Installing Fantastic Vent Fan in 26BH Bathroom

[SmokerBill]

I took these pics of the procedure last winter when I upgraded from the useless stock ceiling exhaust fan to the Fantastic Vent fan. It took me a couple of hours to do it, but I was figuring it out along the way. With these instructions you might be able to do it in an hour, maybe longer if you're not in a hurry.

Tools/supplies needed: caulking gun, two or three tubes of Dacor (or equivalent sealant), #2 phillips screwdriver, plastic and steel putty knives, sharp, stiff knife of small saw (to cut inner trim piece), wire cutter/stripper, ladder.

1. -- Disconnect battery power (remove fuse, flip shutoff switch, or remove negative battery terminal connector from battery)

2. -- Open box, check for missing parts.

3. -- Remove interior fan assembly. Just remove some screws, cut the two wires off close to the switch. There's an inner trim piece and the section that the fan/motor are attached to. Remove the screw that holds the round knob and pull off the knob. (first step, I think). Once the fan/motor assembly is free, you'll have to rotate it a little to disconnect the cover-lift arm from the outer cover.

4. -- Climb the ladder. I opted to work standing on the ladder the entire time. If you think it easier, you could climb onto the roof and work bending over the entire time. Whichever works for you.

5. -- Remove the cover from the outer mount section. Doing this makes scraping the old sealant off much easier. On the hinge side there's a group of curved metal fingers. The center finger has a lower finger that locks the lid hinge shaft in place. Just pry the lower finger loose and bend it down to remove the cover.

6. -- Scrape and pull all the old sealant off. Start scraping right next to the housing. There's a metal screw flange there that will prevent you from damaging the rubber roof membrane. Once the sealant is off of the metal flange (the easier part of this job), CAREFULLY remove the remaining sealant from the rubber membrane. Don't pull too hard, as the membrane will stretch. Take your time here and be careful. Remove all the sealant you can, but it doesn't have to be perfect.

7. -- Remove all the screws around the perimeter of the flange. Once this is done, carefully pry the outer assembly off of the sealing putty. It sticks pretty good, so just be patient, and pry a little in one corner. Once it starts coming loose, gently pull and pry until it's removed.

8. -- Remove the putty sealant.

9. -- If using a putty sealant, lay down a strip of new putty around the perimeter of the hole. It comes in rolls, and is about an inch wide, I think. If using the foam seal, slip it over the bottom of the new fan housing.

10. -- Slip the two wires into the hole, and make the necessary connections. Follow the instruction sheet here.

11. -- Slide the new fan housing into the roof hole. If using putty, press it evenly all the way around to make a seal.

12. -- The flange screw holes are pre-drilled. I found that the holes didn't exactly line up with all the old screw holes. Some did, but where they didn't, it was easy to just drive the new screws into the wood roof (with a hand screwdriver), without drilling pilot holes. Just turn the screws down till they touch the flange the first time around. Then go back around tightening them up a bit more, until the flange is firmly seated into the putty or onto the foam. Not super tight, but firm.

13. -- I didn't get a picture of the new sealant going on, but it's easy. I used Dacor. Wasn't sure which to get so I got a tube of the vertical surface variety and a tube of the self leveling. I ended up using the thicker, vertical surface Dacor initially, first sealing up every screw head. Then I laid beads around the outer edge of the screw flange. I think I laid the sealant 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch out from the flange edge. I built up a second layer, then opened the self leveling sealant and filled in between the first application of sealant to the vertical surface of the fan mount (over all the screw heads). Make sure you use plenty of sealant. I used two layers again, then continued piling it on until the tube was empty. Make sure that every new bead makes perfect contact with the adjacent beads. The seal must be perfect.

14. -- Now go inside. Route the wires so they are out of the way. Measure the depth of the hole on all sides, then mark the inner trim piece and cut it to fit. It will be cut at an angle (at least that's so with my 26BH) Check for proper fit, then screw the trim piece into place.

15. -- Now just pop in the filter screen, reconnect the battery and turn on your new fan. What. Doesn't work? Well, if the cover is down, it activates an "OFF" switch. Open up the cover and test again.

16. -- Enjoy the new, increased airflow.

At night, I open only the windows next to the bed, and the fan creates a nice, gentle breeze all night long. Good for cooling down a TT that's been closed up all day. Quickly evacuates unwanted odors, too. That's maybe the greatest benefit of these fans!

Hope this helps someone. And if anyone sees a mistake in my instructions, or that I missed something, please post the corrections. I might have easily missed something.

Bill

13. --

[Rustic Eagle]

Bill,

Nice detailed walk-through, and the fan you soon will find will get a lot of use

Bob

[Terry]

Very nice mod....I would have preferred that instead of the turbo maxx, but was just a little shy about breaking the factory roof seal....don't know why.....That is much cleaner and nicer, although I have no real problems with the maxx

[SmokerBill]

Oh yes, Rustic. It's been a pleasure since I installed it in January.

Tafische, I would have probably went with the Turbo Maxx if I'd known it was a direct fit replacement. Dang! As far as breaking the original roof seal, I was a little skittish about doing it at first, but it wasn't that bad. The fingertips hurt for a few days from pulling the old sealant off. And I KNOW that the seal I made is good.

Anyway, according to my Jayco dealer service manager, the roof seals are not warranted, and considered preventative maintenance. Should be inspected regularly and replaced if any cracks are visible.