galley and head exhaust fans

[ronparise]

I have a 1979 43' double cabin (with a dinette) There are exhaust fans in the two heads and galley. the froward head works but sounds like its gummed up and its moving very little air, The other two dont work at all.

The owners manual tells me that there are inline fuses at the fan, but thats not helping me as I cant figure out where the fans are located or how to access them So the question is: where do I access those fans to clean them and replace the fuses? (or the whole fan if necessary)

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[SEVEN]

I can't help you with the 43 but I feel for you. I have a 53 MY and cannot find the gen set blower. I even pushed one of those flexible cameras behind all the walls. No luck. Hopefully someone can give you the answer you seek.

 

[eze2bme]

I have a 1979 43 DC also and have serviced the exhaust fans at the galley and aft head. If you'll look on the exterior where the exhaust cowls are that will tell you where the fans are inside the hull as they are mounted directly behind the cowls. For the galley there is a removable access panels inside the storage cabinet above the range. For the aft head you have to remove the large storage cabinet on the starboard side of the salon, then crawl into the space. Both of these fan units on my 43 had cracks in the housing where they were attached to the hull. As for the fan for the forward head I'm thinking that you'll probably have to remove the storage cabinet over the dinette table or possibly the medicine cabinet. As far as low air volume check and make sure that the inside vent screen covers are clear of dust etc and also that the cowl is free of any debris such as bird nest material etc. You could also remove the inside screen covers and use a shop vac to try and remove any materials from inside the ducting. My screen covers just pull off - only a friction fit. Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

[Walter P]

As was stated in the previous post, they are accessible but not necessarily easy. On my 1982 MY they all require removing a panel to gain access. When I developed problems with a couple of them that were slow starting, I removed a panel to gain access (forward head) which was probably the easiest of the four and it was also a PITA. What I found was years of built up crud all over them including the bearing areas. When I cleaned it, it seemed to work fine but I thought that since it was such a pain to get to it and it was probably original I ordered some new ones from SAM's. They were an exact fit. You can probably get more time on the old ones by just cleaning them but in my opinion it's not worth it and having new units makes me feel confident that they will work when I need.

Walt

 

[MikeP]

I rebuilt all the OEM 32VDC exhaust fans on our 53. As noted, some are easy to get to - engine room;; some are less so - Genny room, forward head. But basically if you pull them, rebuilding them is very simple - lubing the bushing-type bearings and installing new brushes will basically put them "as new." I bought the brushes at the local hardware store for less than a dollar each (2 per motor). One thing you might run into is broken impellers; one of mine was in pieces. Sams has the impellers if you need them.

 

[jrbrein]

I rebuilt all the OEM 32VDC exhaust fans on our 53. As noted, some are easy to get to - engine room;; some are less so - Genny room, forward head. But basically if you pull them, rebuilding them is very simple - lubing the bushing-type bearings and installing new brushes will basically put them "as new." I bought the brushes at the local hardware store for less than a dollar each (2 per motor). One thing you might run into is broken impellers; one of mine was in pieces. Sams has the impellers if you need them.

Mike,
Could a place that repairs alternators and other electric motors repair them. I try but I am no mechanic!

Jon

 

[MikeP]

Yes, any elec motor shop should be able to do it.

 

[ronparise]

Thanks guys