4" hole solar powered vent

[LeeG]

for cabin top hatch forward of the mast. Any recommendations?

[Figment]

Nicro.

Mine runs off solar power in the day, and battery at night. Been running nonstop for four years now.

(well, ok, the battery usually runs dead sometime in early february when under tarp cover, but there's enough light coming through the cover again by mid-march to get it going.)

[Todd Bradshaw]

Yep, the day/night solar vent is worth every penny of the one hundred odd bucks it costs.

[George Ray]

Nicro

[LeeG]

love this place, thanks

[paladin]

Make a wider than normal dorade box....set the Nicro vent to exhaust. The interior vent side of the dorade run it as a 3-4 inch equivalent cross section...and run it into the bilge..
The air entering the boat will find it's way through all the cracks and crannies in the bilge and out the vent, drying and sweetening the bilge, and the same amount of fresh air is drawn into the boat...

[ssor]

I use a 3 inch computer fan with a dedicated solar 5 watt panel. Well actually four fans, 3 in the cabin and 1 in the lazerette. They run while the sun shines for seven years now. No battery back up.

[willmarsh3]

Shortly after sailing my boat to N. Alabama I found severe black mold in the cabin each week during the summer. I put a nicro in a spot where it wouldn't be easily spotted from the water and set it on exhaust. It all but eliminated the mold problem. I've had it for about 5 years now and I'll have to replace the battery.

Will

[paladin]

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation......

[LeeG]

thanks guys, I'm surprised the boat has no mold given the lack of deck vents but someone has been vigilant keeping it aired out. I like the idea of venting directly from the bilge.

[willmarsh3]

I didn't have much mold while the boat was in Deale, MD but the summer after I brought her down to Guntersville, AL was a different story.

Will.

[Dave B]

There's nothing like showing your ignorance in front of a bajillion people, but I've read Paladin's post about the dorade box - and I don't get it.

Aren't these Nicro vents supposed to be waterproof, and if so why do you need a dorade box? And while I'm being stupid, are you saying to pull the air directly out of the bilge?

[LeeG]

right behind you Dave,, I need a picture

[paladin]

a word picture perhaps......the nicro solar vent will reject normal water....but in really nasty offshore green water, they don't work well submerged (I will explain no farther, except to say they shouldn't be used to ventilated the forward area of an ama for a tri in nasty offshore weather)......
A dorade box is a water trap that works quite well. It has two compartments consisting of one which is normally open to the boat interior. The second opening is to the outside of the dorade box where you would normally mount the cowl vent (which are relatively inefficient). There is a baffle between the two to prevent any green water from entering the cowl and ending up on your head below...and there is also a weep hole on the side of the box that is open to the outside world.
The Nicro vent is mounted over the hole normally occupied by the cowl vent, and the blades are inserted for exhaust. It comes with two sets of fan blades, depending on which way you want the air to flow.
With this setup, air will be continuously drawn from the cabin and exhausted......dunno do squat for the bilge, which will remain dark, damp and dank......
By running a hose, or fabricating a sealed channel between the bilge and the underside of the dorade exhaust you accomplish two tasks..theres a gazillion "leaks" all over the interior of your boat....fresh air enters the cabin, is drawn through the bilge, and up the channel/hose and is exhausted as stale bilge air out of the boat....turing the dark, damp, dank bilge into a fresh, dry sweet, no rot place......;) ;) ;)

[Dan McCosh]

Has anyone seen a brass Nicro ventillator recently? They used to make them, but seem extinct.

[paladin]

Actually I don't recall the brass(bronze?) ones at all....but just the white plastic and stainless steel.....originally I purchased plastic when they came out a few decades ago, and then you had to buy the spray to keep them looking half way decent....then I switched to stainless, and have a few spares in the warehouse from my last trip overseas.....

[Dave B]

Paladin - Thanks for the word picture. Now I get it!