I recently purchased Northern Breeze (NB) and FantasticVent (FV) vents (see above table for models and specs.) for my 86 18 foot Sunrader. I installed the NB in the vent hole over the kitchen area. I purchased it to replace my newly purchased FantasticVent which I moved to the bathroom vent. The reason I took out the FV was because it only offers a 3 speed fan control where as the Northern Breeze has a variable speed control. I wanted a slower speed than the slowest setting on the FV. I was very happy I made the choice! The speed can be set so slow that you can barely hear it running in a dead quiet forest. 

Installation:

Both come with easy to understand and complete instructions

The NB has a metal roof flange where the FV has a thick plastic flange. With the NB you must supply the putty sealant and screws for the flange where as the FV comes with screws and a foam gasket. I found that if you apply sealant around the edges of the FV too soon escaping air from the compressed foam gasket caused the sealant to have little bubbles which I had to later pop and reseal. Both fit in a 14"x14" opening. Both come with a trim package that must be cut down because of the shallow roof thickness of the Sunrader. Cutting this trim is probably the second hardest part of the installation. The hardest part was getting 12 volts dc to the fan. I used the existing pre-wired 120 volt ac wiring for the roof top AC. First though It had to be disconnected from my converters 120 volt ac side circuit breaker. Once I found the wires and disconnected them I pig tailed some stranded wire to the cable and reconnected the wires to an empty fused 12 volt dc terminal on the converter. NOTE: IF YOU HAVE ANY SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT DOING THIS TYPE OF WIRING CONSULT AN EXPERT!!! I might also note here that the FV has a fuse holder accessible on its faceplate, The NB has no fuse and the instructions suggest installing an inline fuse. Since I used an empty fused terminal on my converter I did not install a fuse. When I first installed the FV I switched fan directions with out turning off the fan and the fuse blew, luckily I had an extra lying around.

Operation:

The NB took some getting used to. In automatic mode the vent opens and closes itself according to how the thermostat is set. If you do not want it to close you have to turn the thermostat to its coldest position or turn off auto mode. In manual mode there is a switch for manually closing it or you can use the hand crank. In full auto mode the vent will automatically close itself and shut off when the thermostat is set and the rv temperature reaches that setting. I find that great as during the day at home I set it and it opens during the day and closes at night. The rain feature also works in auto mode but not manual. It got tested in the mountains when a thunder storm dropped some rain, all of a sudden it activated and the vent closed. About 15 minuets later it opened back up on its own. The fan itself is incredibly quiet, much quieter than the FV. The FV seems to have motor noise that I can hear as opposed to fan noise.

I can not compare the auto and rain sensor features of a FV as the one I bought only is the manual with a thermostat.

The FV can be closed faster than the NB. The NB when using the crank knob also turns the closing motor and it does not go fast. Auto mode closes slow too but its just a touch of a button or the twist of the thermostat knob. I found it easiest to just turn the thermostat till it automatically closed and shut off. Then I switched it to manual mode. One strange thing, if you slide the fan speed control to off and change the direction of the fan when you turn the fan back on it takes a few seconds for the fan to restart. This NB is controlled by a microprocessor, the FV full auto versions may also be controlled that way.

Overall the NB suits my need better because of the variable speed fan. The FV's three speed does not allow for a really slow speed which I prefere. I also like the idea of NB's metal flange as opposed to the thick plastic one on the FV unit. I also like the quieter motor of the NB.