12V Fans on a Boat
If you’re a Game of Thrones fan you’ll be familiar with the phrase: “Winter is coming.” Aboard our boat, we have a phrase of similar significance: “hot feet weather is coming.” It’s currently the month of May in Portland and the weather is turning warmer.
When the weather heats up, we have hot feet. We’ve got to prepare to avoid the repercussions of hot feet. Specifically, Devin’s hot feet. When the weather is warm Devin’s feet get hot. And when Devin’s feet are hot there are consequences such as Devin not being able to sleep. And when Devin isn’t able to sleep, neither is Matt. Thus, “we” have hot feet.
These feet aren’t big. They are tiny, cute, and often pedicured. But when they are hot they ROAR with a vengeance. Anyone or anything standing in their path to be cooled down will be struck down. Therefore we must take proactive steps to avoid hot feet and maintain peace.
We can’t change the weather, but we can adapt our strategies for hot feet mitigation. A few strategies are a washcloth dampened with cool water, a cold compress pack, ice in a bag, and the classic go-to-in-a-pinch: a bag of frozen veggies. But let’s be honest. While we love our refrigerator and while frozen things on a boat can be accomplished with the fridge we purchased, keeping things frozen is not the most practical for our energy consumption, space & icebox set-up. And when temperatures really heat up is when we need frozen things the most, but that’s also when our fridge is least efficient so keeping things frozen is extra tough.
But that damp washcloth idea does work well. In our previous life in our house, this was a common tactic that saw success. Therefore, with this first full summer aboard we’re going to keep that option in mind. It should help that the water tanks aboard Yara are down low in the bilge so stay cool being at the lowest part of the boat. And they stay cooler being against the hull which is cooled by the river water.
We can procure a wash cloth dampened with cool water. Couple that with a nice breeze from a fan or two and we just might have a successful strategy.
The fans aboard Yara were already installed when we purchased the boat. I can’t say for sure their age, but given the amount of dust & gunk built up I can say for sure, they are old. And while they do say W.Germany on them, I don’t think they were manufactured in the time of West Germany. The new fans of the same model currently available on Amazon also say W.Germany on them.
They are decent fans when they work. They are relatively quiet, and the two-speed adjustment makes for a nice breeze or a strong blow. The problem we’ve seen with these fans is the bearings appear to be going out or are gunked up with debris. Therefore, they can get loud at odd & random times. But curiously, they seem to wake up and scream in pain in the middle of the night. Cooling hot feet to fall asleep is the goal. But to be woken up by a banshee of a fan? Not cool.
In this video we go through the teardown, cleaning, and reassembly of the fans to hopefully rebuild their confidence in cooling quietly and avoid their loud complaints. If they cannot be restored then this fan from Fisheries looks appealing…
Caframo Sirocco II 3-Speed 7" Gimbal Fan, 12/24V DC, White
But don’t tell our existing fans, they may start yelling at us for replacing them. We’ll try out the refreshed fans for now. And if needed we will consider a replacement. Hot feet weather is coming.
Video Link: https://youtu.be/a7SRHOpjEvw
Note: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We include affiliate links in some of our posts and may earn a commission on your purchase.
