What about Air Vents?

[BSwayze]

I'm at a point where I need to decide whether to keep the plastic air vents that come from Vans, or upgrade to something better. What's the consensus with all of you on air vents? Did you keep the standard ones and use RTV to make a better seal, or did you upgrade? If so, which ones did you get? Are you happy with your choice? Would you do something different?

My head is swimming as I contemplate another choice here. Many thanks for your replies!

[Brantel]

I upgraded to the larger Stein ones...They are the bomb!!

[bullojm1]

I went with the large ones from SteinAir as well. They are really nicely made. The ones from Vans are just junk. I think I bought them from Aircraft Spruce for less than Stein sells them for, FYI.

[Lycosaurus]

I went with the small vents from Stein. One of the employees at Stein said that he experienced both the small vents and large vents in an RV. He claims that the smaller ones seemed to blow more air and it felt cooler than the large one. He also claimed that the larger ones were more appropriate for slower moving aircraft.

After two summers with the small ones, we are quite happy with them. Mind you, we live in Canada and our summers are not as hot as in Texas for instance, however we do not use a canopy shade.

The Vans air vents are pure garbage. You have to modifiy them, then add sealant to the butterfly so it seals (somewhat). The installation is a pain as well. The Stein ones are just so easy to install... worth the bucks.

[cjensen]

I have the small vents from Aveo, and they BLOW really good air. At altitude, I actually close them down a bit to keep the flow to a manageable level, and it's plenty cool...really happy with them.

[captain_john]

Bill has the vans plastic ones. They blow just fine. But that really isn't the problem, is it?

The problem is closing them with a tight seal from what I understand. I haven't tried closing them in this heat and nor would I want to. I will let you know this winter how they are.

I bought the black aluminum ones from Van fr my -7. No idea how they perform though but they look great in the box!

CJ

[hydroguy2]

Steinair large vents. and I'm a budget builder. But this was one area where the Vans didn't cut the mustard.



writing a check only hurts for a few minutes. the pain of poor quality crap will last forever

[Lycosaurus]

....The problem is closing them with a tight seal from what I understand. ...
CJ

I agree, the Stein vents seal very well. I have flown in -20C weather and I was real glad I did not go with the Vans type. I bought the silicone sealant for modifying Vans vents but then heard of the marginal results some people were having with them. I also did not want to use one of the other suggested solution ..... a bathtub stopper.

I have no air coming in from the front of the cabin, however I have yet to seal a leak for the rear canopy... and we certainly can feel that breeze coming in, especially in winter

After-market vents .... well worth the money.

[BSwayze]

Wow, Gentlemen,

Thank you SO MUCH for all the responses! This is why I love Rivetbangers. I am definitely going to upgrade to something better, after hearing from all of you.

I'll post something later on to let you know what I come up with.

[painless]

I have the black anodized aluminum units offered by Van's. IMHO they're the right size and provide plenty of cooling air. More importantly, they seal very well in the Wisconsin winters around here.

Definitely ditch the plastic cheapies.

[BSwayze]

Thanks, Jeff!

I looked at those, and they definitely look very nice. They currently cost $150 apiece, compared to $125 for Steins, so it's $50 bucks more for a pair of them. They will need to be cut down on one corner just like the plastic ones, too. So that kind of tilts the scale toward Steins' vents. I'm glad to hear they seal so well in Wisconsin winters, though. That's a HUGE selling point.

[Bob Barrett]

I have the Van's plastic and I used the RTV sealant and it hasn't been a problem in Minnesota Winters. However we didn't get to do a lot of Winter flying this past Winter because the hanger door froze shut. I have two heaters in my airplane it is the warmest airplane we have flown in. We don't fly unless it is 20 degrees F or warmer. I have the sliding canopy and did not seal the rear of it. We think one of the reasons its so warm is that cold air goes out around the back. Just a theroy.