Sunsei 70440 Solar Vent Stainless Steel Day/Night Solar Powered Vent

by ICP

Product Features

• Run 48 hours without sunlight
• Two high capacity AA NiMh batteries offer 24-hour operation capability
• No wiring required - Never drains boat/RV batteries
• Can be installed on wood, glass, metal, plastic or canvas
• Easy one-click intake/exhaust/off airflow selection

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4 x 10.5 x 6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007KGWGY
• Item model number: 70440
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,498 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Sunsei 70440 Solar Vent Stainless Steel Day/Night Solar Powered Vent provides 24 hours a day of silent and reliable ventilation for hot or humid areas. Reduces condensation and heat build-up in your boat, RV, Cabin, shed and green house. This new stylish and aerodynamic Solarvent provides more than double the airflow of any similar sized solar vent. It runs on free solar energy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good product but poor installation system and instructions, March 18, 2007

By 

Carolyn Shearlock "TheBoatGalley" (Now living in Illinois, formerly on a boat in the Sea of Cortez) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sunsei 70440 Solar Vent Stainless Steel Day/Night Solar Powered Vent (Lawn & Patio)

We bought two of these to replace Nicro Day & Night Solar vents in our liveaboard cruising sailboat, a Tayana 37. They move significantly more air and seem to be more sturdily built. I like that they have NiMH rechargeable batteries, instead of Ni-Cads -- they should provide much better service.

HOWEVER, the installation instructions are very poor, as is the installation system in general. Despite the fact that they are labeled as "marine" it seems that the engineers have never actually tried to install them in a boat. First, if your mounting surface is more than 1" thick, the supplied bolts are too short. Second, I dare anyone to drill six holes perfectly vertically so that the bolts will pass through a pre-drilled "backing plate" (more on this later), through the deck and line up with the tapped holes in the vent itself. Third, all that's keeping the vent against the waterproof gasket is the force supplied by a 1/16" edge of ABS plastic against the inside of your cabin (imagine if your housing breaks -- how much water could come in through the 4-3/4" hole if you took a wave?). Fourth, the instructions tell you to use 3M 5200 as a sealant (although they never say where to use it) -- the truth is that 5200 itself says that it is incompatible with ABS (use marine-grade silicone instead). Fifth, the hole size and screw drill size are both incorrect in the instructions -- the hole needs to be at least 4-3/4" (not 4-1/2") and the screws are 3/16" (not 3/8"). If you need to buy longer machine screws to go through a thicker deck, note that they are FINE-THREAD (something that can be impossible to find in stainless steel if you are outside the US).

Two issues with the batteries. The ones that were included (with both vents) refused to charge. One set would charge with a regular battery charger; one would not take a charge from any source. This wasn't a major problem for us as I have lots of AA NiMH batteries on hand for other things. But if you don't, the vents would only work during sunny times. Second, the batteries are in a little compartment that is secured with two TINY (eyeglass size) screws -- if you have to change the batteries once the vent is mounted, it's going to be lots of fun to get the screws in correctly -- upside down, overhead -- without stripping or losing them (even with the longer life of a NiMH, I know we'll have to replace them sometime).

The interior "trim ring" (which also serves as a backing plate -- but note that it is bowl-shaped so that only the edge of it goes against the ceiling) is 10-1/2" in diameter -- HUGE! However, you can do without it (use washers on the screws and make your own smaller trim plate).

We finally ended up mounting the vents on the coach house roof just with marine-grade silicone. For our coastal cruising, we think they'll be sufficiently waterproof. If we were heading offshore into potential large seas, I'd want them bolted in.

All that said, they move a lot more air than the previous solar vents we had and thus we're overall happy with them.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great product - but, August 29, 2005

By 

T.L. Stoll "T.L. Stoll" (Frisco, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sunsei 70440 Solar Vent Stainless Steel Day/Night Solar Powered Vent (Lawn & Patio)

This is a very good product and far exceeded my expectations - however. The installation instructions are misleading in that if you cut a round hole, it needs to be at least 4 3/4" in diameter for the inside trim plate to be installed. The instructions call for a 4 1/2' hole that just won't work. Other than that - no problems.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward to install, Powerful unit, February 24, 2006

By 

Andrew K. Copeland "Sea Dog" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sunsei 70440 Solar Vent Stainless Steel Day/Night Solar Powered Vent (Lawn & Patio)

This was a no-brainer to install and is so far working fine. The only gripe I have is that the motor and fan unit is a little more loose in the mounting tube then I'd like. If I accidently bash it with my head it tends to slip, which causes the blades to hit the sides of the mounting tube. The suck/blow/on/off switch is very accessible and the unit is built solid and is as attractive as an ugly aluminum fan housing can be.