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Vent Upgrade-Owner feedback please

Pmerems

Pmerems

Well Known Member
Advertiser
I am considering upgrading my cockpit vents from Van's provide units. There are a few to choose from but I wanted to get input from those who have been flying with them for several years.

I have a slightly customized installation and a direct drop in replacement for the stock plastic ones is the easiest solution. However I recall some have had issues with some of the replacement vents out there.

I am considering the following:

Stein's Vents (Small)
Stein's Vents (Large)
Affordable Panels (Direct replacement for Van's) Clear Anodized
Affordable Panels (Direct replacement for Van's) Black Anodized*

*This has a plastic mounting plate as I understand it

None of these vents are inexpensive and I don't want to go through the trouble of installing a product that will not hold up.

Any user feedback would be great.
 
Pmerems said:
I am considering upgrading my cockpit vents from Van's provide units. There are a few to choose from but I wanted to get input from those who have been flying with them for several years.

I have a slightly customized installation and a direct drop in replacement for the stock plastic ones is the easiest solution. However I recall some have had issues with some of the replacement vents out there.

I am considering the following:

Stein's Vents (Small)
Stein's Vents (Large)
Affordable Panels (Direct replacement for Van's) Clear Anodized
Affordable Panels (Direct replacement for Van's) Black Anodized*

*This has a plastic mounting plate as I understand it

None of these vents are inexpensive and I don't want to go through the trouble of installing a product that will not hold up.

Any user feedback would be great.
Click to expand...

I have had a pair of Stein's small vents in my panel for about 500 hours of flight time across three years. Plenty(!) of air in the summer when wide open, and they close/seal well enough that I don't bother taping over the NACA inlets during the cold Minnesota winters.
 
I just put in one large stein on the bottom of my panel and it works great! It sounds like canopy is open from all the wind noise!
 
Stein's

2 Large Stein's vents living in Louisiana- lots of air when you want it- none when you don't and any amount in between. Smooth operation- I'd do the same next time.
,
 
Large Stein

Two large Stein vents. Two Alabama summers and 135 hrs - they work great! Smooth, stay where they are adjusted, close completely. Highly recommended.
 
Two of the black anodized direct replacement. 7 years and 800 hours of trouble free service. They seal tight when closed and bring in a huge amount of fresh air when open.
 
No comments on the Affordable Panels vents? They seem rather heavy at 11 ounces for the pair, but at half the price of Stein's vents, they certainly live up to the name of their vendor. In our case we need the 4-hole flange which Stein doesn't appear to offer. (I thought at one time he did sell vents with a 4 hole flange??)
 
Two large Stein vents flying over 100 hours. Not cheap but I'd do it the same way again. They leak absolutely no air when closed.

Be aware that the 2" SCAT hose doesn't directly hook up to the large vents without modification. I had to sand/grind down the lip on the rear cup that the eyeball vent screws into. As delivered, the lip was too large for the hose to fit over. Not a huge deal, easy to do, but something you should know.

Another option would be the aluminum vents that Vans sells. They are advertised as a drop-in replacement for the plastic ones. I don't know anyone who's used them though.
http://www.vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?ident=1439910814-58-393&browse=heatvent&product=sv-6
 
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Vents

I have Four of the "3275 Large Square" aluminum vents from Aircraft Spruce.
Two vents in front, two vents in back. They put out PLENTY of air even for here in the HOT Texas summers. They operate smoothly and close completely for the cold weather days.
 
You'll find the major difference between vents manufacturers is not how much air flows, but rather how tight they close and can prevent air from flowing. This is really important in the winter.

The brand Stein sells closes completely. Many of the competitor's brands don't.
 
i have these vans aluminum eyeball vents. great. closed, no air, open, lots of air. 540 hours and not broken yet.

krw5927 said:
Two large Stein vents flying over 100 hours. Not cheap but I'd do it the same way again. They leak absolutely no air when closed.

Be aware that the 2" SCAT hose doesn't directly hook up to the large vents without modification. I had to sand/grind down the lip on the rear cup that the eyeball vent screws into. As delivered, the lip was too large for the hose to fit over. Not a huge deal, easy to do, but something you should know.

Another option would be the aluminum vents that Vans sells. They are advertised as a drop-in replacement for the plastic ones. I don't know anyone who's used them though.
http://www.vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?ident=1439910814-58-393&browse=heatvent&product=sv-6
Click to expand...
 
Replacing VAN's vents; need some guidance please

Reading this string as convinced me to replace my standard Van's vents with two from Stein Air. Is there anything special I should know before I begin? Is this a straight change out or will I need to make some sort of special bracket or modify the panel in some way? I'd really like to see some pics of the Stein vents installed, and maybe event their installation.

Thank you in advance.

Robert
RV7
 
schaplerrh said:
Reading this string as convinced me to replace my standard Van's vents with two from Stein Air. Is there anything special I should know before I begin? Is this a straight change out or will I need to make some sort of special bracket or modify the panel in some way? I'd really like to see some pics of the Stein vents installed, and maybe event their installation.

Thank you in advance.

Robert
RV7
Click to expand...

I can't specifically answer your question, since I'm not familiar with vents on a RV-7. If the diameter is the same, you shouldn't have to modify your panel. Stein sells two sizes of vents. You'll have to validate which one comes closest to the size of existing vents. I suspect it will be the smaller size from Stein.

Vents can come with a variety of rear attachments. Many can accommodate a 2" scat tube. On my panel vents in my RV-10, I have about a 2.5" scat tube connecting my vents to the naca duct. But I also have an Aerosport Products panel, which the vents may not be in the exact location and the factory panel.

I would strongly recommend giving Geoff a call and taking him on his pre-web site sale. Ask him to explain what's different between his vents and his competitors.
 
Trade?

How about a trade? I have two alum black anodized swivel vents that are great and close completely for a couple of banners? PM if interested.....
 
I have owned and used all of these. (Vans plastic, vans aluminum direct replacement, stein small and large)

Any aluminum vent is way better than the plastic version.

If you already have the vans plastic ones and are not doing modifications other than the vents, the aluminum direct replacements are what I would go with.

If you are redoing your panel and don't want the 4 screws, then the stein vents are good. Large or small is your choice. You would think the large vents would have more air flow, but that is not my experience. The small vents seemed to have the same airflow but just faster air coming out. But this could be just a setup issue. Both were on the front NACA openings of my rv-6a,

I do like the clean mounting of the Stein vents. And that is what I now buy.
 
Canadian_JOY said:
No comments on the Affordable Panels vents? They seem rather heavy at 11 ounces for the pair, but at half the price of Stein's vents, they certainly live up to the name of their vendor. In our case we need the 4-hole flange which Stein doesn't appear to offer. (I thought at one time he did sell vents with a 4 hole flange??)
Click to expand...

Affordable Panels cut my panel 7 years ago when I built my -7A. I used their vents and they work great. Seal well when closed and plenty of flow when open.
 
I have 2 large Stein air vents in my plane. They work smooth and like all before they seal great during the winter and higher altitude flying.

I raised up the vents and they are half mounted in the panel but still use the side support that Van supplied for his. This keeps the vents from being low in the panel.

With this thought in mind I also do not have my headset jacks in the panel but mounted on the side spar cap. They have worked extremely well for 300 hundred hours since !0-26-2013.

Jack
 
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