A few days ago there was a question from member Kandharry about how to get the Automatic Fantastic Fan with rain sensor to open the cover at a less than fully opened position.
I was curious about doing this as well, and also if the fan would operate with the cover partially open, so I just spent a little time fooling around with it. Here is what I found.
Method #1. The fan will not operate using this method.
Warning!!! Because the wall switch is in the off position with this method, the cover will not close automatically if it starts to rain.
With wall switch in the off position, pull straight down on the black knob of the fan unit until it clicks, then turn it counter-clockwise until cover is open to the desired position, then push the knob straight up until it clicks (you may have to turn the knob slightly to get it to go back up). When you want to close the cover, push the wall switch 3 times in quick succession (Auto>Manual>Off) to the Off position, the cover will now close by itself.
Important!!! If you forget to push the knob back into the up position and then use the wall switch, the motor that opens and closes the cover will run forever and ever, doing nothing, even if you turn the wall switch to off. It will just run and run until you push the knob back up. Not a good thing.
If you are so inclined, you can leave the knob in the down position as long as you don’t use the wall switch, and manually close the cover with the knob, but I wouldn't recommend it, to me, it is just easier and safer to click the knob up and close it with the wall switch.
Method #2. The complicated way.
If you want the rain sensor to function ( ….and to have the fan run, or not run)
Press the wall switch to Automatic, wait until the cover opens all the way and the cover motor stops,
after the cover motor stops, pull straight down on the black knob until it clicks, turn knob clockwise until cover is at desired position, push the knob back up until it clicks.
(Warning!!! If you forget to push the knob back up, and it rains, the motor will run forever, but the cover will never close.) In Auto mode, the fan will run as normal, according to where the thermostat is set. If you don’t want the fan to run, just set the thermostat all the way to 100 degrees. If the fan is running constantly in auto mode, you probably need to open the cover all the way, or switch to AC!
You can also use the wall switch to go into Manual mode and select whatever fan speed that you want.
To close the cover, use wall switch to select the Off position.
If it rains, as long as you remembered to push the knob back up, the cover will close automatically. However, when it re-opens, it will do so to the fully opened position.
Method #3. Now for the easiest, safest, least complicated way!
The rain sensor and fan work the same way as in #2.
After observing the cover opening all the way several times, I noticed that when it reached full open, the motor seemed to strain and work hard, then stop. I figured that what shut it off was torque load, and not a limit switch. This led me to method #3.
As in method #2, use the wall switch to select Automatic or Manual mode. As the cover is opening, when it gets to where you want it, reach up and grab the spinning knob and just hold it from turning. Don't pull the knob down at all, just grab it and stop it from spinning. Et voilà! That's all there is to it.
You can also stop it while the cover is closing, but this may pose a problem with the rain sensor function. If the unit "thinks" that it is already closed, it may not try to close it any further when it rains on the sensor strip. I'll see about that tomorrow and report back.
***UPDATE 3/13/09*** The statement above holds true. If you stop the knob from turning while the cover is closing, the rain sensor
will not function!
Hope this helps eliminate some confusion about how to use the Fantastic Fan with the cover partially opened!
I suppose all of this info is in the fan manual, but who ever reads those things! Besides, Kandharry couldn't figure it out by reading the manual, so I figured why bother reading it myself.
P.s.
Just thought about it, and there are probably a bunch of different Fantastic Fan models, so, "your mileage may vary"! The above info is what worked on the fans installed in my '09 3605RL Montana. If you have older or different fans, these instructions may not work with your fans.
Linear Mode
