HENG’S INDUSTRIES Vortex I RV Vent Fan Kit | 12V | White | 14"x14" | High-Performance Replacement for Heng's, Ventline, Jensen, & Elixir Vents | 90043-CR

The media could not be loaded.  I bought two of these for my Keystone travel trailer: One to replace the puny, barely functional fan in the bathroom, and the other to put in over the galley since the range hood doesn't vent outside (which makes it seem kinda pointless). I chose this fan because it was a simple retrofit: I didn't want to deal with crawling around on the roof and ripping out/replacing out the whole vent, protecting against leaks, etc. I don't care about variable speed, and I can replace the switch with a rheostat if that ever becomes an issue. I didn't care about reversibility, either: If I want to use it for cooling, I'll just turn it on and open a couple of windows, which would probably be cooler than pumping in hot ambient air from the roof.I've installed the one over the galley so far, and found the installation to be pretty simple. While you *can* install the fan by yourself, it really helps to have a second pair of hands to assist.The process involves removing the existing garnish, then removing the existing screen and fan assemblies. You pop out the screen (the plastic may be brittle, so be careful if you want to preserve it). Removing an existing bathroom fan involves pulling the blades off and removing the two tiny mounting screws and wire connections. From there you connect the power, lift the fan into place, add the mounting screws and the knob that comes with the fan. Reinstall the garnish, and you're done.You will need a standard Phillips screwdriver. The type with interchangeable tips won't fit where you add the mounting screws. A magnetic tip helps quite bit when lifting the mounting screws into place. My garnish was held in place by square drive screws, so I needed a driver for those. I used crimp-on connectors for all my wiring connections.There was no power to the vent over the galley, so I tapped into the nearest ceiling light and ran wires from there. The instructions with the fan recommend 14 ga. wire. I had to use a fish tape to pull the wires, so a second pair of hands really helped.I did have to relocate the crank gear assembly to fit my vent, which was simple to do, and all the needed parts are included. The instructions (which were hard to read because it looks like a bad photocopy of a bad photocopy) tell you which brands you need to do this with. Worst case, you dry fit the fan in place to see if the crank shaft lines up. If not, move the assembly and you should be good to go.With the gear box relocated and the new wiring run, we connected the wiring and lifted the fan into place. It was hard to tell when the fan was fully seated, and took a bit of wiggling and grunting to get it into place. In hindsight, it was probably because the crank shaft wasn't aligning with the gear box. It might have helped to push the new crank knob in place long enough to jiggle it into alignment so the shaft would seat. Once fully seated, the tricky part was holding the fan in place with one hand, overhead, while adding the mounting screws with the other. This is where the magnetic tip comes in handy, holding onto the screw as you lift it up into place. This was also where the second pair of hands helped: Picking up the screws that you drop while you hold the fan in place. From here, the garnish goes back in, and the new crank knob installed.It took about 1.5 hours to install, including the time to bring power to the vent, and we are very happy with the results. Some reviewers have complained about the noise. It's not a quiet fan, but it's quieter than the original bathroom fan, and *much* quieter than the ineffective range hood fan. It's also not a $200 fan, and I didn't have to do any work on the roof. All of this equates to a big win for me.I'm attaching a crappy cell phone video of the fan in operation to demonstrate the noise level.

I gave this fan 5 stars based on how well it works. If I were rating the ease of installation I'd give it a 1.I'm pretty handy and good with tools, so maybe it was some weird alignment in the stars that made this one of the most difficult things I've ever installed or assembled. It didn't help that it was over 100 degrees with high humidity in my RV the entire time (due to no hookups and a broken generator) It took me HOURS to install. I'd be embarrassed to admit how many! I hit a glitch on every single step. I only had help for a short while, and it was extremely difficult for me to hold my arms up long enough to get things in place and screw them in. Even my friends, who are also very handy, couldn't believe how hard it was to install. Having said that, I would still buy it again. I'm not a glutton for punishment, it's just a good fan once you've got it working.Removing the old fan was easy, and the instructions were good for that. The installation instructions on the back of the box are written clearly, though there aren't any picture references other than the final image. Then there's a single page of instructions inside the box that you MUST refer to in the middle of the assembly, as there are differing instructions depending on which model fan you're replacing. That page is completely illegible and has blurry, impossible to decipher images that are necessary to understand. (Heads up: the gear box it refers to is on the fan itself, It is NOT the gear knob that remains on your vent after you remove the old fan.)Other aids:1) Use a magnetized, long screwdriver. Trust me.2) Have a helper to hold the fan in place as you attach wires, screw in the screws, line up the gears, etc....3) Remove the fan blade like it suggests. That way you can line up the gears, attach the fan (harder than you'd think) and THEN connect the wires.4) If you hook it up and the fan blows onto you instead of pulling air out, just switch the wires you connected.5) Attach the gear knob BEFORE you install the fan. It helps you line up the gears when you get to that step6) Have various sizes of wire nuts on hand before you start. The little blue one it comes with wasn't big enough (my old fan wires were thicker than the new fan wires) and there was only one included. You need two.7) If your installation goes the way mine did, try to keep a sense of humor. I had bouts of sobbing, shaking my fist at the sky, wanting to give up and still lots of laughs. It helps to have a good friend show up when you're ready to quit.

I have mixed feelings about this fan. The concept of the fan replacement kit is great, but quality control is questionable. Installing the fan took me about 20 minutes using a couple different screwdrivers and wire nuts. It fit quite well and blended into the 14" x 14" vent area nicely. So far, so good. Once I turned on the fan, my opinion changed. The fan had a terrible vibration that shook the fan housing and nearby walls. I immediately turned it off and inspected the unit to see if I had forgot a screw or somehow did something wrong. No luck, it was installed properly. Upon further inspection I determined that the fan blade was severely out of balance with no way to remedy it. It was clearly a very poorly manufactured part. Given the reasonable cost of the fan kit and the seamless factory look of the fan, I decided to order another kit in hopes that it was just a fluke that I received a bad fan blade. Upon receiving the 2nd fan kit and installing it, I experienced the same issue - more vibration. I was about to give up but I really wanted this fan kit to work so I ordered a 3rd fan kit. After installing the 3rd fan kit, I am happy to say that the third time was the charm. The fan runs super smooth with very little vibration at all. It has an incredible amount of suction and quickly exhausts the air out of the camper. The sound level isn't too bad either. I feel that the fan is an incredible value for the money, if you get a good one. Thanks to Amazon prime free shipping both ways I was only out some of my time. I would recommend to give it a try if you are in need of an economically priced exhaust fan that really sucks.

What an upgrade from the old fan watched some videos on how to install and it went like a breeze lol very happy considering most others are nearly double the price with half the air flow