MacGregorSailors.com

The solar vent replacement battery cost 27$ at WM. I made one for about 3$. Check out the mods section for the whole story.



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Chouette! But you'll have to see if it charges fully during the daytime, and if it keeps spinning at night. Keep us posted

Will the BLUE insert charge the battery "faster or slower" that if you use a WHITE insert?

It is a C cell and looking on the net I found them with about 5 to 10 X's the am hr rating as a AA........ and for about $4 to $6 locally...
I will be no less than surprised and amazed if that AA will last for more than a couple hours spinning that fan???

Nice. Radio Shack used to carry them, so if you find them at a specific store they are pretty cheap. Sadly, in my case the problem was the vent charger not the battery.
Sea Wind

I found mine at the Ace Hardware store, it was a 2 pack of rechargeable "C" cells for under $5.00.

That "C" cell powered my Nicro vent, day and night, for another 3 years.

I only wish my new Nicro vent was as good as the first.. This one doesn't seem to move much air and is cheap Chinese in manufacture. Shame on Nicro.

GREAT FIND ! ACE! and ............
Aint That The Pits !! YES!! Shame On Nicro!! Not Cheaper $$ just more made in china ... Junk!

gyroplanes wrote:I found mine at the Ace Hardware store, it was a 2 pack of rechargeable "C" cells for under $5.00.

That "C" cell powered my Nicro vent, day and night, for another 3 years.

I only wish my new Nicro vent was as good as the first.. This one doesn't seem to move much air and is cheap Chinese in manufacture. Shame on Nicro.

Darn, I have been looking for solar charging c cells for one year now and the only ones I found are from West M at 27 dollars. All the other ones needed a charger. I searched the internet and did not find anything for 7$. It's too late now as I have made my investment.
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None at Canadian Tire, eh? LINK

K9Kampers wrote:None at Canadian Tire, eh? LINK

No, they do not carry solar rechargeable C type batteries.
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The difference in price is not all in profit margins.

The two different technologies (there is also rechargeable alkaline, and Li-ion) that apply here are Nickel Cadmium (=”NiCad”), and Nickel-Metal Hydride (="NiMH”).

NiCads are cheaper, and less –suited for this application than NiMH.

Q1 – you have a NiCad battery. What you did there is a good “quick and dirty” fix, but you won’t have the length of night run time you would have with the proper cell. You also risk overheating the battery (they can explode, but it’s rare, most are vented), not only with the high output of the solar array in full sun, but also because of the insulating effect of your “battery snuggie”.

Canadian Tire stores have a wide range in the product lines they carry, mostly depending on the size of the store, but K9’s link does have the NiMH C cells that should fit. IIRC it’s the “sub C” cells that are shorter and won’t fit without some customizing, but the “C” cells should drop right in, I believe.

I bought the Day/Night Nicro with my boat, uninstalled, but I didn’t install it because it didn’t work, which I later figured out at the end of the season was because the battery was old. The battery becomes a great resistor in the circuit when it is dead. The fan will not run, even in full sun, when the battery is dead.

The dealer replaced it last month with another (NiMH) one, but that one is already 2 years old according to the date, and doesn’t seem to be taking a full charge after weeks in the sun.

It’s a problem with these vents for sure – especially for a $200+ item. I might make up a circuit to change the 12V house power with a switch to 1.5V to run this thing. After I install it. In all my spare time. That I’d rather spend sailing.

- Brian.

I went to the West Marine Site , just to get an idea of what I might have paid for my Nico.. List Now is $167.00 When I checked the reviews ? I was surprised to See sooooo many folks having issues with these units..My unit is several Years old and in spite of , living Out Side Chicago ( severe seasonal changes) Mine was running just fine today , when I went inside my boat to have a look around..Humm Made In The USA versus Made in china for $1 an hour? and The Price went up to boot!!!

seahouse wrote:The difference in price is not all in profit margins.

The two different technologies (there is also rechargeable alkaline, and Li-ion) that apply here are Nickel Cadmium (=”NiCad”), and Nickel-Metal Hydride (="NiMH”).

NiCads are cheaper, and less –suited for this application than NiMH.

I disagree with this.
The original battery he's replacing in the photo above is a NiCad. The Boat Tax is clearly at play when WM charges $27 for a NiCad.

Normally, NiMH are superior batteries, especially for cameras and such.
After doing a bit of research on rechargeables to replace my solar garden lights, I learned that NiCads actually are better suited for applications such as this where the batts are drained completely daily and recharged.

Cool adaptation. I admire people looking for ways to save $25 from the boat tax man.

Well I don't know nothing about nothing but I bought a rechargeable nicad c cell 2 years ago and it was not solar rechargeable. Following this incomplete Empirical knowledge I supposed the nimh rechargeable c cells would not recharge with solar and I needed to find a confirmed solar rechargeable replacement battery. I guess scientific knowledge beats empirical knowledge

As far as overheating, here in Quebec it's just a dream as we hope for and pray that global warming finally gets here ahhhhhh

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p.s. My Solar fan is 8 years old and made in USA, just like my boat.

RussMT wrote:

seahouse wrote:The difference in price is not all in profit margins.

The two different technologies (there is also rechargeable alkaline, and Li-ion) that apply here are Nickel Cadmium (=”NiCad”), and Nickel-Metal Hydride (="NiMH”).

NiCads are cheaper, and less –suited for this application than NiMH.

I disagree with this.
The original battery he's replacing in the photo above is a NiCad. The Boat Tax is clearly at play when WM charges $27 for a NiCad.

Normally, NiMH are superior batteries, especially for cameras and such.
After doing a bit of research on rechargeables to replace my solar garden lights, I learned that NiCads actually are better suited for applications such as this where the batts are drained completely daily and recharged.

Cool adaptation. I admire people looking for ways to save $25 from the boat tax man.

Hey Russ the battery in the picture is the nicad I got to replace the original battery which has been recycled... I don,t know what kind the original was.
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