I've been denied entry to Thailand - Now What ! ?

[Phil Conners]

The ones i've seen were all aluminium, not stainless steel.

[yankee99]

The ones i've seen were all aluminium, not stainless steel.

Are they aluminum or galvanized tin same as the rain gutter material? I think the later.

[Phil Conners]

Hm not sure tbh. They were very very light.

[yankee99]

[fakename]

Thanks for the photo. This is one of the places where I visited, and seems to be the best. The other places didnt seem to really understand much of anything, especially the extra angle piece. Made the rounds today, and there are actually quite a few of places that sell whirlys, but most didnt have a clue about the angle, and seemed like they didnt really know about installation. The fins on the whirly are alu, but the top piece and the bottom are galvanized. The extra angle is also galvanized, and the whole thing sits on a fiberglass flange.

I think if the whirly isnt vertical, it will start to wear, and start to squeak, so the angle is important, even if your roof isnt so steep.

Maybe we should give him a big order, and get a discount, since through this thread, he will get a lot more business!

[tuffy]

Pauljones: If you don't mind, did you do the installation of that fan? Where did you get the fan?

Naam: you kinda did something similar, right? A "whole house" fan that you turn on in the am to draw the cool air inside.

I had a guy come out to give me a quote. He said my roof wouldn't support the whirlybird. I have a steel beam installation. Oh well....

i have a whole-house fan, an attic fan and a few ceiling exhaust fans Craig. each of the tree types has a different function.

-the whole-house fan is used in the very early morning hours to replace all inside air with fresh air within a few minutes. during the cool season (outside temp <25ºC) this fan is run for several hours (~04.00 till sunrise) not only for cool fresh air but to cool down inside walls and floors.

-there is the attic fan which has only one function, namely to get rid of heat in the attic.

-and i have, beside the exhaust fans in the bathrooms ceiling exhausts fans (low wattage ~30w) which run day and night in three rooms because these are the rooms in which the ruthless, good-for-nothing not health-minded husband of my wife smokes Marlboros and Habanas

Naam: Could you describe your whole house fan system? I like the sounds of it.

[jbrain]

Maybe we should give him a big order, and get a discount, since through this thread, he will get a lot more business!

Be careful, asking him for a quantity price will require him to think and calculate, and my experience in Thailand is that in such a situation the price may rise. Edited October 7, 2012 by jbrain

[Prairieboy]

I had 2 whirlygigs installed at 3000 baht each, the best money every spent.

My neighbour came in this morning & commented on how cool my home was, he has 2 being installed tomorrow.

He was charged 7000 baht but is happy,

Cheers

so they do work well even if your roof is not insulated or was your roof insulated?

ventilating the attic is something positive and not dependent on the roof insulated or not.

p.s. spraying the lower side of the roof tiles with foam is a fruitless undertaking and nothing but a waste of money and those who claim that it made their homes cooler suffer from hallucinations. the foam does not prevent but only slows the build-up of heat in the attic. at peak temperature times (13.00-15.00 hours) there is no difference which can be measured (as opposed to ventilated attics).

it is also worthwhile to mention that a "Whirly Bird" works efficiently only when driven by a breeze or wind.

Spray foam combined with proper cross ventilation should keep the attic at or near exterior ambient temperatures. A Whirley Bird, as you refer to them, should react to the hot air rising from the attic - not necessarily reliant on wind - although they would spin faster with a breeze.

Edited October 7, 2012 by Prairieboy

[wpcoe]

A comment about the "whole house fans" that sit in the ceiling of the upper floor of the house: they are not quiet, by any means.

I have a house in S.California with such a fan and normal conversation is difficult while the fan is running. I recall asking about the noise (and vibration) problem with someone on a Thai online forum -- maybe it was even here with Naam? -- and they said their fan was noisy, too.

That's not to say don't get one. Just don't think it's something you'll turn on and let run all day long.

With California houses built to strict insulation codes, my house apparently is almost air tight. If we switch the fan on without opening a door or window open, it creates quite a suction. When it was installed, the installer warned us to have a door or window open before switching the fan on, to avoid possibly burning out the fan motor from the strain. One time, I intended to crack the front door while the fan was on because we had not opened a door or window, and the door slipped out of my hand and slammed open.

[Naam]

I had 2 whirlygigs installed at 3000 baht each, the best money every spent.

My neighbour came in this morning & commented on how cool my home was, he has 2 being installed tomorrow.

He was charged 7000 baht but is happy,

Cheers

so they do work well even if your roof is not insulated or was your roof insulated?

ventilating the attic is something positive and not dependent on the roof insulated or not.

p.s. spraying the lower side of the roof tiles with foam is a fruitless undertaking and nothing but a waste of money and those who claim that it made their homes cooler suffer from hallucinations. the foam does not prevent but only slows the build-up of heat in the attic. at peak temperature times (13.00-15.00 hours) there is no difference which can be measured (as opposed to ventilated attics).

it is also worthwhile to mention that a "Whirly Bird" works efficiently only when driven by a breeze or wind.

Spray foam combined with proper cross ventilation should keep the attic at or near exterior ambient temperatures. A Whirley Bird, as you refer to them, should react to the hot air rising from the attic - not necessarily reliant on wind - although they would spin faster with a breeze.

of course the "Whirly" reacts and spins with hot air rising. but without being driven by a breeze the gadget blocks the hot air flow to a certain extent. that was my point and that is what some people don't seem grasp.

and let me repeat: spraying the roof tiles with foam is a waste of good money! the foam (or any insulation) belongs on the (attic side) ceilings.

[Naam]

I have a house in S.California with such a fan and normal conversation is difficult while the fan is running. I recall asking about the noise (and vibration) problem with someone on a Thai online forum -- maybe it was even here with Naam? -- and they said their fan was noisy, too.

that is correct. a whole-house fan is not meant for continous operation but...

the whole-house fan is used in the very early morning hours to replace all inside air with fresh air within a few minutes. during the cool season (outside temp <25ºC) this fan is run for several hours (~04.00 till sunrise) not only for cool fresh air but to cool down inside walls and floors.

[Naam]

Naam: Could you describe your whole house fan system? I like the sounds of it.

there is not much to describe. the biggest problem to overcome is where to place the fan. i have a single story home and didn't want the fan to exhaust into the attic (too much resistance) because of huge airflow. so i placed it in a side wall but at an angle to minimise the vertical opening. fan is belt-driven and has a diameter of ~90cm (36").

Edited October 8, 2012 by Naam

[tuffy]

Naam: Could you describe your whole house fan system? I like the sounds of it.

there is not much to describe. the biggest problem to overcome is where to place the fan. i have a single story home and didn't want the fan to exhaust into the attic (too much resistance) because of huge airflow. so i placed it in a side wall but at an angle to minimise the vertical opening. fan is belt-driven and has a diameter of ~90cm (36").

Thanks for the info, I am getting ready to build a house and would like to incorporate this into it. I still like the idea of going into the attic to cool that down as well but I will have to look into it more.

[pauljones]

My old house had the same system as Naam only mounted in the ceiling, blowing into the ventilated attic.

Yes, very powerful noisy and the doors and windows will slam shut all over the house when turned on.

On the hottest days, I recall we ran it all afternoon to create a breeze.

[yankee99]

Do they sell and install these in Thailand?

[Naam]

Naam: Could you describe your whole house fan system? I like the sounds of it.

there is not much to describe. the biggest problem to overcome is where to place the fan. i have a single story home and didn't want the fan to exhaust into the attic (too much resistance) because of huge airflow. so i placed it in a side wall but at an angle to minimise the vertical opening. fan is belt-driven and has a diameter of ~90cm (36").

Thanks for the info, I am getting ready to build a house and would like to incorporate this into it. I still like the idea of going into the attic to cool that down as well but I will have to look into it more.

to ventilate the attic i installed a separate fan, virtually noiseless because it has to run daily for a number of hours.

[Naam]

My old house had the same system as Naam only mounted in the ceiling, blowing into the ventilated attic.

Yes, very powerful noisy and the doors and windows will slam shut all over the house when turned on.

On the hottest days, I recall we ran it all afternoon to create a breeze.

i installed a whole-house fan in my first house (an elCheapo holiday home) in Florida. little did i know about U.S. building details. after a few hours of hard work i proudly switched on the fan and found out that the vents in the roof could not take the airflow and hot attic air was blowing out of all electrical outlets because the inside hollow walls were not closed on top

[Naam]

Do they sell and install these in Thailand?

you can get any fan in Thailand and it's not a problem to install especially when you have a home under construction.

can't find a good picture of my roof fan. it looks like this: