Max Air Fan

[1HDRIDER00]

Max Air Fan seems to have a stripped gear. When opening before stopping it skips 3 or4 times before it stops in the open position. Any adjustments I can do? Help. Thanks

 

[Grandesigner]

Mine was replaced under warranty as liked to close by itself for no good reason.
How old is your unit?

 

[Jerryr]

It’s likely that the operator mechanism may be stripped or worse. Mine got to the point that it broke apart. They are on national backorder. I ordered one last month from etrailer and expected delivery date is 3 months out from order date https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Maxxair/MA10-20281K-1AF.html

 

[1HDRIDER00]

Mine was replaced under warranty as liked to close by itself for no good reason.
How old is your unit?

About 2 1/2 Yrs. 2018

 

[Ed5901]

I had the same problem with our maxxair. I replaced the operating mechanism with a maxxair vent 10a20281k1 from Amazon which i see is also on backorder. The item is easy to replace. good luck.

 

[Rivercityjeff]

Call Airxcel Phone Number: (574) 247-9235

If under warranty, they will send you a free one. If out of warranty, there's a strong likelihood they have it in stock.

 

[dryfly]

Call Airxcel Phone Number: (574) 247-9235

If under warranty, they will send you a free one. If out of warranty, there's a strong likelihood they have it in stock.

Do you know what the warranty period is?

My trailer is almost 2 years old and the mechanism is toast. Whats weird is that I probably never opened/closed the vent a half dozen times.

I did put a Maxxair cover on the vent and when the lid opens it bottoms out against the cover. Could this be an issue?

 

[NB Canada]

My trailer is almost 2 years old and the mechanism is toast. Whats weird is that I probably never opened/closed the vent a half dozen times.

The lack of use could actually be the reason for its failure

Maybe the mechanism corroded


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[Rivercityjeff]

I believe the warranty is two years. The internal gears are pot metal.

Mine failed at 3 years and Airxcel was the only place I could find one in stock.

 

[1HDRIDER00]

Just an update. I talked to Airxcel yesterday and they said the warranty. Is 2 years. My concern is if I replace the parts that they recommended after I inspect the fan. How long will these replacement parts last 2 years? Definitely not liking this. Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[Jerryr]

The operator is on national backorder. I talked to them last week and they said there are 2800 on the way from “overseas” but they don’t have an eta. Last shipment was held up at the port for 6 weeks. It’s a $14 part and $14 shipping. I ordered 2 of them so I have a spare.

 

[Jerryr]

I think the gears stripped because lack of use. My theory is the door to sticks to the seal staining the gears causing them to strip.

Not only were the gears stripped but my operator case was in several pieces. Easy to diagnose

 

[1HDRIDER00]

I think the gears stripped because lack of use. My theory is the door to sticks to the seal staining the gears causing them to strip.

Not only were the gears stripped but my operator case was in several pieces. Easy to diagnose

Jerry, Yes my lid does stick in the closed position. I wonder if there is anything that could be put on the seal to keep it from sticking yet maintain a water proof seal. I see the part on e-trailer for $39.30. Where did you find it for $14?

 

[RPAspey]

When you do your roof inspection (you do them a couple of times a year right?), put a little silicone spray on a rag and wipe the black rubber gasket. I've been doing that with all my vents and have never stripped a single one

 

[Jerryr]

Jerry, Yes my lid does stick in the closed position. I wonder if there is anything that could be put on the seal to keep it from sticking yet maintain a water proof seal. I see the part on e-trailer for $39.30. Where did you find it for $14?

I called Maxxair manufacture directly at 574-247-9235.

 

[1HDRIDER00]

When you do your roof inspection (you do them a couple of times a year right?), put a little silicone spray on a rag and wipe the black rubber gasket. I've been doing that with all my vents and have never stripped a single one

Yep, up on the roof quite a bit. I'll put that on my to do list. Thanks

 

[fez111]

I think the gears stripped because lack of use. My theory is the door to sticks to the seal staining the gears causing them to strip.

Not only were the gears stripped but my operator case was in several pieces. Easy to diagnose

I just took all three of our rain-sense Max Fans apart to clean and grease them. Here's what I found...

If they are remote control with auto open/close than they are doomed to fail eventually. A geared motor turns the shaft at the bottom of the gearbox that actually open the lid. When the circuit board senses that the travel of the cover has bottomed out either up or down it stops the motor. The gearbox itself is a cheesy affair that has to pot-metal case halves and a pot-metal worm driving a pot-metal geared cam that rotates the lifter shaft.

The two case halves are swaged together in 4 or 5 places by mushrooming the through-studs. I easily got them apart by drilling out the studs. I found a small dab of very thick grease inside, but the gears were dry. I added a generous amount of axle grease inside before I pop-riveted them back together.

I get it that they want to make them cheaply, but when they are using the torque of the lid opening and closing against the stops it will be only a matter of time before the pot-metal gives...
Good luck! When the gearboxes become available again I will buy spares!

 

[Jerryr]

I just took all three of our rain-sense Max Fans apart to clean and grease them. Here's what I found...

If they are remote control with auto open/close than they are doomed to fail eventually. A geared motor turns the shaft at the bottom of the gearbox that actually open the lid. When the circuit board senses that the travel of the cover has bottomed out either up or down it stops the motor. The gearbox itself is a cheesy affair that has to pot-metal case halves and a pot-metal worm driving a pot-metal geared cam that rotates the lifter shaft.

The two case halves are swaged together in 4 or 5 places by mushrooming the through-studs. I easily got them apart by drilling out the studs. I found a small dab of very thick grease inside, but the gears were dry. I added a generous amount of axle grease inside before I pop-riveted them back together.

I get it that they want to make them cheaply, but when they are using the torque of the lid opening and closing against the stops it will be only a matter of time before the pot-metal gives...
Good luck! When the gearboxes become available again I will buy spares!

The newer operators now have 2 screws and nuts holding the case together.

Here are pictures of old style and new style.

 

[dryfly]

I just took all three of our rain-sense Max Fans apart to clean and grease them. Here's what I found...

If they are remote control with auto open/close than they are doomed to fail eventually. A geared motor turns the shaft at the bottom of the gearbox that actually open the lid. When the circuit board senses that the travel of the cover has bottomed out either up or down it stops the motor. The gearbox itself is a cheesy affair that has to pot-metal case halves and a pot-metal worm driving a pot-metal geared cam that rotates the lifter shaft.

The two case halves are swaged together in 4 or 5 places by mushrooming the through-studs. I easily got them apart by drilling out the studs. I found a small dab of very thick grease inside, but the gears were dry. I added a generous amount of axle grease inside before I pop-riveted them back together.

I get it that they want to make them cheaply, but when they are using the torque of the lid opening and closing against the stops it will be only a matter of time before the pot-metal gives...
Good luck! When the gearboxes become available again I will buy spares!

So do you think it would be better to just forget using the motor to open the vents and just go back to opening the vents manually by twisting the knob?

Looks like planned failure. I have one right now that has failed but I still got one month on the two year warranty.

 

[fez111]

I know this is an old thread but I need to vent...Pun intended!

Our 2016 Solitude 379FL came with three Max Fans, but none in the front living area. Climbing the three steps into the front living area you could feel the wall of pent-up heat that accumulated there. Because of this we bought a forth unit and installed it ourselves, tapping into one of the dozens of 24 volt wires in the attic. It has been working nicely since that time.

By 2021 all four rain sensors were becoming oxidized and unreliable. Deoxidizing did not help so we opted for four new Max-Air covers. We use our Solitude for about 6 weeks of camping and 4 months in Florida each year. the bathroom and front living area fans get, by far, the most use. After two summers of vacations and almost two winters in Florida, the bathroom vent gearbox literally broke into pieces in Late February, 2023. I found two new ones (Panther RV) that, even with shipping, were still $10 cheaper than Amazon.

But... 4 weeks later the one in the front living area shattered its gearbox as well! This one already had the two screws holding it together. So much for my spare gearbox! Is there a built-in time limit or cycle-counter for these to know when to fail?

These gearboxes are a very simple, inexpensive design, but designed to fail nevertheless! The motor drives the cover open until the cover bottoms-out against the hard stop or the bottom of the Max Cover if there is one. When it closes it bottoms-out against the seal. Both up and down, the motor is mechanically stalled-out so the circuit board can read the high current draw caused from the 'stalled' motor, then it turns off. Is there any way to reduce the torque-set-limit on the circuit boards?? I didn't see any means f making adjustments.

These gearboxes are constructed out of the cheapest, softest 'pot' meal I've ever seen. Dropping one on a cement floor could easily cause the entire assembly to shatter. Both of mine required time to collect all of the shrapnel inside the fan unit.

I would GLADLY pay more money for new steel gearboxes that are robust enough to take the strain of stalling-out the motors while opening and closing. Does anyone know of a source?