Bathroom vent operation

tfford53

Advanced Member
Joined
May 2, 2017
Posts
32
Location
New Palestine
Just took my new 2017Jayco 5er out for its maiden voyage to check out all its features. The bathroom exhaust fan seems to operate different than any other bathroom exhaust fan I have used. This vent actually pulls in outside air instead of exhausting the humid air. This does not seem correct to me. Why would one want to pull in outside hot humid air or cold air? Is this motor wired backwards or is the fan blade installed backwards?
 
If there is no way to reverse the flow such as a forward or reverse switch I'd say it's wired backwards..
 
If there is no way to reverse the flow such as a forward or reverse switch I'd say it's wired backwards..
Thanks, that's what I was thinking. Since it operates on DC voltage reversing the wires should make it turn the opposite direction. I will get back with my dealership to get their thoughts
 
Turn the black vent handle. That opens the fan vents to the outside, allowing air to be pulled from inside.
Thanks for your reply. I did turn the vent handle to open the the vent, but when I push the red power button to turn on the fan, it pulls in the outside air.
 
Reversing the wires on a DC system won't reverse the direction of the exhaust motor. That will just make the motor not run. You'll have a direct short. You can't reverse your cars red and black cables, so this is the samething.
 
ttford, I initially thought my fan wasn't working properly. After doing a 'smoke test' I learned that with the vent lever closed, it draws air up through the fan and then back down inside the RV. With the lever open it does actually exhaust air up through the fan then outside through the vents.
 
REWahoo, thanks for the reply. Your reply makes sense. I think maybe I am experiencing the same issue on my exhaust vent. I will try the smoke test also. Thanks
 
Chrisb-24, thanks for the reply. You are correct on the reverse wiring. A permanent magnet DC motor rotation direction can be changed by reversing the polarity of the wiring but I'm sure this is not the case. I don't know what I was thinking.
 
The motors to these fans can definitely be reversed by swapping the wiring going into the motor. What Chrisb-24 may have been referring to is swapping the wires at the battery. That will definitely be a problem. But I know for a fact the wires can be swapped on these 12VDC motors. The 12VDC fan on the stove exhaust vent was wired backwards on my Winnebago and a simple wire swap fixed it.

The Maxxair fan I have for my head is reversible and they simply employ a double pole double throw switch to reverse the polarity going into the motor.
 
REWahoo, you were right-on in your exhaust fan comment. The exhaust fan does exhaust with the vent open. My problem was not looking close enough at the raised wording on the exhaust housing. The raised wording is the same color as the housing and not real visible. I actually had the vent closed when I thought it was open. Just having a senior moment. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread.
 
ttford - Labeling the "open" and "closed" positions with tags that I can read was one of the first things I did to our bathroom fan. Trying to figure it out by looking up at the fan was almost impossible.
 
You are not alone. I had to turn the vent on to figure out if mine was open or closed and even then there seemed like little difference.

One of the things I will change on mine this year is to get a better fan.
 
I had this same issue our first time out last weekend. Yes, turn the black knob. It's not totally clear when it is open or closed. There is some print molded into the shroud but it's hard to read.

I'll likely take a marker and highlight the print to make it easier to know.
 
We recently had a fan installed in the bathroom vent of our 154BH. We live in Florida and when camping in the summer if we open the vent and run the fan while also running the A/C we can feel the vent pull the cold A/C air through the trailer, which was our goal, but the vent still seems to allow the summer heat and humidity in. Are we using it correctly?
 
Bath Room Vent

Might keep an eye on the vent fins opening on the roof they crack. My 16 Eagle bath room vent developed a leak in a little over a year. We asked Dealer to re installed old style bath fan under warranty. Then added a max air 2 cover no problems since! Thanks
 

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