Smith Turbo Fan problem

[pmbski]

Hello all, first time post. I have a pair of Smith Phenom Turbo Fans, bought them on sale at the end of last season. They have worked great for me. Twice now, though, when skiing in hard snow, they have stopped working. First time I thought the battery had died and didn't have a replacement, but then they started working again at the end of the day. Then next day same thing (yeah, still didn't have a replacement battery). Anyone else have this problem? I'm thinking (hoping) maybe its a weak battery that works OK but wears down in the cold, then rejuvenates when warmed back up, but haven't tested this with a new battery yet.

[mtnjam]

doesn't sound like a motor or battery problem to me.

Sometimes when a bunch of snow gets on the top of the goggles it'll fall into the vents above the fan and kind of jam the fan blades from spinning freely.

[doughboyshredder]

yup, ice in the fan blade was a constant problem for me. I quit using them, and now just use the smith phenoms. They work great.

[robnow]

My Prodigy Turbos work awesome. Used them all weekend. Sometimes when skiing into heavy snow, it blows ino the fan and creates some resistance, like mtnjam said.

Make sure too you've got those 'stops' set properly. You know the orange and green locks. Hard to tell sometimes which position is locked and which is unlocked. Sometimes in the locked 'off' position, you might be able to actually slide it enough for it to turn on and then after some time clicks back to off.

[skiingsamurai]

mine work well, but I still manage to fog them. Also the "ultra quiet" fan isnt quiet at all, when alone in the woods or on the lift I can easily hear the damn thing even when its on the lower setting. HI is screaming

[Endlessseason]

When that happened years ago with my original pair I bought a new pair. When it started happening with the new pair I switched back to old pair and the original didn't have the problem anymore.
So now, I've ended up with 3 pairs that I rotate. Perhaps if you give your Turbos a rest for a few days? I guess it's conceivable that the inner workings get too much humidity and don't work as well until they completely dry out... Not saying it's the best course to take but it has worked for me.

[pmbski]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Sounds like my problem isn't all that unusual. I do have a pair of Oakley's I can take along as a backup if necessary. Next time when (if) it happens again, I will check for snow/ice in the fan blades, also verify the lock position. I agree that the fan isn't that quiet - that's how I knew they quit working one of the times - but not that bothersome to me (on Low).
Thanks again.