Gear Review: Nicro Day/Night Plus Solar Vent Fan

I have always had a Nicro solar vent fan on my forward hatch for keeping moisture down, preventing mold, and reducing bilge/head odors. Recently the battery on the old Nicro 2000 quit on me so I replaced it with a new Nicro Day/Night Plus vent fan. The new Day/Night Plus model moves more air, comes with interchangeable intake and exhaust fan blades and an on/off switch, and&nbsp has a shut-off damper for use in rough seas. If you're only installing one vent fan, Nicro recommends using the exhaust blade. In my particular installation, the exhaust fan draws air in through my louvered companionway hatchboard and circulates it through the cabin where it then exits through the vent fan above the vee berth.

The new vent fan has the same 4" diameter cut-out size but a larger on-deck footprint and a greater depth so I had to have a custom riser pad fabricated to create clearance. Alan from Cesany Plastics in Oakland Park, Florida promptly cut and shipped me a custom black Starboard ring (see picture) that does the job quite nicely. I highly recommend Cesany Plastics if you need custom work. They have good customer service and do quality work at very competitive prices.

New Nicro Day/Night Plus Solar Vent Fan successfully installed
Installation of these vent fans is very simple, particularly if you're just replacing an existing vent and don't have to make any cuts. I've been happy with the deck hatch vent installation. I'm always leary of cutting directly into the deck itself fo any reason so if there's an alternative like a hatch, I think that's the way to go. I highly recommend the hatch installation if you've got clearance and a hatch material that can take a cut.

Ready to get a Nicro Day/Night Plus Solar Vent Fan for your sailboat?  Get it here:



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