Blade Vents Discontinued?

[NH_Bulldog]

The other day I saw a 2025 Cougar online and noted that it didn't have the circular diffuser "Blade" AC vents in the ceiling, but rather the old school fixed louvered vents. I did some more digging with some 360° views on the Keystone site and all the 2025 models I looked at do not have those damnable "Blade" vents. I wonder if Keystone finally got the message that they don't work and went back to the proven "technology"? Too late for me since I already went through and replaced all my Blade vents with the louvered ones myself, but good news for those in the market for a new RV!

[Stircrazy]

blade vents work quite well, IF they are properly installed and properly used. to install them properly most likely added a lot of time to that step of the production line so they didn't do it properly, like lots of other stuff when they build our units, and they probably realized because of this it was causing a lot of complaints and dropped them all together.

[workinonit]

Just curious how they can be installed wrong? Mine weren't "installed" wrong but they sure weren't adjusted correctly. But even when they are adjusted they still don't perform very well. I don't know if Keystone has stopped using them but if they have that's a good thing.

[Hokensalem]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

The other day I saw a 2025 Cougar online and noted that it didn't have the circular diffuser "Blade" AC vents in the ceiling, but rather the old school fixed louvered vents. I did some more digging with some 360° views on the Keystone site and all the 2025 models I looked at do not have those damnable "Blade" vents. I wonder if Keystone finally got the message that they don't work and went back to the proven "technology"? Too late for me since I already went through and replaced all my Blade vents with the louvered ones myself, but good news for those in the market for a new RV!

Could you please send me the info on the vents you used to replace the junk blade vents in your keystone.

[jxnbbl]

Originally Posted by workinonit

Just curious how they can be installed wrong? Mine weren't "installed" wrong but they sure weren't adjusted correctly. But even when they are adjusted they still don't perform very well. I don't know if Keystone has stopped using them but if they have that's a good thing.

In my case it wasn't really the blade exit it was the ductwork was not properly sealed, once sealed they work much better and somewhat work as advertised. The one thing though is you really can't "close off" a particular vent. So if you use to close all all but the areas you wanted open, then they would never work. If you use to have everything open and minimize flow to most areas and 'dump more' in the bedrooms (for instance) they do do that.

[workinonit]

Agree with all of that.

[sourdough]

From what I'm seeing in a quick search is that the blade system is still offered. Pulled up the Keystone website and viewed Cougar 5th wheel overview. In the "innovation" tab under all the packages the Cougar offers the blade technology system is listed. When I pulled up the 3D of a 316RLS and did the walk through you can see the blade vents in the ceiling.

https://www.keystonerv.com/product/c...orplans/316RLS

[NH_Bulldog]

Originally Posted by sourdough

From what I'm seeing in a quick search is that the blade system is still offered. Pulled up the Keystone website and viewed Cougar 5th wheel overview. In the "innovation" tab under all the packages the Cougar offers the blade technology system is listed. When I pulled up the 3D of a 316RLS and did the walk through you can see the blade vents in the ceiling.

https://www.keystonerv.com/product/c...orplans/316RLS

Keystone only just recently removed InCommand as a feature on the Cougar tab of the website despite it not being offered in the Cougar line for a year prior.....time moves slow.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

Keystone only just recently removed InCommand as a feature on the Cougar tab of the website despite it not being offered in the Cougar line for a year prior.....time moves slow.

I agree. What they offer, or not, on which unit can only be verified by looking at THAT unit in real life. These things change so fast I don't think they can keep the website updated in real time so it's a buyer beware, buyer verify type of deal. At least they apparently learned on in command....

[workinonit]

Without a doubt, In Command is the worse feature that has ever been installed on an RV.

[NH_Bulldog]

Originally Posted by workinonit

Without a doubt, In Command is the worse feature that has ever been installed on an RV.

My Cougar was one of the first new 2024 builds last March to NOT have InCommand (which I lovingly refer to as InCompetent), and I couldn't be happier. The first time that thing would have glitched when my wife wanted to turn on a light and she'd have flipped.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by workinonit

Without a doubt, In Command is the worse feature that has ever been installed on an RV.

Keystone has definitely had its "fair share" of component reliability nightmares... Trying to determine which is the worst more or less depends on who you ask. If your trailer sits for 6 months waiting for repairs, that problem is "the worst"... Then, if your trailer has a different "breakdown", that one might be "your worst"...

You may not remember the "glass touch panel" control system in the 2010-2012 Cougar line.... It didn't even work during the warranty period and when it failed, there was no relay panel to test and no backup system to turn to. Replacement panels were not available, so if yours broke, you were stuck, sometimes until the next camping season (hoping Keystone could find a replacement during the off season)... People actually stopped buying Cougar fifth wheels because of that panel's reliability issues.

As far as I know, there was never a conversion or reversion to the old switch panels and there are no "spare working panels" anywhere. So people with those trailers, when they stop working, are "stuck"....

[Raptor Dave]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

Keystone only just recently removed InCommand as a feature on the Cougar tab of the website despite it not being offered in the Cougar line for a year prior.....time moves slow.

Until you reach about the 7 OH mark. And then Captain Kirk kicks it into warp speed!

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

The other day I saw a 2025 Cougar online and noted that it didn't have the circular diffuser "Blade" AC vents in the ceiling, but rather the old school fixed louvered vents. I did some more digging with some 360° views on the Keystone site and all the 2025 models I looked at do not have those damnable "Blade" vents. I wonder if Keystone finally got the message that they don't work and went back to the proven "technology"? Too late for me since I already went through and replaced all my Blade vents with the louvered ones myself, but good news for those in the market for a new RV!

Round ceiling diffusers have been used in the hvac industry since probably the 1950’s…..They are usually easier to install then a regular rectangle register…the design allows you to cut a hole from below and insert the damper assembly up into the ceiling with easier provisions for fastening the damper/ duct connector assembly to the ceiling structure…the register then attaches to that and allows for a solid finished look with no gaps around the register…rectangle registers are much harder to fasten evenly to a ceiling without having gaps or bending the register…round diffusers are very popular in old homes where AC is being added for the first time…attic ductwork and air handler…also allows less ductwork because the registers are in the middle of the room as opposed to having them run to exterior wall locations….Also the same amount of cfm’s will be delivered to the room from these type of registers with possibly less friction loss because the ductwork runs are usually shorter but it doesn’t always feel like that because the air doesn’t hit you in the face from one direction…it’s dispersed radially across the ceiling and falls in all directions so it doesn’t always feel like they work as good.

Now as far as in an rv with the poor insulation and cheap windows they wouldn’t be my first choice …that’s why the dump feature feels so much better when your hot…it’s like when i was a kid and stood in front of the window ac to cool down

[Peto]

So, what are the options to the blade vents. I have them and live in the desert so need the best flow possible.

[NH_Bulldog]

I switched to Thetford 94271. Pop out the Blade insert (don’t mess with the housing) and snap in the Thetford insert. I found that Keystone uses rounded head screws to secure the housing to the ceiling and they will prevent the new vent from fully engaging, so I simply replaced the round head screws with flat head screws and that let the Thetford vents seat properly into the existing Blade ceiling housing.

I can rotate the louvers to point in any direction, or I can close the louvers if I want to redirect air away from a given area. This is helpful to keep the rear bedroom a reasonable temperature for our daughter at night while my wife turns our bedroom at the front into a walk-in refrigerator.

[Stircrazy]

Originally Posted by workinonit

Just curious how they can be installed wrong? Mine weren't "installed" wrong but they sure weren't adjusted correctly. But even when they are adjusted they still don't perform very well. I don't know if Keystone has stopped using them but if they have that's a good thing.

I would have to find the video again of the installation issues. they need to be in a specific place in relation to the width of the ducting and not in the middle and blah blah blah. if I come across it I will post it.

[Stircrazy]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Keystone has definitely had its "fair share" of component reliability nightmares... Trying to determine which is the worst more or less depends on who you ask. If your trailer sits for 6 months waiting for repairs, that problem is "the worst"... Then, if your trailer has a different "breakdown", that one might be "your worst"...

You may not remember the "glass touch panel" control system in the 2010-2012 Cougar line.... It didn't even work during the warranty period and when it failed, there was no relay panel to test and no backup system to turn to. Replacement panels were not available, so if yours broke, you were stuck, sometimes until the next camping season (hoping Keystone could find a replacement during the off season)... People actually stopped buying Cougar fifth wheels because of that panel's reliability issues.

As far as I know, there was never a conversion or reversion to the old switch panels and there are no "spare working panels" anywhere. So people with those trailers, when they stop working, are "stuck"....

its a good thing I waited until 2016 to get mine, didn't have the issues of the previous system or the one that they started using a year or two after mine.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Stircrazy

its a good thing I waited until 2016 to get mine, didn't have the issues of the previous system or the one that they started using a year or two after mine.

We thank our lucky stars that we bought in 2014. The glass "touch panel" was gone, solar hadn't started, the bedroom slide had been moved from the door side to the road side, the electric stabilizer jacks were not standard equipment and it had a 4 function remote: slide operation x2, awning operation and front landing gear operation. Otherwise, the entire trailer is "manual and hard to break".. Now if I could only say that about the axles and tires....

[Stircrazy]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

We thank our lucky stars that we bought in 2014. The glass "touch panel" was gone, solar hadn't started, the bedroom slide had been moved from the door side to the road side, the electric stabilizer jacks were not standard equipment and it had a 4 function remote: slide operation x2, awning operation and front landing gear operation. Otherwise, the entire trailer is "manual and hard to break".. Now if I could only say that about the axles and tires....

ya so I am about the same except I have the level up3 system and absolutely love it. I have the remote that will do all three slides, does a couple lights (front and awning) and can control all my leveling jacks. My slides are all on the road side, we were originally going to buy a 4 slide model, but they sold it while we were away visiting my parents after I told them to give me a week. we found the exact same, almost, rv that only had 3 slides and I am glad we got this one, I hate slides that open into the campsite it cuts sections off from each other