When I received the package containing my new SHURflo Platinum Series Comfort Air tm circulating fan I was taken aback with all the standard features. A quick glance at the fan container told me I’d have remote control, intake and exhaust modes, an automatic motorized dome, automatic rain sensor and a thermostat-controlled auto-temp control. This was going to be a far cry from the manual crank hatch my toyhauler came with from the factory.

While all the gizmos and doodads sounded pretty neat, the two features that really caught my eye were the remote control operation and the intake/exhaust modes. If I ever want to open the vent on my RV now, I first have to find myself a stool to stand on because I can’t reach the vent crank without it. Actually, I don’t think anybody short of 6 foot 8 could do it without something to stand on. I thought the exhaust mode would work great for those warm afternoons when the temperature outside seems to be twenty degrees cooler and a lot less stuffy than that in the toyhauler. My hopes were that exhaust mode would act something like a whole-house fan in circulating that stagnant warm air out the fan vent, while circulating some of the cooler outside air through an open screen door and/or window. However, before enjoying any of these features, the job of installing the fan would need to be completed.

I opened the box and looked for the installation instructions, which were easy to understand yet detailed enough to give me the confidence that I could pull the install off. I found all the contents listed in the box and gathered all the tools and materials required. A Phillips screw driver, scraper, wire stripper/crimp tool, some 18-gauge wire, a few insulated wire connectors, some butyl sealing tape, and some all-weather silicone sealant. We started by pulling out the original vent, which was fairly simple. We unscrewed the four screws holding the inside trim piece and the 20+ screws holding the vent down into the roof. With a little prodding to release the vent from the sealing tape, we had the original vent out in less than ten minutes.

The good news now was I had a 14 x 14 wood-framed hole, perfect for the SHURflo Comfort Air fan. The bad news was there was no sign of any electrical power. The SHURflo fan requires 12volt DC power. If you are replacing an electric fan/vent then you’ll have no problems. If, however, you are in my situation, this is the point where the job gets interesting. Since there was a light with a three-way switch a few feet forward of the fan, we decided to drill a small hole in the side of the wood frame closest to the light, just big enough to feed the two 18-gauge wires through towards the 12volt DC electrical juice at the light. We thought we were home free until the steel rod we were fishing our wires through came in contact with a very solid object. Unfortunately, we had a wood roof joist between the fan and the light. We decided to drill another hole from the light side, then spent a good half hour trying to blindly fish the two wires through that hole. Finally, we were able to poke the wires through. Using two-into-one blade connectors, we easily tapped our two fan wires into the two ceiling light wires.

Up on the roof, we scraped all the old butyl sealing tape away and replaced it with some fresh sealing tape. Then we placed the fan down into the hole in the roof, paying attention to centering it the best way possible. We used the screws from the original vent to attach the fan to the roof. We sealed both the screws and around the fan’s edge with generous amounts of silicone sealant. All we had left to do was wire in the fan and install the trim ring inside the trailer. After popping the supplied 6-volt battery into the remote, we were ready to go.

I must admit that I raised and lowered the fan dome multiple times, like a kid playing with his first electric train set. Once I snapped back to reality, I fired up the fan and took it through its paces. With high and low modes as well as intake and exhaust, it’s a good thing I could see the fan blades doing their thing because I certainly couldn’t hear them! The fan is ultra-quiet, even in high mode. The fan remote came with a cradle that attaches to the trailer wall for push-button operation or taken out of the cradle for hand-held operation. All of the fan’s functionality is a fingertip away. The thermostat can be set at several temperature intervals and the fan will automatically operate when those temperature settings are reached. Another nice feature is that the fan can be operated with the dome down, and if you forget and leave the dome up and it starts raining, no problem, the rain sensor tells the fan to lower the dome automatically.

I was very impressed with the overall quality and functionality of the product. I would however warn any potential do-it-yourself installer to take into consideration getting electrical power to the fan. If you are replacing an electric fan, then the job should be a breeze…pun intended. For more information on SHURflo products, check them out online at www.shurflo.com or give them a call at 800-854-3218.
-Bob Balunda