Which size vent should I get for an 8A?

[Steve Ashby]

OK campers, I need some sage advice. I am at the stage where I want to buy some air vents for my 8A project. The Vans vents look like they would leak more than a spaghetti colander. The Stein's vents look good, and besides, we need to support Stein since he has new medical bills. My question, however, is whether I should purchase the 1.25" vents or the 2" vents for my ship. I like a lot of air, but the panel space is a bit restricted. Are there any folks out there who have any experience with one or the other? Is there any real diff? Thanks.

[Steve Mills]

I am building an RV-10. I bought Stein's larger vents, and returned them for the smaller ones, because they were just too big. I think I will get plenty of air from the smaller ones, but not sure since I am not flying yet.

[Rick6a]

Originally Posted by Steve Ashby

..... I like a lot of air, but the panel space is a bit restricted. Are there any folks out there who have any experience with one or the other? ......

Steve,

I installed 1.25" aluminum eyeball vents in my -6A and personally....I find the design to put out plenty of fresh air. When closed, they are really closed with nowhere near the air leaks so common in the cheap plastic variety that Van's includes in the kits. I sometimes question the intent of those builders of the -8 series who install two of them...one on either side of the instrument panel. IMHO, that is overkill because just one eyeball vent will provide all the air the pilot will likely want....unless of course he actually prefers gail force winds blowing in his face. So satisfied, I upgraded to 1.25" eyeball vents for the -8 project. One in front and one in back. Anybody wanna buy 2 pair of Van's big black plastic vents? I'm told they are useful as defrosters. Make me an offer.

[dav1111]

You might give consideration to installing the Van's rear passenger air vents especially for the back seater. I have them on my RV-10 and the rear seat passengers love them and they don't appear to leak when closed and no significate drag.

My buddy and I just finished building an RV-8 quick build and we put them in on both sides for the back seater.

[MNRVFlyer]

Hi,

Go small. The 2" NACA duct plenum matches the back of the vent perfectly with 2" scat. Call/email if I can be of any help.

[ww2planes]

This is link to an auction on e-bay right now. You can save a fortune.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...173561343&rd=1

Good luck.

[grover]

I'm one of those -8 builders who installed 2. . one on each side of the panel. we take summer pretty seriously here, so I didn't want to wish I'd put in an extra one when it was easy. also, had an extra one of the small aluminum vents lying about. so it was an easy decision.

[Tom Navar]

Steve: I installed some 1.25 in. vents in my Skywagon, and really loved the airflow, but the noise was a bit too much, so I went back to the original vents. It seems that the larger diameter should produce less noise at the same flow rate, given a lower resistance to the passage of air. Of course this could be academic in an RV.
Tom Navar

[Ironflight]

I also have two of the small vents on the panel of my -8....I like having two because I aim one low, at my body, and one high, at my face. I can cut off the one at my face if it interferes with Comm (wind noise).And yes, they put out a LOT of air.

And as someone up above said, down here on the gulf coast, we take our summers seriously - without airflow, the -8 becomes an oven in less than a minute with the canopy closed and the sun shining on you....

Paul

[Steve Ashby]

Well, campers, thanks muchly for the valuable advice. Looks like I'm goin small with the vents. Even though I live in Hot-lanta, however, I think I will go with a single vent up front. I need to save my pennies for the engine. Once again, thanks a million for the input. What a brotherhood (and sisterhood, Roberta and Louise) we have here.
Cheers,