Fantastic Fan -- How to Make it Work! Simplifying the Confusing Controls of the Fantastic Fan

[@jeffshamus1914]

Thanks. What a confusing setup! I was going to spend $400 to replace it, but thanks to you I am all good to go now.

[@jwlake7936]

You have simplified the operation of fan wonderfully! Thank you!!!

[@indigoballet7129]

Thank you so much for this video! Prior, trying to figure it out was bewildering, to say the least. Your explanation & instructions were spot-on and readily followed. Again, thank you!

[@JustaJourneyman]

Glad I could help.

[@wallacenajera243]

Excellent, informative video. Much better than the manufacturer's information booklet. I used to simply turn off all switches until the fan blades stop spinning and the vent cover finally closes. Now I know the proper sequence. Thanks.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Thanks Wallace!

[@Fit4Expedition]

We're in the middle of building our box van conversion tiny home and you put out a lot of great information that is going to help. We were just looking into purchasing a fan for our new tiny home.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Glad I could help!

[@NicoleLachance-l3c]

What about the blue & red dial next to the blue rain sensor what does it do...how does it work ?

[@jakovdl5329]

Great video! Clear, comprehensive, but to the point. Well done and thanks!

[@JustaJourneyman]

Thanks!

[@cynthiacavallaro7152]

Oh, if you "teach/show and tell" like this all the time, I would love you to be my husband!! Now, all kidding aside, THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT VIDEO AND I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. Very thorough and easy to follow verbal and visual instructions.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Many men can benefit from a a "teach, show, tell" approach too! (At least that's what my wife has been trying to teach/show/tell me!) Glad I could help!

[@hollyhansen3587]

Fantastic...no pun intended. Conincedentially, I was just out in trailer yesterday doing spring cleaning and telling myself i needed to read up on how it worked because it was so confusing. I was cranking it open and closed and never sure why the red light was on. Anyway, well done with this and all you do. Thanks!

[@JustaJourneyman]

Happy to help!

[@martran56]

Thank you. This is what Dometic should have on their website. Their manual is also very poor in explaining the controls, so again I thank you for uploading.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Glad it was helpful!

[@petervaughan3277]

Exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks , Peter from Sydney Australia

[@JustaJourneyman]

Glad I could help :)

[@brunan1965]

Most excellent....best instructional I have seen on the Fantastic Fan

[@JustaJourneyman]

Thanks Bruce! I have had to overcome some fears to start posting these videos, but I thought I might have some useful content to share.

[@andrewztube]

Thanks, best Fan-tastic Fan explanation ever. Now I totally get it.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Happy to help!

[@tom1568]

Ours is tied into a thermostat on the wall.. do you have any videos on that setup and operation? thank you

[@JustaJourneyman]

Sorry... mine is standalone....

[@davidmuirhead5796]

Great video - so clear to understand. Thank you.

[@jenniferrogers4629]

Curious if you know if you can only open it partially to vent the air or does it have to be fully open? Wanting to be able to get for sure through without being fully open if it’s partially raining. Can you crank the hand knob or will that mess up the motor? Thank you

[@JustaJourneyman]

Yes, you can crank the vent by hand, no problem! I do that any night where I worry about condensation inside the trailer from sleeping folks.

[@leeisselhardt609]

Very informative and concise video. Well done.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Thanks Lee! I am hoping to do similarly quick/dense videos on other topics as well! Let me know if you have any requests!

[@nicholemoore1673]

I was baffled as to why the fan lid was constantly opening and closing itself all the time, even though the switch was in the off position. I’ll be sure to set the dial to zero now! Thank you for your very informative video!!

[@JustaJourneyman]

Glad I could help. Feels like a really silly design, but I suppose there's a reason for it somehow...

[@frankanddanasnyder3272]

Your fan may be wired incorrectly. On my fans the on/off toggle switch turns the entire unit off....no power to anything...

[@tguthrie1121]

Thanks for the info! Can you tell me why the fan shuts off when I change the temperature knob?

[@JustaJourneyman]

The temperature knob works like a thermostat and assumes you want to COOL the RV. So, if you set the knob to a temperature lower than the current temperature inside the RV, it will shut off.

[@thomaswhatley2075]

@@JustaJourneyman If it's not cold enough why would it shut off????

[@raddangles2104]

How do you disable the rain sensor? Mine never lets the fan run.

[@JustaJourneyman]

I think you'd have to do a little bomb-defusing type work to deactivate the rain sensor. Just make sure you cut the red, no the blue, no the yellow!

[@Yukonjackman1]

Any fan motor maintenance ? Mine makes a noise like it needs oil

[@JustaJourneyman]

Don't know of anything specific, but it's never a bad idea to clean the whole thing. Screen comes out, fan blade pops off quite easy. Soap and water does wonders.

[@patriciaross5279]

Great info in your video. Think we need info on the advanced silliness of the thermostat. Sometimes fan works & sometimes it doesn't. Can you help?

[@JustaJourneyman]

Haven't dug into that particular mess, but I would check your "auto" vs. "on" settings for the fan in each mode, AC, heat pump, furnace, etc.

[@kathrynb4683]

My fan has all those controls on the wall in it's own box. I also have an outdoor hood over it all. Just stopped working. Fan hood goes up and then nothing.

[@maroma1953]

Thanks for the video......I agree 100%. I usually just turn all the knobs till the darn thing turns on.

[@JustaJourneyman]

LOL. I know what you mean. Once I figured out the speed/powerswitch thing, it gave me a little more confidence to try the thermostat etc. But honestly I just don't have much use for those features, and usually the noise of the fan bothers me enough that I turn it off pretty quick.

[@jessicasantana5854]

wonderful information

[@jerryphillips7330]

Question from a new owner. How can I get the cover to only go up say a quarter to half instead of it being fully open?

[@JustaJourneyman]

The only way to open it partially is to shut it off and use the manual crank....

[@jerryphillips7330]

Thank you for this video. I could not get my cover to come down. It was that I had the control on 0.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Glad I could help.

[@jamessherman4800]

Does it blow inside and how cool does it make it?

[@JustaJourneyman]

These are exhaust fans. With windows open, it creates quite a bit of airflow and helps a lot. To get truly cool though, check out my RV Fan video!

[@garyduran1]

Ours is making noise like it wants to open on its own. Any idea?

[@JustaJourneyman]

Hmmm... I would check to see if it's obstructed, and then I might try to open it by hand (unpowered) to see if the seal is stuck. Sometimes the seals around the edges of things can get really sticky. Hit them with a little Aerospace 303 protectant to keep them from sticking.

[@garyduran1]

@@JustaJourneyman thank you.

[@garyshumate1362]

First of all thanks for the video. Could you explain what makes the fan change direction? I know it will but i don’t know how i did it. Thx

[@JustaJourneyman]

Hmm... mine doesn't change direction. You would have to buy a reversing switch for it (not expensive, not difficult to wire). There are a few videos about that out there, but this one looks particularly detailed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3aUq6iCgZtla7s

[@run5885]

Excellent job explaining the Fantastic Fan. We recently got an AS and it took me some time to figure out how it works. The salesperson has only limited knowledge:(

[@JustaJourneyman]

Thanks. Gonna share some more ideas along these lines. Stay tuned!

[@DirectCurrent4u]

Cool video! Thanks for sharing...😎👍

[@Carolann_237]

Wow so glad this popped up in my feed. So informative. The book that comes with the fan is so bad. Now I know why I couldn’t get it to work. It has to be on 1+ dumb, why do they have a fan on off switch? Thanks again

[@i2oadi2unnei2]

Another great vid. How about the other fan above the head? My gasket got brittle and ended up chucking it and I can't find a replacement unless you buy a cover for it and my cover is fine. I'm still ISO finding a hack gasket 😁

[@JustaJourneyman]

Funny you should mention that. My gasket for the head fan disappeared sometime last year. I have not had any noticeable leaks, so I've put it on my list for eventual repair but haven't prioritized it. Are you getting leakage?

[@i2oadi2unnei2]

@@JustaJourneyman no leakage yet as long it's closed. The rim of the base has small holes for water to drain so far it's holding up w/o that gasket 🤞

[@JustaJourneyman]

@@i2oadi2unnei2 Good to hear... thanks. I think I'll sit on mine and just wait until a good opportunity for repair comes up!

[@SHOCKWAVEDAVE]

Great explanation. Thank you.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Thanks!

[@kylecornelius8167]

Sorry to ask a dopey question, but you do not mention the fuse. Is that just a pull it out and plug in a new one change out? Could it be the source of my problem. I have two fans in an older RV that are not working.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Fuses are pretty simple, but can be intimidating if you've never dealt with them before. Just remove the current fuse and you'll see writing on it (use a magnifying glass). Or, just carry that fuse into an auto parts store and say "I need one of these." They cost practically nothing, are easy to find, and are easy to install.

[@jangibson6942]

I want to share my review of the Fantastic Vent 3350 because my experience with the fan is anything but fantastic. I bought mine 18 months ago, as friends, who have an older model, said it was very good. However mine makes a lot of noise and pushes so little air that I can barely tell if I have it set to exhaust or blow. If I turn it up to get more airflow it becomes even noiser! The rain sensor closes the vent at night so I can only assume that it senses the night time moisture and closes even though it is NOT raining. My friend's older model seems to push more air than my newer model. I get much better & quieter airflow from my little Sirocco fan and it was only $!60 not over $600. Dometic agreed to replace the fan and the airflow improved a little but it is still very noisy AND the rain sensor closes the fan at really odd times like late afternoon. So we can't use the fan unless we manually open the cover. So in summary, I have found it an appallingly poor performing fan that is just not worth the money.

[@SanctuaryLife]

Which model do you have? I have the 3350 and cant figure out how to get it to auto open from the thermostat.

[@jangibson6942]

@@SanctuaryLife I didn't even know that was an option so can't help, sorry.

[@scrippslarry]

Great video, but you left out how to operate the manual knob to raise and lower the lid. That big black knob doesn’t seem to turn manually (even though you would think it is there for that purpose).

[@JustaJourneyman]

The one that looks like a flat knob does turn, but it can be tough. On some models, I believe you have to pull it downward to disengage the motor.

[@pnachtwey]

Mine is much simpler and is more manual. I must use the handle at the top of the screen. The handle can fall apart and it is a pain to put it back together. There is a video about how to put the handle back together.

[@ericconklin6195]

Great explanation thank you

[@JustaJourneyman]

You are welcome!

[@whateverthisis3929]

Thanks, i thought i was going to break the screen until I saw this video! Very helpful

[@bobbiwingham1339]

How do you close it, tho? Mine only opens. :(

[@JustaJourneyman]

It will only close if you have the speed setting (the "true power switch" I showed in this video) set to something other than zero. If you're on setting 1 or above, you can click the lid switch to close it. Sometimes you have to click to open it and then click it a second to close it. It's dumb and it needs you to repeat yourself!

[@ericlarsen1721]

Thanks for doing this.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Happy to help!

[@user-GeeMonies]

Awesome video

[@mulie55]

Thanks for this !

[@JustaJourneyman]

I hope it's helpful! Let me know if there are any other "trailer mysteries" out there I should address...

[@casilatino]

Do you need to lubricate the motor ever?

[@JustaJourneyman]

I don't believe lubrication is necessary or recommended. Cleaning it from time to time is a very good idea--as is dressing the lid seals (so they stay soft) with something like Aerospace 303 protectant.

[@durango8882]

Wow thank you 🙏🏼

[@JustaJourneyman]

You're welcome!

[@beerster]

Great video.

[@JustaJourneyman]

Thanks!

[@PSA-sk9fc]

Thank you

[@nm8834]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

[@projet2907]

Wait 'til the sensor starts acting up on you and makes you fight with the fan or squeezes the fan to close tighter with an annoying noise at night 🤣. The sensor is at the top in the area where that blue drawing is, accessible from the roof, top of fan, I had to change mine only a year and a half old, it wires inside aroun.,, Hard to explain But sensor does wear out and act up when humid or raining. DIY ok Job.

[@JustaJourneyman]

I think you can pull down on the twist handle to disengage the lid from the motor... which then allows you to open or close the vent manually. That might be a good way to defeat a faulty sensor in the short term....

[@projet2907]

Journeyman Not mine, I think the newer models Don’t have that option. Talking about the same model Fantastic Fan. I wish they did leave it because it is true l’y annoying having the fan close just because of slight humidity when it is 100F out! Lol,, I would force it open and it would fight me. Laughing now, but cursing then 😅. My second Fan is starting to act up also.

[@JustaJourneyman]

@@projet2907 Ah... I will have to check mine. I often crank mine open, just turning that lever and hearing the gears whir inside the enclosure.

[@garyduran1]

Every now and then we can hear ours making noise like it wants to open. Any ideas?

[@projet2907]

@@garyduran1 THat's the noise I am talking about, sensors do wear out, I had to change one, it was not only making noise constantly but closing when perfectly sunny outside, just because of Florida's High humidity, It also looked fried. I do clean the surface with soft microfiber. On days I hear it wanting to close tighter, the surface might have a drop of water on it, I just shut the fan at off position.

[@mikehartung1627]

That red light is just stupid. If its daylight out there you will never see the red light! Why not just put a light on the inside of the unit to be seen day or night! Also why not just have one power button, either its on or its off not the crap that they have on this fan!

[@JustaJourneyman]

Agree on all counts.

[@loujohnson6143]

Read the manual.

[@campingrhody2480]

More like Fantasic Crap!