Fantastic Fan Maxx Fan 6200 Installation Upgrade And Shade Cover

This is a continuation of sorts of this thread: Spare Tire, Ceiling Fan

...which contains lots of information on the current heretofores and whys of installing a replacement fan to the Fantastic.

Our Fantastic was still working as it should. But wasn't so fantastic:
1) It is loud. Even on the lowest setting, it creates substantial white noise.
2) It draws a lot of amps. At the lowest, it was still drawing 1.5A. Not huge. But if on all night, it could consume 1/3 of your available battery Amp hours.
3) Even at the lowest setting, it could move enough air to ventilate a smoke-filled warehouse.
4) Our non-rain-sensing unit had to be manually closed in the middle of the night if it rained. I know, I know... our budget-conscious choice at build time.

Those who have the Maxx, both as an OEM now, and as a replacement to the Fantastic, rave about it. We got the 6200 model as it is an apples-to-apples switch-out: manual raise and lower, reversible flow, and thermostat. But it also has an extended hood that allows you keep it open in the rain. Or even be able to use the fan when closed. There is no remote, but it has 10 speeds which provide more choice on the lower end, along with ridiculously low amp draws. I also got the optional shade cover, which until recently was an unknown Maxx option at Necedah.

Sweeney has already upgraded his and provided good insight into the DIY installation. Cary also confirmed their process, which I followed. I took lots of pics so you know what you're into if you tackle this.

Removal of the Fantastic is straightforward. 16 screws on top and 5 below. The mounting flange on top needs to be mechanically pried off. Leaving it to heat up in the sun makes removal easier, but also gooier. And makes metal surfaces hot as well. Residue that you can't scrape off can be removed safely with acetone. And then given a final cleaning with isopropyl.

This is pre-cleaning, with the OEM interior flange still in place:

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You don't use the original screw holes, so they are filled with silicone, as best you can. Kinda like pushing rope. I added some butyl tape to the aluminum overlap and feathered it to make a better transition:

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Because there is fair amount of "slop" with the OEM hole (about 1/2"), I used painters tape to center the mounting flange prior to pressing down. 16 screws (use the ones supplied by Maxx, per Cary) and don't tighten down too hard lest you break plastic. 1" x 1/8" inch butyl tape on the underside will squeeze out uniformly, such that there was no need for subsequent Dicor or silicone caulking at the edge. Doing when it is warm and sunny will assist with the tape "flow".

This is how C-I does it:

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Excess butyl can either be smeared carefully with you finger to fill any voids, or cut off later when it is colder and harder. Screw heads can be given a dab of silicone, though Camp-Inn doesn't bother. If you are really worried about water infiltration through these 16 portals, but are concerned about appearances, some rubber gasket-washers under the heads would do the trick.

The main fan part is dropped onto the flange while fully open and secured with 4 screws on the sides:

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The trim "garnish" flange for the inside is cut to 2" remaining and installed with 4 supplied screws.

You're done.

Maybe.

Maxx's optional shade cover (another $100 CDN) uses the same 4 screw holes as the garnish ring, and goes over the garnish ring, but has a slightly larger footprint, and stands a little more proud of the ceiling than the just the garnish ring. But it is not terribly obtrusive:

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Because it is ventilated/perforated, it can be operated with the shade drawn:

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The shade is a spring-loaded roller-type: all or nothing, and it clicks into the closed position. They have a lighted, wired version of the cover, but that is unnecessary for such a small space that already has adequate lighting. And it makes for extra wiring/splicing/cutting steps when installing. Both versions have a reflective upper surface on the shade to keep heat out.

Amp draws are 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 at the 3 lowest settings. Which is significantly less than the Fantastic's 1.5A on low. Maxx also makes several 3-speed versions, but they mimic the Fantastic in terms of amp draws and CFM, and wouldn't be a terribly rational choice as an "upgrade" to my mind. But they likely would be quieter.

The double struts holding the rain hood in the open position are also an improvement upon the Fantastic's single-strut design.

The extended hood version seemed to be the way to go as it doesn't need to be closed if it rains, negating entirely the need for one with a rain sensor. The Mothership just installed their first extended one last week. If you go with the shorter, standard, square version, Sweeney recommends the rain-sensing auto-close option.

The only other task left is to tape over the gaudy, cheesy MaxxFan stickers on the side.

 

I'm very proud of myself that I understood and followed your process as written. In the other conversation most of it was beyond my skill set!

Enjoy your new fan!

 

We installed this fan sans shade on our T@G and absolutely loved it! The low profile, ability to operate closed and in the rain were huge plusses. Our only complaint was the thermostat feature which would initiate an alarm that was nigh impossible to silence and would go off at the most amazing times (like slipping into deep sleep). I would absolutely love to have this on our CI560 with the remote would be fine but w/o would be preferable… and without the thermostat affiliated alarm. The sun screen (moon screen) would be an amazing add too! Thank you for the detailed instructions!

 

One note on the retrofit of a Maxxair fan. The interior trim bezel from the Fantastic fan will work with the Maxxair and it makes it easier to cover visible screw holes that have to be dealt with if the Maxxair bezel is used. It is easier and cleaner to just reuse the original Fantastic trim bezel.

Cary

 

Thanks Cary. I didn't have any exposed screw holes using Maxx's. But depending on how the unit gets "centered" in the hole, with the 1/2" to play with, this could be an issue for some. If you get the shade cover, this would be a moot point as its footprint is larger than the bezel/garnish ring and would cover any visible unfilled screw holes.

At the factory C-I surgically trims back the moulding strips that hide the ceiling panel joints, so that the bezel sits flush to the ceiling. I reverse-fitted the uncut Maxx bezel so that it fit flush between the moulding ends, and mounted it briefly so that it protruded through the roof. Then I marked the top flange position with tape, and removed it all. This avoids having to trim the ends of the moulding strips.

I didn't cut back the moulding to accommodate the even wider shade frame, so the frame does ride over top of them with a small gap. This is just in case I wish to remove the shade cover at any point. Not terribly noticeable. Other option is to trim or file the plastic rim for a flush ceiling fit, which I may do today.

 

... which is to say: If you take everything apart and start your installation from the top, you could find at the end that your bezel ring won't fit properly between the ends of the molding strips, and you'll be cutting and/or adding molding. And it either won't look good or the flange won't sit flush to the ceiling.

 

Addendum:

Above I mentioned that a capped washer might enhance the water-tightness of the top flange. For giggles, I tried a couple:

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They're from some metal roofing I did. Not sure they would help. When I pulled the screws the top threads were completely filled with butyl. The washers, I think, would be somewhat redundant. Further, they shorten the bite of the provided screws. If you were to do it, it must be done at the start; there's no room for a driver all the way around once the fan is installed. Also, as an alternative, topping the screw heads with Dicor or silicone may make future screw removal more of a pain than it needs to be.

I threw in a photo of the closed cover profile, in case anyone was wondering what it would look like going down the road:

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Kinda sleek.

Will have to wait for colder weather to remove the excess butyl. This stuff stays ridiculously sticky and will no doubt pick up any and all air-borne and water-borne detritus, eventually turning into an ugly mess.

For those who have installed their own, or if anyone from the factory is listening... the first photo above shows the small gap between the fan proper and the top mounting flange, with the fan resting on a 360 black rubber seal:

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Since the gap will undoubtedly collect and hold 1/8" of water, is this a design weak point and potential leakage source? Do I trust the seal? Is it worth siliconing this gap? Or am I being a Nervous Nellie?

 

Nice work and writeup, thanks!

 

This must be a midwest thing --- I wish it made more noise I can sleep without it. Perhaps on a cool summer night with the serenade of crickets. I saw a meme a few days ago I wish I could find. Storm Sirens, sleep. Gunshots, sleep, no fan - wide awake....

Thats me!

 

I went back and looked at my photos, specifically this one:

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... and realized that it is virtually impossible for any water to enter past the gasket. Even if the fan isn't fully seated. And driving at 100 mph. I'd forgotten that the inner flange was so high.

Silly me.

 

I just installed the fan following the excellent instructions in this post. No problems at all. Thank you!
We like how quiet it is and no concern about rain coming in.

 

Brand new owners here, with a question about the Maxx fan in the rain. On our very first night in the camper,
we arrived, got set up, ate dinner, etc. When it started to rain a bit later, we went in the camper to stay dry, but we couldn't get the fan to turn on. So it was a bit muggy in there to sleep at first. Luckily we had the side tent on, so we left that door open to get some air. When we got home, after washing, drying & putting the camper away, the fan worked just fine.

Cary says there is a ceiling fan mode, but it is accessed by closing the hatch when the fan is already running. So I'm just wondering if while camping there is anything to do if we encounter the scenario of it's raining when we go to bed again. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

Thanks - we will give that a try!

 

The rain sensor 'bypass' leave a red light lit. What I do is to close the fan, grab hold of the knob (tightly!) and turn it on. It will try to open and feel like its about to twist free from your hand for about 1/2 second....then the motor will stop and the speed and direction controls work, with no additional lights. It will "think" its open....

My first fan was defective (thanks Amazon) --- just humidity would 'trip' the sensor and it would close and turn off. second unit works perfectly...but I thought I'd mention it because if there is 1 that is defective...there's more.

I love mine except for a small squeek that I just can't find