MB-BOB

Has anyone seen an aftermarket Sunroof Fan for the C-Class? I'm talking about a small fan that mounts in the "tilt-up" sunroof (between the tilted-up roof glass and the inner shade) that pulls air out of the car at rest on those hot, sunny days in the parking lot at work.

I'm told that Audi has a solar cell-powered system on A6 and higher models. I would like to find a similar system in the aftermarket. I leave my sunroof tilted-up, and I think it helps some, but it doesn't circulate air itself.

Thinking about building one, but a ready-made system would be better than any Rube Goldberg contraption I could divine.

Any thoughts, links, etc., appreciated.

Lynn

I bought a similar thing several years ago. It goes over a window and then you rasie the window. There is a small solar array and a fan. Using it right now, as a matter of fact. I got it at Sharper Image or Brookstone.

MB-BOB

Yes. Looking for that kind of deal, (I've seen those) but one that uses the sunroof instead of a side window. Does your side window unit seal the whole window, or does it leave parts of the open window exposed to rain entry? How does rain affect the unit?

I can leave my sunroof in the tilted-up position and rain never intrudes, even when parked with the nose facing slightly downhill.

Lynn

It doesn't seal the whole window on the Mercedes, although it did on the 280z. The gap is only about 3/8". I haven't noticed any water coming in. If the wind were blowing from the right direction, it would but not so far.

KOMPRESSORnSC

I swear I've seen this on an MB. I can't remember where though. Does the solar panel option on the E class Panorama have the cooling fans at the sunroof, too? Maybe that was where I saw it?

MB-BOB

I've looked at both Brookstone and Sharper Image websites without luck so far.

Lynn, can you post up a pic of your unit, when you have time, please?

Edit: By "unit" I mean your fan unit... :o Thought I'd better clarify before tommy catches me.

tifosiv122

LMAO

Erik

oggle

LOL the mod has a sense of humor after all!

I'd be interested in one of those fans too on the sunroof. I have a feeling people will be tempted to mess with one if it's visibly on the window.

MB-BOB

Exactly. Passers-by might be tempted to play with something like this, but if it's in the sunroof, it is more out-of-reach... not worth the effort to reach over, etc. Just a hunch.

I have some PC Fan motors that are pretty quiet and compact. But they are 12 volt. Does anyone know what size of solar cell array would be needed to power 12V? Ideally the solar cells would be small and compact, but I have a guess that a 4" square panel would put out less than 12V.

Lynn

The solar array and fan are inside the window.

I feel this thread is just a ploy by MB-BOB to get me to buy a digital camera. It won't work. There are more important things to spend money on.:o

mdp c230k

Take a look at this thing http://www.brandsonsale.com/solar-car-fan.html

Lynn

Mine is similar. Not as stylish as that one, though.

MB-BOB

Hmmmmm. Busted again.

revstriker

I knew someone that had a fan like that from Brookstones. I remember them saying that it did lower the inside temp a bit, but not really that much.

Thankfully, we have covered parking where I work.

tifosiv122

My friend had one of those...we did a test.

We put the RadioShack wireless Temp gauge sender in the car and the reciever in the house.

On three consecutive days last year (relatively same temp too) we placed the unit in the car (one day with the fan on, the other with no fan, the last with just the windows open a crack)

The results were something like:

Nothing - 115 degrees
Fan - 105 degress
Window - 110 degrees

It does something, just not a lot, and just cracking the window open a bit does something as well.

Erik

tifosiv122

This is the unit we used...its great, but there are cheaper ones...I want to mount sensors all over my engine bay, but I think they will melt.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=63%2D1030

Erik

nevide

ok ok so what does this solar fan do again? Didn't get me.

revstriker

It blows the air from the inside of the car to the outside. The purpose would be to remove the heated air from inside the car (greenhouse effect) while replacing it with air from the outside. However, I don't think it circulates enough air to bring the temperature down to the outside air temperature. In other words, the air inside the car is increasing in temperature at a faster rate than the fan is replacing it.

IMO, The higher the outside temperature, the less effective these fans would be. The temperature here is normally in the high 90s, and often over 100 during the day. A parked car in the sun could easily have inside temperatures in excess of 140-150. ~Steamy~

nevide

ohh.... I see now.I think those shiny shades should work a lot better.