New Ventilation grill above bathroom door

[Adrianlle]

Greetings from the U.K. -otherwise known as the island off Europe! Ever since the thread on installing a Fantastic Fan in a Cook, I have been thinking about how to achieve the same benefits in the model with yellow furniture. There is no room in the kitchen area for such a fan. However I am considering the following solution and would be grateful for any comments. The scheme would be to replace the mini Heki in the bathroom with a maxxfan deluxe and roller shade ( or fantastical if you prefer). The fan is designed to extract air even with the shade closed. To avoid keeping the bathroom door ajar- especially at night- I would cut a hole in the vertical panel above the bathroom door and cover it with a silver grey grill- see below for a photo of the grill used on American Cooks that have a roof top aircon. The flap in the bathroom above the door would then be opened when necessary. Thus the fan would draw air from the van through the grill and the compartment above the bathroom door. With the right type of grill there should be little light or noise disturbance at night with the roller blind closed. It would also act as an extractor fan when cooking. With the flap in the bathroom closed there should be no interference with the sir change that occurs via the vent we all have above the kitchen cabinets. So , any reasons why this won’t work ? It would be good to have a solution for camping in hot temperatures especially at night.

[komposti]

Hi Adrian,

sorry for writing in German.

Prinzipiell finde ich Deine Idee richtig gut. Du verlierst dadurch aber den Stauraum in dem Fach über der Badezimmertüre - oder?
Wir zumindest nutzen dieses Fach intensiv für unsere Handtücher und verschiedenen Bad Accessoirs.
Was hat es denn mit dem anderen Grill auf sich, den man auf dem Photo direkt über der Badezimmertüre sieht? (in dem waagerechten "Boden" des Fachs)
Wie willst Du die Sache mit dem Stromanschluss lösen?

Bleib gesund, Grüße nach Britannien

Thomas

[Kasimir]

Hi,

good Idea. You could even install a rooftop airco if you want it really cool, but it will take a while until the cold air has filled up the whole bathroom to finally reach the vents. I would not mind the lost space if you don't travel with more than two people. You could also stuff the space behind the vents with PU Filter Foam to dampen the fan noise a bit.

The original vents used in the US Cooks are these: https://www.google.com/search?q=vw+703820963

Good Luck and keep us updated!

Best,
Kasimir

[Adrianlle]

Thanks for this. The Maxxfan make v little noise compared to the Fantastic Fan but dampening sound is a good idea. As to losing the space in the bathroom compartment , I think there would still be room for swimming stuff , towels etc, with enough of a gap fir the airflow. Indeed I suspect that a narrower air gap might make the venting more efficient as I’ve noticed that using a portable fan in the bathroom is more wfgicyat venting the van if the bathroom door is open just a crack rather than fully open. So see what other people think before I take the plunge and order!

[Adrianlle]

Thomas, it’s I who should be apologising for writing in English but fortunately this site has a brilliant translation built in- fir which I thank Peter! No idea what the horizontal grill is on the photo. As for r the power. I think that is easy. Just take it off the feed into bathroom light and run the cable between the outer and inner skins of the fibreglass. I’ve investigated that and it should be straightforward. Also the maxxfan is the same size as the Heki so straightforward there too. The only downside is that the design of the maxxfan means that it will protrude slightly at the rear. But looking at photos of American Cooks with this fan fitted, it does not look too awkward and has a number of advantages over the Fantastic Fan.

[Netsrac]

Hi Adrian,

island off Europe - oh guys, what is that orang utah doing there...

In my car there are two small ventilation grills mounted in the bathroom door - one at the bottom, one at the top. They can be closed if needed.
If you integrate a fan in your bathroom roofwindow the air from the livingroom could be sucked out through these grills - and no space in the top rack would be lost. The grill are available in many sizes - so you can replace the complete door if needed...

Best regards, Carsten

wp_ss_20180318_0015.png (543.34 KiB) 2731 mal betrachtet

[komposti]

Servus Carsten,
an solche Lüftungsöffnungen hatte ich auch schon gedacht. Ich hab da noch ein rundes, verschließbares vom Segelbootausrüster.
Ich konnte mich nur noch nicht überwinden ein Loch in die Tür zu schneiden.
Wenn man das im unteren Bereich anbringt, sollten die Sachen auf der Wäscheleine im Bad auch schneller trocknen.
Besitzen Deine Lüftungsgitter auf der Innenseite ein Gegenblech oder werden die auch einfach so auf die Tür geschraubt ?

@ Adrian, dont mind writing in english, i just made a joke

Dont forget to feed the Orang Utan

BG Thomas

[Netsrac]

Ahoi Thomas,

ich brauchte mich nicht zu überwinden, zwei Löcher zu schneiden - das hat der Vorbesitzer mir bereits abgenommen
Die Lüftungsgitter sind einseitig und haben von der Badseite einen dazu passenden Rahmen, der die Schnittkante verdeckt. Sieht eigentlich aus, als ob's schon von Westfalia so gebaut worden wäre. Ich finde die Dinger sehr wirkungsvoll, damit's im Bad immer frische Luft hat - das Heki hat ja eine Zwangsbelüftung, so hat man (fast) immer einen Luftzug vom Wohnraum ins Bad und dort oben raus.

@Adrian: Another solution could be to mount an electical "mushroom-ventilator" - this small white ventilation at the roof in front of the kitchen board (in german called "Pilzlüfter"). It is available with an integrated fan.

Carsten

[komposti]

Hi Carsten,
die Pilzlüfter gibt es sogar in Edelstahl und Solar betrieben.

Bg Thomas

[Adrianlle]

Thanks Carsten and BG Thomas. I had not thought about an electric mushroom extractor. However I do not know how much noise it would make. The advantage of the maxxfan in the bathroom is that it is quiet and it is not in the living room when used at night. On the other hand the mushroom would mean I don’t have to cut any holes in the cabinet work! What I think I will do is first buy and install a maxxfan in the bathroom and use it when the sun returns with the bathroom door open a crack. If it is effective then I will proceed to the next stage of installing a grill either in the bathroom door or in the cabinet above. I now have to decide whether to buy the maxxfan with a clear lid or a smoked one. The Heki of course is frosted. Any suggestions as to which kind would be best? Adrian.

[komposti]

Well Adrian, i would prefer the clear one.
But it shurely depends on your personel (Taste?) i dont know the right term for "Geschmack"

Stay healthy
Thomas

[OldWest]

1. The NAFTA (USA) Westfalia has the rooftop air conditioner filling up most or that upper cabinet space. The air vents were beige on the first NAFTA ones and then gray. The bottom metal mesh plate is presumably for return air circulation.

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/inde ... ads/27332/

2. Rather than rectangular vents in the bathroom door, perhaps.one could find circular vents and a circular hole saw to match--might be easier to install and perhaps more aesthetic--small portholes. Or maybe a big porthole?

3. There are various methods to keep the bathroom door fully open or just ajar. See the USA forum:

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/inde ... ads/39151/

Also,

http://eat-drink-men-women.blogspot.com ... h.html?m=1

[OldWest]

4. Posters on US forum suggest opening upper side windows and bathroom door with Fantastic Fan Vent or MaxxAire pulling air out--creates a nice breeze.

5. If you have big skylight Heki, can also install a removable fan to hang off Heki.

6. Clear or Smoked. If an option, flat rather than domed for lower profile, and double insulated if an option. Clear if in cooler climate and want light. Solid white if in hotter climates to reduce solar gain. Also, solid if stealth camping to avoid light to outside at night.

[Adrianlle]

Thank Old West. V helpful. I will post once I’ve made the change