Nicro solar powered vent

[Rick-D]

I purchased the Nicro 4" solar powered vent and was thinking of installing it in the front hatch of my MacGregor 26X. In looking at the hatch it could possibly be placed in two locations. There is a flat rectangular portion towards the back portion of the hatch and the front portion of the hatch is slanted down and is larger and square. I believe I have seen them installed in the larger portion of the hatch that slants down toward the front. Also was wondering if I needed to install some sort of vent for air intake purposes, although I believe there is enough open space for the air to circulate.

Hope this is not too confusing but just needed some advice.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions, as they have always been very helpful in the past.

[Divecoz]

No Need for additional venting.. There is plenty around the Sliding Cabin Hatch and the Companionway .. Mount where ever you have sufficient flat surface and out of the way for you.. Some even have mounted them Vertically in the head.. both X and M etc etc.. should have 2 fan blades one is for push one is pull. Black collar inside if twisted "kind of" seals it shut in foul weather..

[Catigale]

The FG on a Mac is permeable to air...no more vents needed.....

[paul I]

I mounted mine on the flat section. I thought it best to keep it as horizontal as possible. Plenty of room. Easy. No problems. For inside trim I cut the depth on the supplied trim ring with a table saw and cleaned it up with a dremel tool. Looks great. I agree there is no need for another vent. Just be sure the power vent is setup to exhaust. There is plenty of air infiltration at the main hatch.

[Tomfoolery]

A lot of folks recommend two units, one to exhaust, and one to supply, but personally I think it's a waste of a perfectly good (and expensive) solar ventilator. There is a LOT of space for air to get in, so flow resistance will be nearly nil with the puny amount of air those ventilators move, and that means the supply unit isn't really doing anything the exhaust unit isn't already doing.

Better to set both up as exhaust units, IMO. That is, if spending money on two units, of course.

I think it's time for my boat to get a solar ventilator or two, come to think of it. Unfortunately, I keep hearing that the Nicro units aren't what they used to be, but then, that's just the normal course of things, isn't it.

[robbarnes1965]

I've had a hatch mounted solar vent for 5 years now. My observations are as follows:

- fan moves a negligible amount of air
- blades fall off all the time
-slight leak in severe weather

What I would change:

- new solar vent location - head! Slight or even more than slight leak won't matter and the potti smell will have better chance of not taking over boat.
- Hela or similar fan in v-birth pointing aft to encourage circulation when hatch is not open.

Rob

[BNG]

I installed mine above the head and installed air grill in the door down low to keep the head from not smelling.
Works well.

[Sea Wind]

My boat came with a 3 inch vent in the head (that is not working), but felt that it was better to add one in the front hatch, I added a 4 inch unit in the slanted portion, it works great, but it is really just for venting, don't expect that you will have a fan at night. I have noticed that there is no smell on the boat after having it locked for a week or longer, no leaks on the vent either. I got a new 3 inch from West Marine when they were on sale a couple of months ago and noticed that the hole needed is bigger than for the older unit, so it is in the to-do list. I don't think that the head vent adds more cross-ventilation than what you get from the cabin hatch, but it helps to vent that small space which can get really hot.
One suggestion that I ommited was to install it off center so that the vent does not interfere with the mast raising line, big mistake, so keep that in mind unless you have the raising system.

Sea Wind

[Obelix]

I put my Nicro vent in the window above the head. Figuring it would be the easiest to replace if I ever decide not to want a fan there anymore.

Obelix

[fishheadbarandgrill]

I have a 4" NIcro mounted in the port skylight on my 26M. Like the location because you don't want to step on the skylights anyways. Don't need one in the head. I use a Natures Head composting toilet. All's well.... no smell....

Bob

[robbarnes1965]

I have a 4" NIcro mounted in the port skylight on my 26M. Like the location because you don't want to step on the skylights anyways. Don't need one in the head. I use a Natures Head composting toilet. All's well.... no smell....

Bob

Ah, yes. That's precisely why I thought the head would be a better spot! Those Nature's heads are awesome for that.

[Y.B.Normal]

fishheadbarandgrill -

I'm in the process of installing a NaturesHead this week.
If I don't install the electric blower that comes with the head, do you think I'll need to install a Nicro solar powered vent or should I just
install a vent hose and let the natural air flow do it's thing (or no hose at all)?
I don't want to run wires from the battery to the head blower and install a solar panel if I don't have to.
I use the boat weekly; will the small blower that comes with the head have enough drain on the the battery to kill it in that
amount of time?

Thanks,
Dale
Y.B.NORMAL 26

[March]

YB NormaI: I am working on a similar project. Seems that you have to pump air into a compost toilet in order to allow aerobic bacteria to break down the feces. In absence of air (oxygen) anaerobic bacteria will develop along with bad odors and that defeats the purpose of the entire thing. So the compost toilet (including Nature's head) comes with an duct that needs to pump air in (or out, I guess, since regular air would percolate inside the toilet if the fan draws the air out. I am still not clear on the point, but experimenting with the two positions would be easy. The fan comes with two sets of blades, one for exhaust and other for intake... we shall see and smell the results). The fan needn't be all that powerful. A little computer fan which draws very little juice is all you need. Or a Nicro solar vent which would be independent from your electrical circuits.
I have had inconclusive experiences with the Nicro vent. The rechargeable battery worked well for only one season. After that, I replaced it with several generic ones (going up on the scale of price) but none proved good enough to hold the charge overnight. The fan was always dead in the morning. Maybe the vent was not placed in the sunniest spot, but even so. The amount of air the fan moved was not all that impressive. I experimented with a contraption to keep the air moving below deck in winter, but it wasn't really worth the trouble. In the end, I abandoned the Nicro project and sealed the hole with the cap that comes with the vent .
I plan on using the vent on the compost head, with a small fan to keep the air moving and add an switch that would enable me to switch to battery power in case the Nicro vent dies overnight. With two solar panels, I can afford it at night--but I will still use the Nicro in the daytime.
Very curious about your conclusions--I'll start working on mine in three weeks

[fishheadbarandgrill]

Dale

I don't recommend the Nicro as a sub for the fan provided with the head. My research indicated that the Nicro would not provide the necessary pull and you'd need to fashion an adaptor for connecting the provided hose to the vent.

I recommend purchasing the SS mushroom vent and installing it in the lower inboard corner of the skylight above the head. The exhaust fan and hose assembly can be installed on either side of the head. I chose the left side (forward) which made it easy to run the hose to the mushroom vent.

For 12VDC power, I tapped into the lighting circuit, specifically the head/V-Berth lights (easy short run with the provided wiring that came with the head). For shore power (I keep my boat on the trailer) I bought the 12VDC adapter. The fan draws near to nothing (I think Nature's Head has the specs on their website).

What a difference this head makes in the overall livability of the boat.

Bob

[Chinook]

I installed a pair of 4 inch nicros several years ago. One, set to blow in, went on the flat portion of the forward hatch. I put the second one vertically, on the window in the head. I tend to agree with the comment about them moving a very limited amount of air, but I feel, with this setup, they do help reduce humidity inside the cabin. As with others commenting here, I'm in the process of installing a composting toilet, the Airhead in my case (almost identical to Nature's Head). I connected the vent hose to the Nicrovent (my earlier installation just happened to put it in an ideal location). With the fan set to exhaust, it will provide exhaust ventilation of the Airhead when it's getting good solar exposure. Because the Nicro is vertical, it doesn't operate as consistently as the one on the forward hatch. I've set the vent hose for the toilet up with the in line fan. I installed a switch to the hard wired fan so I don't need to draw on the battery when the sun is doing its thing. However, when the solar fan isn't keeping up, the hard wired fan will do the job.