish to save!

In the case of the fuel pump in the original thread, it ought to be a
simple matter to rig a computer fan across the pump wires and mount it
next to the pump.

As for toiling in a sweaty engine room, here on the equator we have
experience!  We have not found that it is necessary to run a fan 24/7 to
control mildew; I'd look for the source of the problem for that.  Is the
bilge wetter than it could be?  Is there a lot of unpainted wood that
can trap humidity?  Stuff like that.  To cool myself, I just open a
hatch or two and place strategically a fan to blow the cooler air from
the cabin down into the engine or  mechanical rooms.

Smooth seas,
Maurice & Louise-Ann Nunas
AKAMA, KK Whaleback #2
Raffles Marina, Singapore

-----Original Message <snipped>-----
From: owner-trawler-world-list@samurai.com
[mailto:owner-trawler-world-list@samurai.com] On Behalf Of Arild Jensen

On board boats  we tend to  cram all sorts of stuff into every nook  and
cranny; often without consideration for adequate airflow.
In my case I built the  computer into a combination desk-wall unit  in
my
motorhome much as you might do on a boat.

Nunas mentions toiling in a hot engine room.
What I did was mount a nice 12 inch osculating  house hold style fan in the
engine room. When working just turn it on and it  REALLY  helps. It is so
easy , why did it take me so long to do it!!!!!
CCC
LETS ROLL
CHARLES and PAT CULOTTA
Patterson, La.
http://www.geocities.com/charlesculotta/