Solar vent-II: The cheapskate's revenge

Please recall that Ms. Bettencourt's forward cabin Nicro Day/Night solar ventilator packed in a month ago and that I am too cheap to shell out another $160 USD for a replacement. Instead, I trolled around the Internet until I found some ideas on how to fix it myself. Here are the results:

After extracting the unit's defunct motor and removing the push-button switch, I used a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel to slice the end off the motor housing.

The new motor ($8 plus shipping from an Internet vendor), is fitted with a collar sliced off and old sink drain pipe, then pressed into the motor housing.

It's a nice, tight, fit. You may click on a photo for close-up views.

My friend Paul, an electronics tech with steady hands, flips the unit and solders up connections for the new motor, the switch, battery tabs and the solar collector.

Insert the solar battery and button up the collector...

Flip the unit yet again, press the fan blade hub onto the motor shaft, push the "on" switch, and....


... the blur you see in the middle of this photo is the fan going around and around, just like fans are supposed to do.






A couple of dabs of glue around the motor housing will keep the motor and motor collar in place.

Small amounts of glue were applied judiciously to allow easy removal of the motor unit should it be necessary to install yet another replacement motor in the future.