Fabulous Operating Products

WolfWhistle · 03-22-2015, 07:39 PM

Added the Fabulous Operating Products SAM-1 range hood upgrade. It is everything they say and more. On low speed (3 speed) it draws more air to the outside than the old hood and you can barely hear it. On high it really moves air. The LED light is a major improvement, as well; having a bright setting and a low like a night light setting. The damper opens and closes from the inside. It is made in the USA by a small company. I saw it in Trailer Life.

If installed on a Ventline hood, it is easy and the instructions are for this brand. However, on the Heng it isn't easy; some metal work involved. For the faint of heart, it might be better to buy the Ventline then upgrade.

Almost makes me want to cook something on the stove!
__________________

Ashley · 03-22-2015, 09:59 PM

Very glad to hear this report. I had actually just placed an order for one this past week and am looking very forward to receiving and installing it. Your report is exactly the results I was hoping to have too.

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

DRiveWell · 03-22-2015, 10:23 PM

I also ordered the kit last week and received it Saturday. TT is put away until the weather warms up a bit before I start installation. Getting ready to get going again but 2 inches new snow on the ground with another couple by morning here in Minnesota. Looking forward to the improvement.

Jack Compton · 03-22-2015, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolfWhistle

Added the Fabulous Operating Products SAM-1 range hood upgrade. It is everything they say and more. On low speed (3 speed) it draws more air to the outside than the old hood and you can barely hear it. On high it really moves air. The LED light is a major improvement, as well; having a bright setting and a low like a night light setting. The damper opens and closes from the inside. It is made in the USA by a small company. I saw it in Trailer Life.

If installed on a Ventline hood, it is easy and the instructions are for this brand. However, on the Heng it isn't easy; some metal work involved. For the faint of heart, it might be better to buy the Ventline then upgrade.

Almost makes me want to cook something on the stove!

__________________

I also saw this product review in Trailer Life. May I ask how long it took to install? Where did you get one?
Regards,
JAck

B and B · 03-22-2015, 10:31 PM

I bought the first one sold at Goshen last year. It works great and does the job quietly! Worthwhile upgrade! The nuts on the Pancake motor where loose, i tightened them and added looking notches in the threads.

WolfWhistle · 03-23-2015, 09:25 AM

To answer a couple of questions and note that or B and B. First a response from the company owner, Larry Milks (I have no affiliation, just a happy customer)

"You can order on line through Scott Nehoda using: RVVent.com website then hit the SAM1 hyperlink. Scott does business through PayPal.

I do not offer range hoods but have purchased Ventline hoods (the absolute easiest to convert) on line that we converted for testing, prototypes and displays. Many discounted scratch and ding models are available but Ventline series B, PH, SO and T are also out there new. You're looking for the exact width, depth, height and color to convert and reinstall under cabinet. Depending on the year and model, some Heng's are reasonable to convert, others tough.

If you go through the installation pictures on our web site; Home, you'll see probably the toughest Heng's hood we converted that had almost 40 spot welds we cut to get to the original hood that we easily fit from there. A auto body spot weld cutter does a nice job but you should come up with an extension for it to make life easiest. Virtually any hood can be converted to SAM-1 but one should plan on an unrushed half to full day installation. Hoods with monitor panels require a Dremmel tool to properly cut opening and fit our ventilator.

Clint, any questions or issues contact me direct by return email, phone 1-810-969-4450 or cell 810-441-2633 any time (I'm on an eastern clock)."

It took me slightly less than 4 hours, but part of that time was getting silicone off the outside of the camper and working with a hole cut by FR, that was over an inch too large. Also, the Heng model I started with is nothing like the one in the picture; so there most be a lot of models out there. I am sure the range hood I have must be the poorest made, which made installation harder than some. I do recommend looking at the installation instructions Larry suggested.

And like B and B suggested, I also checked fasteners, but didn't think to add lock-tite.

Thanks,
Clint

Jack Compton · 03-23-2015, 11:03 AM

Hi Clint,
Thank you very much! I do have a ventline hood so I ordered the Sam-1 upgrade. I bought it on rvvent.com. They asked what color exterior grille and had to go to storage lot and look before I bought. There are 2 colors, white or black for the grille. I'll have to paint some of the grille to match my exterior. I called Fabulous Operating Products and talked to Larry. I found out he was one of the original owners of Fantastic Vent. Sounds like a good pedigree for the Sam1.

Regards,
Jack

wbdvt · 03-23-2015, 07:03 PM

I purchased the SAM-1 and received it today. However, since it was 14 deg when received, still snow bound and camper still covered, it will be a while until I can install it. Not sure what model vent hood I have.
Looking forward to improved results where the smoke alarm does not go off when making toast!

stevendhoffman · 03-30-2015, 01:12 PM

My brother and sister in law installed their SAM-1 in December. They leave it running non-stop with the light on low unless they are cooking. The motor is so quiet you cannot hear it running unless it is on medium or high.

Ashley · 03-31-2015, 06:40 AM

As stated above, when this thread started I had just ordered a SAM-1 Range Hood Upgrade Kit by Fabulous Operating Products. I originally heard of the kit through a post somewhere here on this Forum and began researching it as the loud and obnoxious range hood fans in our current and previous travel trailer had always been almost intolerable.

I emailed the company with a few questions and one of the owners promptly emailed me back the next day, answered my questions, gave a little more insight into their operation and suggested a couple different vendors I could purchase one through.

I decided to order through Bud's Trailer Center in Burton, Michigan. Very polite and helpful vendor, would definitely purchase through them again. Ordered on the 20th and received on the 26th. Total cost including tax and shipping was $210. I know, some people are probably thinking that is a lot of money for a fan and light kit, but if it makes it where you can actually hold a conversation inside the RV while the fan is operating it is well worth it.

The Range Hood Kit was packaged well, looked well constructed and installed easily. My vent hood apparently is one of the ones that it fits best, as I did not have to do any metal fab work. I will say the weight difference between the original "Tin Box" and the new one was dramatic. I would bet the new one weighed four times what the old one did.

It took me about an hour to complete the installation which was fairly straight forward. I did not change my outside vent cover as I preferred the style on my RV already versus the one that came with the kit.

When I first started the fan I immediately realized my $210 investment was well worth it and I knew my Bride would be pleased when she heard it. The LED light strip is very nice and bright too. I love the three speed option of the fan. As far as noise from it, I would not go so far as to say you can not hear it run on low speed. But, the amount of noise from it is more what I would expect and consider very acceptable for a fan to accomplish its job in this application.

I did attempt to perform noise level test before and after the installation, which I realize are in no way scientific before someone starts getting all technical and such. I just wanted someway to try and see what difference there was besides me feeling good because I spent money on an upgrade.

Using a Decibel App on my Iphone I took ambient noise level readings without anything running inside the RV and kept getting right around 38-40 db. (Like I said, I understand the accuracy of an Iphone App for measuring sound pressure is not ideal) With the original fan unit the readings were 78-80 db. After installing the SAM-1 I had 57-60 db readings whether the fan was on low, medium or high speed. All of the readings were taken with the phone laying next to the stove top in the exact same location.

So, bottom line is I found a 20 db noise reduction, have a very, very happy wife and would highly recommend this Range Hood Upgrade Kit to anyone who has one of the obnoxiously noisy OEM fans that you can't talk over inside the RV and the neighbors three sites down can hear from the outside.

wbdvt · 03-31-2015, 10:49 AM

Ashley - thank you for the report. Even thou the db meter on the iPhone may not be entirely accurate for precise measurements, it was good enough to provide an objective measurement that did show a level decrease.
In sound measurement, near silence is 0 db and a sound 10x louder is 10 db. A sound 100x louder is 20 db due to the logarithmic function of the decibel. I will use the iPhone decibel app to measure before and after the install.
I did get into the camper today and verified I have a Ventline so install should be fairly easy.

WolfWhistle · 04-01-2015, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbdvt

Ashley - thank you for the report. Even thou the db meter on the iPhone may not be entirely accurate for precise measurements, it was good enough to provide an objective measurement that did show a level decrease.
In sound measurement, near silence is 0 db and a sound 10x louder is 10 db. A sound 100x louder is 20 db due to the logarithmic function of the decibel. I will use the iPhone decibel app to measure before and after the install.
I did get into the camper today and verified I have a Ventline so install should be fairly easy.

Each 3db doubles the power, but we aren't talking watts; rather sound or in this case noise. And thanks Ashley!

Bell Labs came up with this easy logarithmic way to measure or calculate sound through a media, such as air or wire; loss through the transmission, actually. It is a ratio to power in to power out; zero isn't the absence of sound, but a reference or staring point. In the telecom world we consider the characteristics of the human ear; call it dba and state 1000hz at 1mw is 0db. With noise, in the air, it is a bit different.

The average home is about 40dbm... rustling leaves 10dbm... a jet at take off 120dbm. So the jet 12 times or 120 times louder than the leaves... no. Its a trillions time "louder".

From the old fan to the new one what does a reduction of 20dbm mean.

So Ashley your 40dbm might be a bit high if nothing is running in the trailer. The 80dbm from the old vent sounds slightly high, this would be about the sound in a closed car on the interstate, The reduction in noise to the new would make that about as loud as normal conversation. Which means the old fan would be competing with actual conversation, but moving away from the new one, there would be no competition to what you might be listening to.

Placing the "meter" on the counter, if you did, could cause higher readings. It should be around head height and farther way, but if it was the same for all three tests, it might be a good comparison.

The new fan producing 50dbm is believable, but not registering a higher reading with the new fan on high; not so much. I would think 60dbm in high would still be good.

So, the issue becomes how to interpret the numbers. 20dbm difference would indicate to me that the noise was reduced to a point around normal converstation from one more like a closed car on the interstate. It is quieter on high as the old one was running and it moves more air on its low setting. A good product for sure.

wbdvt · 04-13-2015, 07:10 AM

Just to followup....I did the install of the SAM-1 over the weekend and here are some notes.

The unit replaced was a Ventline so the installation was very straightforward and followed the instructions and pictures closely. Some relevant notes:

1. Install time was 1 hr 20 min as I took my time and also had to get a vacuum to clean up sawdust on the top of the hood unit.
2. I would suggest that a note be added to the instructions to turn off the 12 Vdc when doing the install. Even though a shock hazard does not exist for 12 vdc, an arc can be created if the hot lead touches anything metal that is grounded. An arc can also be created if wire strippers contact metal while stripping the insulation.
3. I did not install the new vent cover. The reason is that the supplied screws are silver and I would prefer black headed screws as that would be a more aesthetically pleasing installation. I will either paint the screw heads black or find black screws to use for that install.
4. I have a sound level meter app on my iPhone. While not precisely accurate, it does show a measureable sound level change between the original fan and the SAM-1 fan.
· Original Fan 72 db
· SAM-1 Fan on low 58 db
· SAM-1 Fan on medium 60 db
· SAM-1 Fan on high 62 db
· Background was 48 db
5. The other noticeable improvement was in airflow. With original fan, the outside vent flap would barely open about ½ in. With SAM-1 on low the outside vent opens as wide as it can, about 1.5 inches.

Overall, I am pleased with the installation and operation of the unit. I will be camping the week of April 27 so that will be the first “field testing” of the unit.

WolfWhistle · 04-13-2015, 07:55 AM

Short followup: I washed my trailer Saturday and realized how open the FOP provided outside vent is to allow water to get in. So, I went back to the original outside vent the Toyhauler had. It like a scoop with the open end facing down (sorry no pics) I did remove the flapper, to give a little more air flow. You would have to run a hose up under the lid to get water in there even without the flapper; plus the FOP vent has a manual flapper with the handle inside.

Ashley · 04-13-2015, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolfWhistle

Short followup: I washed my trailer Saturday and realized how open the FOP provided outside vent is to allow water to get in. So, I went back to the original outside vent the Toyhauler had. It like a scoop with the open end facing down (sorry no pics) I did remove the flapper, to give a little more air flow. You would have to run a hose up under the lid to get water in there even without the flapper; plus the FOP vent has a manual flapper with the handle inside.

That was exactly my concern too and why I chose to leave my factory outside vent cover in place. The outside vent provided with the kit is the one weakness I personally would say they have, other than that I love mine and am very satisfied with the upgrade. Glad to see I wasn't just over thinking their design of the exterior vent.

wbdvt · 04-13-2015, 08:12 AM

Excellent point on the vent. I am going to leave the original one on with the flap in place. Used to unlatching and latching it so not a big deal.

WolfWhistle · 04-13-2015, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbdvt

Excellent point on the vent. I am going to leave the original one on with the flap in place. Used to unlatching and latching it so not a big deal.

This is what OC did as well. And, he ripped the flapper out, too. It could be fairly difficult to get the "duct" outlet to fit into the outside cover without removing it, and one might need a helper.

B and B · 04-13-2015, 08:48 AM

I have the original vent as well, about to rip the flapper out as well.

wbdvt · 04-13-2015, 02:54 PM

My concern with ripping out the flapper would be that without some sort of screen it could become an insect nest area, especially if parked for awhile without any use. Imagine being outside, relaxing in a chair near the vent, and DW turns it on and a swarm of bees comes out!

OldCoot · 04-13-2015, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbdvt

My concern with ripping out the flapper would be that without some sort of screen it could become an insect nest area, especially if parked for awhile without any use. Imagine being outside, relaxing in a chair near the vent, and DW turns it on and a swarm of bees comes out!

The unit comes with a vent shut off that is operated from inside. No need for the outer flap.

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