The MaxxAir fan is a good performer for van life. But it has a FATAL FLAW. Can it be fixed? Yes. 

I agree that Maxxairs are incredibly unreliable in the environment in which they're intended. I refuse to use Maxxair in my builds BECAUSE the one I had fried *three* motherboards on a *regulated* DC circuit @13.2vdc. I was an electronic technician for years, and whoever designed that should be fired. I use Fantastic, instead. No problems. Just as quiet. Agree about the conformal coating - again - in a VERY humid environment, it's criminal to not be properly protected with conformal coating. You can fix them, I suppose, but these two things, so BASIC in the use of these fans makes me doubt any other part of the design.

The fan regulator info was great, but I stayed for the Little Rascals. 😃😃. Thanks for the flashback. Seemed to be a much simpler time.

Your videos are always informative. Thank you for being so clear and concise.

love that Ron took notes the whole time!!! When you guys commit, you commit!

George: Loved visiting the new Research and Development Laboratory. Of course, after years of watching Humble Road episodes, I was already familiar with the Mad Scientist that runs the place.😵‍💫🤔🥰

I have been researching this for so long. Your post has been the definitive answer to all my questions. Thank you.

Nice to have this neatly in one video. Back in the day I had to scour multiple forums and do testing myself to figure this out.

Ordered one from your Amazon link. Thank you for all your knowledge.

Thanks for doing these tests George..had a Mutherboard crap out two years ago in the heat of Florida. Replaced it and did the conformal coating thing. Haven’t had a problem since, but I’m gonna add one of these for peace of mind. Thanks for the links!

Learned soooooo much! My MaxxAir pooped out and now I know why❣️🌝🙏💖

Loved the old movie clips.. thanks for the info🚎

Thanks for doing the research and the Amazon link. I have bought a lot of the items for my van build using your Amazon links, I appreciate your time and research on the items. I have a fan 7500 that is 2 years old that constantly gives me the dreaded green light of FU when I use the fan. Always a thumbs up 👍.

Its so great you did a video on this. I almost purchased that model until I saw this issue in a number of reviews. Such a simple oversight on their part. Glad they are fixing it. I went with an older version fan (with the manual knob).

Thanks for a trip down memory lane! ❤️ Our Gang.

It's such a good idea that I bought a second one for my Isotherm 85 fridge, just in case! Thank you for your videos and concern for build safety and craftsmanship. Well done!

Great solution to the problem, but I love your guy with the clipboard in the back

GEORGE: LOVED the video and seeing my favorite "our gang" show ❤💪. Your wit, ingenuity and taste is impeccable... Father Healy or Shaw taught you well....😊

My van came last week, today is Day 1 of my build and after a year of watching you, George, I've decided to take her on myself! I've watched the floor videos more times than I can count!

Thank you for the video! We used your link to get the voltage under control and fix the fan in our little Casita travel trailer.

These clips and humor make this better than the Sunday Comics! So cute those kids! Little Rascals I believe is the show. This is a great fix, George. I was going to buy a Maxxair Fan and this saved the day. Thank you for a wonderful video!

I added one for my LED lighting setup for the same reason, I am lucky that our fan motherboard is still alive and that you posted this video. Thanks for sharing George.

Hi RV Doctor Love is in the Air, every .... Thank you for making RV life a better and less worried place to be. A bit unsure about your assistant who seemed to like hanging out with you..... 😉

Thank you!!! The “green light of death” drives me crazy.

I had the same problem with my MaxxAir fan. Three years ago I installed a voltage regulator on the line to the fan, and I have had no issues since.

Thanks again, I had thought a regulator was what I needed and when I saw your instagram testing it I bought one (sorry before the affiliate link) it has solved the issue for me as well. Thanks again George, you set the standard high and I appreciate your thought processes and content.

Our Gang Comedies/The Little Rascals. You put a big smile on my face this morning. As always, a great informative video.

I love the band. Keep them coming

The same voltage regulator is also needed (and in use) for our 4G router. It works perfect.

Makes me happy with my old school fan

Good Morning, George and HR fans! Another helpful one, for sure.

George, my 5ft 1in wife would disagree with you about the need for a remote on our Maxair fan. She is not a climber. Happy wife, happy life!

My fan came with the hand knob and remote control... Another issue in the past has been the clear plastic bulb-lens. For some users it has collected H20 from condensate, so drilling a tiny weep hole in the bottom of the lens fixes that too.

As usual great video George! Darn it! I wish I would have known about your amazon link, I ordered a Maxx Air fan last week from Amazon. I will try to remember to order the rest of my Van build components through your link in order to help support and to show thanks for sharing your knowledge! Also because of your video, I had to go and find that full clip of the Submarine band! LOL! Thanks for bringing back some fond memories!

Thank you for this video, I have a new 4 speed maxxair that will only run on speeds 3 and 4 on shore power but works fine on all 4 speeds just on battery alone. I called maxxair who sent me out a new motor and control board which does the same thing so im going to give this a shot. Thanks again Great info!

George, thanks for being a big help to me twice now. I just installed those small regulators and it is so good to have my fans back! I guess I was lucky the boards weren't too far gone; the regulators seem to fix 'em. I also used your magnet idea for large panels that need to remain removeable but are not opened very often. Super stuff- love your informative and entertaining way of working!

I love the thermostat. I leave my fan on that setting 24/7. Never had my fan, 6 years old, die. The two things I regret about it are the remote is very cheap and they don't offer a cover which slides off horizontally.

I just recieved my replacement board after making a warranty claim 6 months ago...I'll be sealing the PCB with CRC Urathane Seal Coat and installing the voltage regulator you recommend. Thanks for the video!

I just installed one, I used a stabiliser to keep the power at 12volt.

Great info as always George. Had exactly the same problem with my fans before the accident. Just bought two new fans for the new truck conversion. Despite the promises that the problem has ‘been fixed’ I’ve just ordered two regulators from your link. Like you, I’m a belt and braces guy! Thanks for sharing all the research you do! You are a fantastic asset to the community!

Great info tainment George

Thanks George. I have the fan with the remote. Had trouble with it years ago but connecting for a while and disconnecting the power solved it. Now go forward 6 years. Just went other day to connect the power and the board blew. Puff. Done. Fortunately when I had the trouble the first time I called them under warranty and they sent a new board which I still have in the box. So I just ordered the small transformer and that spray. Once they come I’ll be dismantling my unit and swapping the board within your new design. Hopefully that will solve it. It is so strange that they would have this problem. I never noticed the voltage limitation when I installed. 13.6. That’s no where near enough. My agm battery needs 14.6 to charge. Clearly they must assume rv voltages never exceed 13.6 which just isn’t the case. Even an a vehicular situation it is not unusual to have 14.1 volts in the electrical system when alternator is wide open charging. Someone clearly wasn’t thinking. Probably the new board they sent me is fine. But I’m with you. Belt and suspenders. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. I’ll regulate the voltage for the fan. Thanks again. I was going to do this research myself. Thanks for solving it for me.

Welcome to the Humble Road university of how things SHOULD be done. Thank you to the distinguished Professor

I've got a 24V battery with a step down converter (13.8) running my fan, among other items. No issues after 2 years.

Thank you for the flash back memories ♥️

"the horse has already left the barn" true that. fool me once. thanks for this info!

Our back fan has this issue. We just reset the fuse but it’s maybe once every few months. Not a big deal but something I need to address if we sell the van. Also can’t agree more with installing manual only. The remote is another thing to lose and If you can’t open the fan with your hand good luck with the road! 😆

Classic and such great memories. Baby Spanky era was the best. Wow thanks for the sharing the fan info. I wonder if the regulator fixes the problem with other brands

George, Great video. I think you're right on track with your new R & D lab. If you ever want to expand, please consider Denver, CO. I'd love to work with Spanky and all the guys. Mike

I had a conversation with Maxxair today about my failed motherboards (I have one fan that had the MB fail twice on it, and I have it on regulated power). They are sending me a new fan because they told me that the MB failure is likely due to a MOTOR problem, not the voltage problem that most people blame it on. He said they had a brushed motor in there that would accumulate the carbon from the brushes and then it will essentially draw too much power through the MB, eventually leading to the MB failing. Essentially it was a design flaw in the motor that has since been corrected. So not all issues are due to overvoltage! That is the first lesson. They believe that the V3 boards (which started shipping out starting in early 2022) resolve that issue. The second lesson is that the boards ARE CONFORMAL COATED. It isn't a thick, goopy coating, but they are coated. He did say that if you do coat the board yourself, you will void the warranty on the fan (or at least the board) because you could get it on parts that shouldn't have it, and it could goop up the contacts, etc.

LOL As you said, "and how," I immediately thought of The Little Rascals--and then you supplied a sample of that show! It's like I was programmed to respond with that image in my mind as if I was some kind of Manchurian Candidate. ♥ I think the fan company really lost the bubble on this. I wonder what percentage of their products have encountered such issues. You'd think they would have rushed to fix it.

Came for the fan... Stayed for the band! ☺️

I purchased mine in 2016. It ran without issue at least until July of 2023 when I sold the van. I'm looking to buy another for my camper.

Thanks for sharing this information.

Regulated power is good for the long-term health of any and all motherboard situations that will find their way aboard a Humble, Road vessel, of any kind.. Sounds prudent. Any dedicated electronics charging-station locations in the cabin would do as well having one of those little regulator babies tucked away somewhere…

I came over to the comment section because I normally just watch on my TV. I came in to say - voltage regulator - but everybody beat me to it 😂

The MaxxFan are quiet… when new. The graphite brushes in the motors chew through the copper contacts pretty quickly and get used themselves. I had to open mine to clean it up to stop the uncannily cricket-like squeaking. Not sure how long until it will come back, but the copper was already almost half-way gone so I bet I won't get more than another year or two (4 total) out of it. I bought a spare motor (US$100, ugh) just in case, short of finding a brushless plug&play replacement. As for the voltages, as you might know the new "C" series boards (in stock at eTrailer, backordered at AirExcel) allegedly have no problem with Lithium-level voltages, but like you I installed buck-boost 12V regulator to be safe… too bad it was after having my first broken board (out of warranty of course). In my case, I elected to bypass the board and have a reversible controller directly wired to the motor. So now I have a nice dimmer on the wall, infinitely adjustable from 0 to 100% with a switch to choose direction. 😎

Ah my Maxxair 7500 died in August; the motherboard. I found one new board after checking with several Aircell service centres. Board has been backordered from manufacturer for months now, one of the service centres told me. I have ordered the voltage regulator off your Amazon link and will treat new board with Silicone when it arrives. Old board lasted 31 months but warranty is only 24 months. Hopefully with the George Mods I will have many trouble free years of use.

Yes. The motherboard models with the #3 in them are, based on communication with AirExel, are now made to operate up to a higher voltage. Another issue is moisture gets into the unsealed motherboard and causes it to crap out after a few years and this has still not been addresses. Owners are disassembling and resealing the motherboards themselves with the sealants you showed.

One can add a low-dropout V regulator to the supply line on the logic circuits. The motherboard ucontroller is what is sensitive to the over-voltage. The fan motor is fine with higher voltage. Your solution is fine, tho, as most people won't mess with the Mboard.

I have the same maxxair fan and it is wired using the voltage regulator that you recommend. My fan still beeps and shuts off sometimes. So far it has always worked again.

Thanks Spanky

Heads up George: silicone sprays are a big problem if you are doing any painting. The silicone mist can cause serious adhesion issues and they are used in carefully controlled areas in many types of critical manufacturing. Consider creating a lab type hood when using the spray.

We instaled many of them with lifepo or gel bateries and had never single problem with them at all. maybe there water of humid got into the maxxair but we never had problem. Running 14.2V in van system

Miss the Rascals. Bringing me back.

You said Frankenstein and I immediately imagined the actor the great Peter Boyle growling as the Monster from "Young Frankenstein" :o)

Good to know

I don't know how to thank you enough for this info. I am installing two maxxair fans now, and the timing for this info couldn't be better. Thank-you George for sharing!!!

And How..... 😆 I knew reference right away..... didn't realize how old 49 really is lol 😅

Came for the fan ... became a fan of the band.

Thanks!

Wow great job figuring that out!!! I have had this problem since upgrading my solar panels to (3) 360w panels. Middle of day and the fan will not function. Could this be a problem for a lot of these crappy 12 volt products? I swear after watching this it has to be the fan problem as well as my instyconnect internet router kicking off, and even the inverter itself kicking off midday.

HI! Thanks for the helpful video -- It will probably be even more helpful to my son because he's my do boy :D just wanted to give thnaks and gice you a headsup that the Amazon link to the MaxxAir Fan is no longer working in case you'd like to fix your affiliate link -- thanks again!

I just added some 20 amp diodes to mine to drop the voltage.

♥️…you mad scientist, 😂

Great review from a pro who's produced a lot of builds. Excellent work.

I am installing 2 MaxxAir fans. One like you show here today the large fancy two way model and a dome fan replacement for one not working in a 22 year old Class B+ RV bought this past January. Will the Dome fan came without it's extra items. No instruction, no interior trim piece of cover for side installation and no extension tube if needed. Even the fan blades themselves were not attached and rattled around under the dome cover. So until I work out this issue with SELLER I'm not installing either fan because I wanted it to be a one day job for both and as few trips onto the RV roof then. Anyway had a kick with your Video but more important talking to heart your controller theory. While I am stuck waiting on the bad seller to set it all right I'm going to look into your products used today. I have some silicone spray and two kinds. One may be a good match or I'll look at buying your recommendation. Good video and FUNNY too. However I did want to HEAR that band actually play some music.

Highly recommend putting in a DC/DC stable voltage regulator. I purchased one on Amazon that went from any voltage and regulated it down to 12 volts I've seen videos where they put them in the fan but that's a pain I put it right next to my fuse box My fan wasn't working for the longest time I tried this before replacing parts and it works great.

Love it! Thanks for sharing. Like 972

I’ve saved your affiliate link, and any associated products that I later bookmark separately get an HRL (Humble Road Laboratory) approved notation added to the bookmark.

I bought a max air fan and it would only run in one direction right out of the box. I waited several months to get a new circuit board,-they kept saying the parts were stuck in customs, stuck on a ship, or on a train. Finally after about 4 calls I told them I wanted a entire new fan, and the board showed up about a week later. New one works great so far.

I wouldn’t suggest driving with the fan shroud open. We’ve had one break the raising mechanism while driving.

And then she sold it 😂 just a cheap 5-24v voltage regulator should do it. That big one has the heatsink because it's able to regulate higher amperage or a larger difference in voltage. But mainly the amperage. We are only knocking down a few volts and a small amount of amperage, 4 amps ish I think.

Been dealing with this for 6 months finally got that new board circuit board FedEx and delivered today and still this fan is not right very disappointed with the max air fan

🤔 It would seem that Maxx Air, being aware of these limitations, would/should do these factory manufacturing fixes to preserve their reputation for quality/reliability. 😎

I love your videos! They're always educational and entertaining, and how! What movie is that at 3:30?

I agree with you that the manual option is a better way to go , for me I usually leave the vent open all season and close it up when the weather starts to get cold . I have a question about these fans. Could I turn the fan on and off from a switch I add located near my sitting location ? I guess I need to know if the max air power switch will stay in the on position so I can turn it off and on with my added switch.

Yup. I put 2 in my rig last summer and they have both quit working. I sent a message on their website - no response.

There’s always some dude watching over things. Thanks for your contribution to a goofy Sunday morning.

Looks Like It’s the End of the Road for the Ram ProMaster City. Perhaps the 1500 ProMaster may be a good fit.

I’ve discovered that the material covering the membrane buttons are prone to cracking. I presume it’s due to heat. Mine started cracking one year in. Materials were pre-covid.

My Maxx Air Maxxfan 7000K (with lift motor and remote) purchased almost 2 years ago has been running great with voltage as high as 14.4V when the battery is full and solar panels are topping off continuously. I have 2 running with no problems. My primary complaint is the air doesn't flow straight down from the fan. The air flow practically hugs the ceiling. Very strange. That's not why I put the fan over the bed. I had to buy another countertop fan to have air blow on me while I sleep. For what it's worth, the 7000k also has a "knurled knob" that can be used to open and close the lid if the motor fails.

Had a thought about 8020 and your name came immediately to my mind (maybe because i have watched all the videos 😂). I was going to put a rock and roll bed into my VW Transporter as a seat bed.. but wondering if you know has something ever been made out of 8020 - re its a seat, then is easily transformed into a bed?

Lots of people tape off the IC and a few other components on the board before coating with conformal to keep good heat radiation afterwards. Another weakness is the fan motors they use are junk.

I spoke with Tech Support at AIRXCEL about both these issues. Regarding voltage: They said the PCB board can handle a voltage range of 10.3V-15V. They mentioned sometimes a spike from a solar charge controller can occur. That, plus high voltage from lithiums, can bump it over 15V and start to cause issues. To avoid, they suggested to put in a regulator and set at optimal voltage of 12.9V. I'm not sure if the PCB could always handle this range and I did not think to ask if/when a breakpoint occurred. What month/year did Melissa communicate her fan issue? Regarding moisture: They mentioned they were aware of this issue and started adding a coating on the PCB board in 2017 to address this issue. Have you seen this failure on fans with a manf. date after 2017?

I had to replace a motherboard on mine too... it totally crapped out

Is it possible to use two 12 volt computer fans ? One facing in and one facing out to eliminate use of Max air fans.

Thoughtful, as always. Curious why not the Fantastic brand of fans? At one point, circa 2015, they were considered superior.

WTF! I'm still waiting for the band!

Why in the Sam Hill does a fan need a "mother board"?? How about making a fan that turns on and off, end of story. Good old fashioned simplicity lol. When I reach out to have Humble Road build my van.....manual as much as possible. I don't want to have multiple tech issues going on all over the place lol. I REALLY appreciate the simplicity of these builds. Seems like every other manufacturer of RVs has some sort of stupid "tablet" to run systems on. Give me toggle switches, manual light switches, etc. I don't want to have to update an iPad to turn on my heater, or run my lights. 😂

The hunble road lab reminds me to Blendtechs "will it blend?" Advertising. BtW will a Max Air Fan blend????