Ed Venture
Advanced Member
I was looking to improve the fan in my 189 FBS cabin but I didn't want to swap the whole ceiling unit out. I found the Vortex fans on line and they come in two models that fit: Vortex I and Vortex II.
The Vortex II has 3 speeds forward and 2 speeds reverse, where the Vortex I has only 1 speed in 1 direction. I didn't want to drop the $132 plus shipping on the fan (http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/vortex-ii-vent-fan-upgrade/59009) so I decided to find a cheap Vortex I on eBay and mod it myself.
First, I bought this controller shipped from China. Its a 12V pulse width modulated controller with a thee-way power switch (Forward, Reverse, Center Off) and dial to adjust the speed from stop to full or anywhere in between. It was all of $11.
I found a Vortex I on eBay from this vendor for $38. I wouldn't go with these guys based on my experience. While it was cheap and shipping was free, it took them 3 weeks to get me the part a measly 300 miles when I got the part from China in 11 days. Regardless - you should be able to find one for around $40.
Anyway, all I needed to do was pull the original switch out of the fan and replace it with the speed adjustment dial. I put the controller in a radio shack project box to protect it. I then cut a new hole in the fan for the three-way power switch and hooked everything up.
Here is the controller:
Controller with fan hooked up for testing to make sure everything worked like it should:
The final installation of the controller and all the neccessary wiring:
The finished front side with the switch and knob installed:
Finally installed in the trailer:
There you have it! More capability than the Vortex II at a fraction of the price.
Ed
The Vortex II has 3 speeds forward and 2 speeds reverse, where the Vortex I has only 1 speed in 1 direction. I didn't want to drop the $132 plus shipping on the fan (http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/vortex-ii-vent-fan-upgrade/59009) so I decided to find a cheap Vortex I on eBay and mod it myself.
First, I bought this controller shipped from China. Its a 12V pulse width modulated controller with a thee-way power switch (Forward, Reverse, Center Off) and dial to adjust the speed from stop to full or anywhere in between. It was all of $11.
I found a Vortex I on eBay from this vendor for $38. I wouldn't go with these guys based on my experience. While it was cheap and shipping was free, it took them 3 weeks to get me the part a measly 300 miles when I got the part from China in 11 days. Regardless - you should be able to find one for around $40.
Anyway, all I needed to do was pull the original switch out of the fan and replace it with the speed adjustment dial. I put the controller in a radio shack project box to protect it. I then cut a new hole in the fan for the three-way power switch and hooked everything up.
Here is the controller:
Controller with fan hooked up for testing to make sure everything worked like it should:
The final installation of the controller and all the neccessary wiring:
The finished front side with the switch and knob installed:
Finally installed in the trailer:
There you have it! More capability than the Vortex II at a fraction of the price.
Ed
