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Air Vents

czechsix

czechsix

Well Known Member
Has anyone installed a nice quality aluminum air vent in the RV-14? There are several on the market to choose from different suppliers like Steinair, AC Spruce, and now Aerosport Products. Looking at the fuselage kit plans I see there's no SCAT tube connecting the NACA inlet to the eyeball vent on the -14 like there is on my RV-8A...the NACA inlet has a short tube molded into it that flares out and connects directly to the vent assembly. Looking at the offerings from Steinair for example, the 1 1/4" vent (http://www.steinair.com/storedetail.cfm?productid=311) will probably fit, but it's actually a bit smaller than ideal and Steinair says it's made to be mounted in a 2" hole. The Vans supplied bracket on the -14 has a 2.5" hole. The larger vent offered by Steinair (http://www.steinair.com/store.cfm?tlcatid=30) mounts in a 2.75" hole, but it also has a fairly long plenum that doubles as the retaining nut used to mount the vent in the bracket hole. The plenum is designed to connect a 2" SCAT tube, but looking at the RV-14 plans it appears that the plenum is too long and would stick out into the NACA inlet area. Maybe you could cut it off, but this vent might still be too large overall to connect to the NACA inlet assembly.

Then there's other options like the even more expensive vent from Aircraft Spruce (https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/largealumavblack.php). Spruce claims these are direct replacements for the black plastic whisperflo vents provided by Vans. My only concern besides the price is that they appear to offer more limited angular adjustment (25 deg) because the very large vent opening will hit the vent housing before you can move it very far to aim it where you want. This may not be a big deal but it's hard to tell without sitting in the airplane and trying it out. On a hot summer day I want that thing pointed straight at my face...

And then there's the recent announcement from Aerosport Products (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=132140). They look nice have a good introductory price, but are similar to the smaller vent from Steinair in that they are a bit smaller than ideal (fit in a 2 1/8" hole vs the 2.5" hole provided in the kit).

So...has anybody tried any of these (or something else) and found it to work well?

Thanks,
 
It sounds like these vents are the same as on the -10. If so, the smaller Stein vents work fine. Mount the vent to a piece of aluminum; use 4 screws/nuts to mount the aluminum to the nylon Van's piece.
 
I just built a new vent mount plate just like Van's supplied only with a smaller hole for the Stein vents. I also used machine screws and nutplates to secure it to the fuselage skin (rather than gluing it) so if I had to service the vent I could remove it.
 
Vents

Is there any benefit to the aftermarket vents other than the appearance and quality of construction? Aluminum looks better, but do the Vans vents work OK?
 
J Hartline said:
Is there any benefit to the aftermarket vents other than the appearance and quality of construction? Aluminum looks better, but do the Vans vents work OK?
Click to expand...

Not really. The plastic vents don't work well for us folks in colder climates as the don't close as tightly as the metal vents. Quality does matter and unfortunately, you pay for what you get.
 
czechsix said:
Has anyone installed a nice quality aluminum air vent in the RV-14? There are several on the market to choose from different suppliers like Steinair, AC Spruce, and now Aerosport Products. Looking at the fuselage kit plans I see there's no SCAT tube connecting the NACA inlet to the eyeball vent on the -14 like there is on my RV-8A...the NACA inlet has a short tube molded into it that flares out and connects directly to the vent assembly. Looking at the offerings from Steinair for example, the 1 1/4" vent (http://www.steinair.com/storedetail.cfm?productid=311) will probably fit, but it's actually a bit smaller than ideal and Steinair says it's made to be mounted in a 2" hole. The Vans supplied bracket on the -14 has a 2.5" hole. The larger vent offered by Steinair (http://www.steinair.com/store.cfm?tlcatid=30) mounts in a 2.75" hole, but it also has a fairly long plenum that doubles as the retaining nut used to mount the vent in the bracket hole. The plenum is designed to connect a 2" SCAT tube, but looking at the RV-14 plans it appears that the plenum is too long and would stick out into the NACA inlet area. Maybe you could cut it off, but this vent might still be too large overall to connect to the NACA inlet assembly.

Then there's other options like the even more expensive vent from Aircraft Spruce (https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/largealumavblack.php). Spruce claims these are direct replacements for the black plastic whisperflo vents provided by Vans. My only concern besides the price is that they appear to offer more limited angular adjustment (25 deg) because the very large vent opening will hit the vent housing before you can move it very far to aim it where you want. This may not be a big deal but it's hard to tell without sitting in the airplane and trying it out. On a hot summer day I want that thing pointed straight at my face...

And then there's the recent announcement from Aerosport Products (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=132140). They look nice have a good introductory price, but are similar to the smaller vent from Steinair in that they are a bit smaller than ideal (fit in a 2 1/8" hole vs the 2.5" hole provided in the kit).

So...has anybody tried any of these (or something else) and found it to work well?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

I have the small SteinAir vents in my RV-10. They work well. I believe the the Aerosport Products will work equally as well. SteinAir sells some of Aerosport Products. Perhaps they will sell these too?

My advice is to give both Geoff and Stein a call, ask your questions, and formulate a decision that works well for you.

In full disclosure, while many on VAF know, I don't work for Geoff, but I do assist with his web site.
 
Vans Vents

czechsix said:
Has anyone installed a nice quality aluminum air vent in the RV-14? There are several on the market to choose from different suppliers like Steinair, AC Spruce, and now Aerosport Products. Looking at the fuselage kit plans I see there's no SCAT tube connecting the NACA inlet to the eyeball vent on the -14 like there is on my RV-8A...the NACA inlet has a short tube molded into it that flares out and connects directly to the vent assembly. Looking at the offerings from Steinair for example, the 1 1/4" vent (http://www.steinair.com/storedetail.cfm?productid=311) will probably fit, but it's actually a bit smaller than ideal and Steinair says it's made to be mounted in a 2" hole. The Vans supplied bracket on the -14 has a 2.5" hole. The larger vent offered by Steinair (http://www.steinair.com/store.cfm?tlcatid=30) mounts in a 2.75" hole, but it also has a fairly long plenum that doubles as the retaining nut used to mount the vent in the bracket hole. The plenum is designed to connect a 2" SCAT tube, but looking at the RV-14 plans it appears that the plenum is too long and would stick out into the NACA inlet area. Maybe you could cut it off, but this vent might still be too large overall to connect to the NACA inlet assembly.

Then there's other options like the even more expensive vent from Aircraft Spruce (https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/largealumavblack.php). Spruce claims these are direct replacements for the black plastic whisperflo vents provided by Vans. My only concern besides the price is that they appear to offer more limited angular adjustment (25 deg) because the very large vent opening will hit the vent housing before you can move it very far to aim it where you want. This may not be a big deal but it's hard to tell without sitting in the airplane and trying it out. On a hot summer day I want that thing pointed straight at my face...

And then there's the recent announcement from Aerosport Products (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=132140). They look nice have a good introductory price, but are similar to the smaller vent from Steinair in that they are a bit smaller than ideal (fit in a 2 1/8" hole vs the 2.5" hole provided in the kit).

So...has anybody tried any of these (or something else) and found it to work well?

Thanks,
Click to expand...
Vans sells an aluminum vent that is a direct replacement for the plastic vent. I mounted it in the -14 with no modification. Part number Vent SV-6, anodized in clear or black $152.00
 
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Vents

M McGraw said:
Vans sells an aluminum vent that is a direct replacement for the plastic vent. I mounted it in the -14 with no modification. Part number Vent SV-6, anodized in clear or black $152.00
Click to expand...

I installed Van's as well and they look nice. Another builder pointed out that the prototype has the vent riveted on, not sure if they had an issue with the silicone, or what happened. You can tell it was done after the plane was painted, so maybe we will see a change come out.

2z8zrf4.jpg
 
Not sure but I think the prototype had the same style vent as the RV-10 has for the rear passengers. It's just a flap that swings out and in for closed. I would guess they adapted the hole for the NASA scoop. I used Proseal to install mine rather than silicone for painting reasons.
 
Correct.
The prototype originally had the push-open vents (ala RV-10 rear and RV-12).

It was retrofitted with the NACA vents so there were rivet holes from the previous vents that had to be filled with rivets. The vents have since been painted to match the airplane... it is now nearly undetectable that they were changed.
 
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