I am completely happy with the ease of install and the thoroughness of instructions.Two hours from start to finish.My attic in the hot New Mexico sun went from 160 degrees to 92 degrees in three hours and has not been above 95 degrees since.My recommendation is if you do not have one get one!
by
DIY
Verified Purchase
Recommended
20 found this review helpful
Jun 19, 2018
So far, very good. Has a lot of air pull...
So far, very good. Has a lot of air pull to it. I think the supports brackets around the doom need to be a stiffer and stronger to protect the dome from severe weather. It Needs a string blue led light light pointing to ground on unit showing u fan is running vs climbing in the attic
by
Verified Purchase
Oct 4, 2017
This is my second. First one didn't work at all although return was easy. New fan barley turns at...
This is my second. First one didn't work at all although return was easy.
New fan barley turns at all. Will change out for hard wired power vent. Will return current fan asap.
by
Response from CustomerServiceOct 4, 2017
Hello Bob, we apologize for the problems you are having with your solar powered roof vent. Please call our customer service department at 1-800-433-1626 and we will be happy to troubleshoot this issue with you.
Verified Purchase
Aug 1, 2017
Not heavy duty
The vent works and installs as advertised. It is not Texas/ Dade county certified for a reason....light weight flimsy construction.
by
Recommended
Jul 26, 2017
3 Star Review
Rating provided by a verified purchaser
by
Verified Purchase
Apr 21, 2017
4 Star Review
Rating provided by a verified purchaser
by
Verified Purchase
Apr 11, 2017
It did not remove enough air. Fan moves very ...
It did not remove enough air. Fan moves very slow.
by
Verified Purchase
Dec 8, 2016
Stopped working after 7 years and then started leaking after 10 years. Not very durable.
Stopped working after 7 years and then started leaking after 10 years. Not very durable.
by
Sep 8, 2015
perfect
very easy to install, only 30mins. can't beat that, no leaks, runs great.
by
Pro
Verified Purchase
Recommended
2 found this review helpful
Jul 29, 2015
worst purchase ever
this item came with no instructions and no way to connect the motor to the panel without drilling a hole in the fan. the fan does not put out any more cfm's than fans half the price.
by
DIY
Verified Purchase
3 found this review helpful
Jul 21, 2015
Go Green
Product was well made. Did not flow as much air as I expected . Very dependent on un blocked sun light. Would not work well if you had a lot of tall trees near your house. Also has hook up for extra solar panel .I guess that would increase the fan speed. Missed that when reading info. Overall product looks and works like it should. Just does not get the airflow like a wired fan will do. But does not cost anything to run. For now sunlight is free.
by
Verified Purchase
Recommended
3 found this review helpful
Aug 6, 2014
product review is good
havent tested it yet. but roofers say its good to go
by
Verified Purchase
Recommended
1 found this review helpful
Jun 10, 2014
design & execution lackluster
We needed two fans for our roof, and possibly more for another building so bought a 25-watt fan from Home Depot but another manufacturer, and this Ventamatic 12.6W in order to compare.
In general there was lack of quality in design and assembly of the Ventamatic. First, there were no signs of damage to outer shipping or inner cartons, yet out of the box, when rotating one of the fan blades hit the surrounding cylinder. We moved the outer end of one of the struts or supports so that the cylinder could return to round. This was careless positioning when assembled but it should not have shipped with such an obvious defect. An assembly jig would prevent this defect.
Second, the welded wire cage beneath the dome, to keep out birds and bugs and sparks, was a good 1" short of covering the gap because of the way it rests on the supports. Design problem? Wire cage cut too short? Skimping on materials?
Third, the plate bars intended to hold the solar panel at an angle are ill-designed. The ends are cut at right angles but need to fit into what is a long narrow trapezoid between the horizontal base and the tilted panel. There are many combinations of upper and lower bolt holes simply impossible to use because the corners of the bars force the hole in the bar above the hole in the base. Did anyone even try this? The user will need to either drill new holes into the bars, base or both, or trim the corners of the bars to bevel, or substitute other supports.
Fourth, unfinished sheet metal edges make it unpleasant to work with. The dome itself has a rolled edge but nothing else was rolled or ground after being cut. Presumably the unit is only handled once or twice in its life so I understand the lack of finish but overall impression is of careless design and execution.
We could have returned the unit for the first defect but the other three are inherent. And we had the holes in the roof, the tools and weather to proceed.
EXCEPT
the quality of the crystals on the solar panel was a bit better than on the other model.
A caution: we did not understand from the web page that the wiring between the panel and the motor MUST run through a separate hole in the roof. There is no provision to run it up through the unit, even when placing the panel directly on the dome.
In operation the Ventamatic "warbles", is higher pitched and I can hear it three rooms away. The other model is more quiet; I can hear that it is on but it does not draw attention.
In the mornings, for about twenty minutes the fans can cycle on and off as the temperature bounces around, at least that is our hypothesis. Another dollar in thermostat electronics could add a better threshold? In the evenings the fan cuts off due to sundown even though the thermostat is still calling for power and we do not notice the cycling.
p.s. I have tried two computers, three browsers to upload a photo but always times out.
by
Verified Purchase
10 found this review helpful
Jun 1, 2014
solar fan has stopped working
this solar fan has stopped working what would cause this
by
2 found this review helpful
Aug 21, 2013
good
bought one of these when they was on sale would buy another one if they would drop their price back down
by
Recommended
2 found this review helpful
Aug 13, 2013
VERY QUIET
Works very well, I am using it to vent a storage closet that houses 3 deep freezer and a under counter fridge. They put off a lot of heat and I was worried about there long time performance so I purchased and installed the exhaust fan to help vent it. During the day it rotates at a high rate and really sucks the heat out. At night it doesn't move as there is no sun. I would purchase the dual power unit if I could do it again.
by
DIY
Verified Purchase
Recommended
3 found this review helpful
Jul 17, 2013
Featured quiet working parts and easy installation
Had a little trouble at the store as ordered two of the solar vents and supposedly only one arrived but the telephone online customer service specialist stayed with us for over 45 minutes searching for our order to find that the manufacturer had sent the item with a different product code number and our item had been at the store the entire time. Thanks to that young man for taking the time to research and find out "missing" item that was definitely not Home Depot fault.
by
DIY
Verified Purchase
Recommended
6 found this review helpful
Jul 9, 2013
Great and ease to install
No electrical wire to install, no increase on the electric bill. this product work great on my attic and look good on my roof.
by
Pro
Verified Purchase
Recommended
3 found this review helpful
Jun 5, 2013
Works as advertised
I installed this unit on a beach cottage on the Maine coast, works well keeping the place cool during the day and allows for great air exchange. Survived some significant winter storms and is working great this spring. Did have to fabricate a sheet metal cover for the solar panel for winter shut down. Overall a great product
by
DIY
Recommended
3 found this review helpful
Mar 19, 2013
Easy install and mostly quiet operation
The product is very simple and not necessarily an attractive piece of machinery. It's definitely something I wanted out of street view. Once installed, they have been mostly quiet and when I poke my head up in the attic to check them when the sun is out they do get quite a lot of air moving. My only gripe so far is that when the level of sunlight changes and the fans spin down a bit, there's an accompanying high-pitched vibration that sounds like a semi truck is braking down the street. It's only heard when the house is silent, but is annoying nonetheless. I don't think this is the best quality, best-assembled product, but it does the job of ventilating the attic which until it gets really warm out, we won't be able to tell how much good it does, but my attic needed more ventilation regardless, so overall I'm happy.
by
DIY
Verified Purchase
Recommended
5 found this review helpful
Sep 25, 2012
Customer service from ventamatic is great
Works great...as stated in company literature...install was simple...good documentation with product
by
Verified Purchase
Recommended
3 found this review helpful
Aug 22, 2012
Cooled my attic off very well
I have a single story 1950 sq foot home with a large attic. Apparently when my roof was replaced a few years ago no vents (other than the soffit vent) were installed. My attic normally would be like a sauna during the summer months (I'm in Austin, Texas). After having two of these installed, on opposite slopes of the roof, my attic at 4:00pm is just WARM. It's significantly cooler than it used to be. I can actually breath while up there and it doesn't feel unbearable.
by
Verified Purchase
Recommended
9 found this review helpful
Jul 17, 2012
Overall a great product
I was a little concerned initially when I opened the box as the unit seemed sorta flimsy...the hood mounts didn't seem adequate to hold the weight of the hood and the hood mounted solar panel. Once it was all installed, it was fine and seems to be withstanding the weather, wind, etc.
I had a roofing company install the until while putting on a new roof. It only took them minutes to cut the hole in the roof and mount the unit. I can see how it would take a bit longer to install on an existing roof, but still seems very do-able for a do-it-yourselfer.
I connected the solar panel and ran the power cord to the fan motor. Very straight forward.
The unit works really well with direct sun. The amount of air it pulls is surprising for a solar powered unit. It even works with clouds.... albeit the fan motor runs slower, but it's still pulling warm air out. The motor runs very quiet and it can't be heard...even when just a few feet away while on the roof next to the unit.
All in all, I'm happy with my purchase and would recommend this product to others.
by
DIY
Verified Purchase
Recommended
14 found this review helpful
Jun 20, 2012
great product
easy 2 install, if u r replacing a eltric type, check the diamator, bcause u may can leave the old flashing. Then want have 2 mess with the sealent of the roof. But still not a problem 2 install. Its will pay 4 its self n time, so its like money n the bank.
by
Pro
Recommended
8 found this review helpful
May 11, 2012
Good Product
I own a home repair business, and have installed this unit on my house (actually installed three on my house) and customers'. I like the fact that the solar panel is adjustable, so you can aim it in the direction desired. And yes, it will not work without sunlight. Even cloud cover will not allow enough light to power the solar panel, but that's OK, because we are concerned about radiant heat.
by
Pro
Recommended
13 found this review helpful
Mar 4, 2012
No installation instructions shipped with unit.
Unit with mounting hardware shipped, but no installation instructions. Impossible to determine how several pieces of hardware are to be used for installation.
Can't make a recommendation on what was shipped.
by
5 found this review helpful
Nov 29, 2011
Excellent product at a good price
Nice looking solar attic vent unit. Installed with a new roof, so mounting was not a problem in this case. Solar panel mounts either on unit or separately.
Unit was cost less delivered than unit from Costco!
by
DIY
Verified Purchase
Recommended
6 found this review helpful
Oct 24, 2011
So Far So Good,
Creative install to vent a cathedral ceiling. So far so good. Also wired it to a manual overide switch to keep it from running in the winter.
by
Verified Purchase
Recommended
11 found this review helpful
Sep 20, 2011
solar attic power vent
This product is great, not so much for 1800 sq ft as advertised, but install two and combine the solar panels for increased efficiency, and it dropped the temp in my 2100 sq ft attic by 40*f. Well worth the purchase price as the cost is better than other distributors. Delivery was quoted 5-7 days, I received in two!!!
by
DIY
Verified Purchase
Recommended
25 found this review helpful
Sep 6, 2011
Pretty Effective
Moves a lot of hot air out of the attic on sunny days, however, even a few clouds slow the unit way down, nearly to a stop, moving no air. Overall, our A/C unit does run less in the summer, which was the reason for the purchase. Noticably cooler in the attic as well.