Small stuff deterioration

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Has anyone used spray paint to reduce the UV affect on the rooftop plastic plumbing vents and the outside kitchen stove vent hood? Ours are about ready for replacement and prudence suggests it might be wise to protect the new ones before they are installed.

Kurt & Ann K.

[Chester Taje]

On previous FG units that I have had' i did switch to metal roof vents etc. The plastic one just don't cut it as far as i am concerned. They just kinda breakup from sunlight.

[Frederick L. Simson]

The plastic one just don't cut it as far as i am concerned. They just kinda breakup from sunlight.

I noticed something weird on my Fiber Stream.
Not long after I bought it (in 2004) something knocked the cap off of the black tank's plumbing vent on the roof. I went to my local RV parts supply store and bought a universal fit replacement; the kind with the metal prongs that grip the inside of the vent pipe, and went merrily on my way.

I recently replaced both plumbing roof vent caps with RV 360 Sanitation Vent. They work amazingly well.




When I took the old caps off, the plastic of the oldest one was still in like new condition. The newer replacement cap was very deteriorated. I think the chemical composition of the plastic was different between the 2 fittings.

[Charlie C]

The original vents on the Casita were a polyethylene material which breaks down quite quickly in the sun. I had to replace mine, the new ones I used are made of an ABS material which is much more stable. I did paint them with one of the paints made for plastic before installing them.

Here is another link to vents topic

Here is a link to the different Vent Caps you can get. As I mentioned above, I preferred the ABS caps (VentLine in the middle of the page #62334) for better durability. The Camco ones at the bottom of the page are the type of material that Casita installs.

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Chester,
I've been considering switching to the metal ones, but would probably paint them also. The outside kitchen fan vent cover has also begun to deteriorate but I've not discovered any metal replacements.

Charlie,
Good point about using paint particularly made for plastic. Maybe even one of the small cans used for painting models would work. The kitchen vent cover isn't yet as bad as the roof vents, so perhaps paint might save it.

Fred,
I've looked at that style vent and saw them on a Casita at a rally. Esthetically, they didn't look right to me. The scale somehow seemed too large for the front location on a Casita. I actually had one in my hands at an RV repair shop and it seemed like it would be very functional. The design has been around for years, made of sheet metal and used on fireplace chimneys which are subjected to strong prevailing winds.

Thanks for your ideas,
Kurt & Ann K.

[Per Walthinsen]

When I installed Elixir mini-vent No. 3 I decided to paint it since they had all faded to some strange ochre-yellow, desert-dust color.

Krylon "Fusion" 2320 Gloss White. This is meant to be used on plastics and requires no sanding or priming. So far I like how it turned out, and adhesion to the plastic appears to be excellent.

A plus is that the vent can be recoated in place with little trouble, if needed.

[Gina D.]

I have considered painting my fantastic fan vent for no other reason than it lets in too much light and my little 4 legged alarm clocks react to it in the morning.

I have used a rustolium plastic paint on fiberglass, actually. In my 13. It held up very well.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Fred,
Esthetically, they didn't look right to me. The scale somehow seemed too large for the front location on a Casita.

I haven't been too fond of their size either. They're too tall to allow the trailer under a 9' door now.
However, Robert has a super sensitive nose, and he reports a vast improvement in odor control.

[Donna D.]

Here's a company manufacturing an aluminum powder-coated directional vent cap and it comes with a two year warranty:
Xtreme Vents

Okay so it's $49.99, but it's not going to disintegrate like a plastic one since these are mounted on the roof where the harsh UV rays are the worst.