Bathroom fan

[Fueler]

The wife and I got our hush money, I mean stimulus check.
Worst thing that could happen to me.
I now find myself remodeling a small bathroom.
It has never had a exhaust fan and it has been decreed that it will now.
sigh

Many choices.

My question is about the versions that have a humidity sensor.
Are these worth worth the money or are they a nice idea that does not work all that well?

Other than that anyone have a favorite brand?

 

[mike93lx]

IMO, skip the humidity sensor and put in a push button timer.

Both of mine have 5 min, 10,30 and 60 settings.

Get the quietest fan you can find. It is so nice not having to listen to a loud fan.

Both of mine are delta breeze from home depot. One of them I can barely hear and it ramps up slowly

 

[yeldogt]

Skip the sensor ... I agree on the electronic timer.

I like to use fantech --- either remote or exterior depending on situation. no sound

If going with a typical ceiling unit -- Panasonic gets my vote

 

[Chevy-SS]

Another vote here for skipping the sensor and opting for a timer.

 

[engineer2]

I assume your small bathroom has a shower? We have one that has a humidity sensor for the kid's bathroom. Good for kids who sometimes forget to turn it on. It's OK, but sometimes it runs for hours. In the future I would just use a simple timer switch. Find one that is as intuitively obvious as possible so you don't have to explain it to guests.

A quiet fan is nice. Panasonic ones are extremely quiet.
There is one situation where you want a noisy (Broan) fan. If the bathroom is not in a private area, no lady wants anyone to hear the sound of them tinkling or my/your nasty farts. I never thought of this until my wife told me.

If you can, run a solid metal duct as opposed to flex hose.
I find the standard plastic exterior vent covers are ****. The vanes get stuck or break and the plastic turns black and rots eventually. I replaced a couple with all-metal ones.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

IMO, skip the humidity sensor and put in a push button timer.

Both of mine have 5 min, 10,30 and 60 settings.

That's what I did. Ours is some sort of Lutron, powering a dim light above the shower and the Panasonic exh fan.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Count down Timer and a Panasonic fan is what I installed and that was 25 years ago...... Fan Tech is also a good brand too.

TIP! Make sure you size the fan properly for the room size.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Fantech PB110 inline. There's no better unit out there in terms of longevity and airflow. All the "in the ceiling box" designs like Nutone wear out rather quickly and don't really move much air. The Fantech has a teeny little airflow noise, but the fan itself is remote mounted and is practically silent. Even the quietest Nutone types get noisy when the motors start to go. The Fantech I put in our original bathroom 24 years ago has been absolutely bullet proof. When we did the master suite last year I spec'd the same unit for the new bathroom. After installing it, my contractor said he'll never use anything else again.

Just a hint, no matter what you get, buy some washable window A/C foam filter material and put it in the grille. Wash it about every two or three months and the fan will rearely ever need any maintenance until the motor wears out.

These guys have great pricing and fast delivery:

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Fantech...ath-Fan-w-Single-Grille-Uses-4-Duct-Vent-Only

Tommy

 

[GSRinmyCRX]

timer for sure. be sure to plan out the routing of the exhaust to ensure you don't get condensation leak back.

Levi

 

[LS6 Tommy]

timer for sure. be sure to plan out the routing of the exhaust to ensure you don't get condensation leak back.

Levi

If you use insulated duct you won't unless it's routed somewhere like a crawlspace.

Tommy

 

[mustangmike6996]

When I added a fan to my bathroom 5 years ago, I also needed a light... So I bought a nicer combo unit. It doesnt perform nearly as well as I hoped. The bright side is that I will be remodeling the bathroom in a years or so, so I will end up with a better fan-only unit and add the timer. My wife loves to let our fan run for like 4 hours. Its pretty quiet so I dont notice it until I walk into the bathroom. All the newer fans are whisper quiet so you would possibly be in the same boat without the timer.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

When I was an electrical contractor I installed a few FanTech bathroom fans and a month later I went back to install timers because the fans were so quiet people did not know they were running....... I always used WattStopper "count down" timers.

BTW! I also installed WattStopper timers on all the Panasonic fans in my house.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Panasonic fan and this delay timer wired in.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B07XD536DD/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new

 

[Trock03]

Panasonic fans are the way to go. As stated before make sure you size the fan to your bathroom correctly and get the quietest sone rating you can afford.
A timer is a much better choice than a humidity sensor. But you have to pick a timer that will play nicely with your fan. Some fans require analog timers as opposed to digital.

TC

 

[The J]

Another vote for the Panasonic fans.

 

[FANTM58]

Whisper green with motion sensor,,,

 

[Super Sport]

I've read recommendations for Panasonic for years. Just bought one for our master bath remodel, went with the WhisperWarm Lite with a built in heater. Not cheap, but I did save about $70 buying an open box model on Ebay. I can't comment on it as it was just delivered today, but we should have it installed soon. It's quite large compared to the Broans I've installed in the past!

 

[jrhaas60]

I’ve needed to address humidity in my kids bathroom for a while. With kids growing up and taking more and longer showers I’m motivated. There is a stupid fan now that does nothing but recirculate back into the bathroom. The location is close to a soffit vent and my question for the group is, can I just vent to the soffit vent versus cutting into my roof? Could use the advice. Thanks

 

[mike93lx]

I’ve needed to address humidity in my kids bathroom for a while. With kids growing up and taking more and longer showers I’m motivated. There is a stupid fan now that does nothing but recirculate back into the bathroom. The location is close to a soffit vent and my question for the group is, can I just vent to the soffit vent versus cutting into my roof? Could use the advice. Thanks

Yes you just have to Close the vented soffit for something like 2ish feet on either side so it doesn't just blow back into the attic.

This is how both of my bathrooms are vented

 

[JamesW84]

Yes you just have to Close and vented soffit for something like 2ish feet on either side so it doesn't just blow back into the attic.

This is how both of my bathrooms are vented

you also wouldn't want it near a window that opens for the same reason

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

I’ve needed to address humidity in my kids bathroom for a while. With kids growing up and taking more and longer showers I’m motivated. There is a stupid fan now that does nothing but recirculate back into the bathroom. The location is close to a soffit vent and my question for the group is, can I just vent to the soffit vent versus cutting into my roof? Could use the advice. Thanks

You can vent THROUGH the soffit with a "outside termination vent" however the vented soffit must be "closed off" (blocked) for 36” on each side of the vent so nothing blows back into the attic. I also suggest using solid aluminum vent pipe with "metal" tape at the joints along with insulating the pipe so it doesn’t sweat during the cold weather. I have wrapped the vent duct pipe with that foil bubble insulation wrap with good results.

TIP! You can use that foil bubble insulation wrap or aluminum coil to "block off" the vented soffit.

 

[CraigStu]

+x on a timer. I have used these in two houses.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?...608027928382148602&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0
One house I needed to ad a fan where were none. I didn't want to go through the roof so got one that went right through the wall to the outside. I installed it as close to the ceiling as possible.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?...8033052329181330&selectedIndex=130&ajaxhist=0

 

[Fueler]

Thanks guys.
Lots of hands on info.
At the moment I am leaning toward the fastech.


Timers:

Most seem to require a neutral leg.

This old house doesn't even have a ground.
Any idea what timer switch might work?

 

[rlitman]

Thanks guys.
Lots of hands on info.
At the moment I am leaning toward the fastech.


Timers:

Most seem to require a neutral leg.

This old house doesn't even have a ground.
Any idea what timer switch might work?

Mechanical. Though I'm not a fan of them.

 

[engineer2]

If your ever wear out a Fantech, they are not too hard to change the bearings in. Fantech will tell you they are not rebuildable, but they are. I have a fantech radon fan the runs 24/7 pushing very humid air.

 

[Bruce 993 SEA]

I'm a big fan of the Panasonic's Whisper Fit line. I have installed about 10 of them now and they are easy to install and truly are quiet.

I do have a question...I think there was another thread on bath fans talking about the vent tube.

I did not see anything about insulating the vent. When that warm most air from the bath hits the cold steel vent pipe in the attic condensation occurs and runs back down the vent into the fan.

I seem to recall there was negative responses to using the plastic coiled and insulated heater tubing.

So what is the consensus on vent material?

Thanks!

 

[Fueler]

Good timing. I was just picking out my flue parts.
Seems to me it does not matter which you use.
IF the fan is not strong enough to dry it out and push it out then there is a problem.