Replies

1. 
   JDRHI | Mar 28, 2007 06:37pm | #1

   Never any problems with the Fantech inline units I've used....even have it in my own home.

   So much nicer with the single unit, remote install.

   Democrats.
   The other white meat.

    

    

   
   

1. 
   ChicagoMike | Mar 28, 2007 08:10pm | #11

   Should you run the exhaust through an air to air heat exchanger or does that get air from somewhere else?

2. 
   JohnT8 | Mar 28, 2007 08:54pm | #13

   I've never done an inline system, but think they're an interesting idea.

   Would it be practical to use a single inline fan for two bathrooms?  I've got two bathrooms about 7' apart.  With vents towards the middle of each bathroom, that would probably give me a distance of 12-18' between the two.  Is that something that would fall under 'practical use' for a Fantech system, or would they lean more towards using separate setups for each ba?

    

    jt8

   "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."-- Mother Teresa

1. 
   JDRHI | Mar 28, 2007 09:05pm | #15

   Sure.....you'll need to speak to someone at the supply house about proper specs for the setup.....but I've got my master bath (2nd floor), and our powder room (1st floor) on the same fan. Works dynamite.

   The insulated flex duct helps to deaden the sound even more. Almost imperceivable.

   Democrats.The other white meat.

    

    

1. 
   JohnT8 | Mar 28, 2007 09:14pm | #17

   Seems like I remember seeing a timer pad you can install with them.  Like 15/30 min timer, which would be neat as it vents both BA's during that time. 

    jt8

   "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."-- Mother Teresa

1. 
   JDRHI | Mar 28, 2007 11:02pm | #19

   Yes they do. I have the MB on the timer switch. Ideal.....manufacturer recomends fans be run for 20 mins after showering.

   Having lost my hair many moons back, I haven't a reason to stick around for 20 mins after exiting shower. LOL

   Democrats.The other white meat.

    

    

2. 
   bigbossman | Mar 29, 2007 04:22am | #24

   Have you ever heard of a unit that has a humidity sensor built in to turn the unit on and off as needed? Does anyone know if they are any good?

3. 
   DanH | Mar 29, 2007 05:20am | #27

   The humidity sensor is a good idea in general. I don't know how reliable they are, though, as I can never find one when I'm looking.Another option is a simple timer -- basically a kitchen timer in a wall switch. Turn it to 20-30 minutes when you get into the shower and that's usually enough (for me at least). Requires remembering to turn it on, though.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

4. 
   paul42 | Mar 29, 2007 05:02pm | #29

   http://www.conservationtechnology.com/downloads/VentilationSystem.pdf

    

    

5. 
   Sbds | Mar 29, 2007 05:17pm | #31

   Check out this websitehttp://www.energyfederation.org/consumer/default.php/cPath/39_766_128

2. 
   byrnsie | Mar 28, 2007 06:40pm | #2

   I've get good fans from efi.org- but I think as important as the fan is hard piping with aluminum tape to a quality flapper door- like Broan's heavy duty door. You can buy a great fan and have it go to complete waste with cheesy flex plastic hose and a cheap alum and plastic home depot type door.

1. 
   finnegan | Mar 28, 2007 07:01pm | #3

   Panasonic.  I have them in my house.  You have to stop moving and really listen to even tell that they are on.

1. 
   bigbossman | Mar 28, 2007 07:17pm | #5

   Where is the placement supposed to be in the room? Center? Over the toilet area?

   How can you tell what cfm to buy for the size of the bathroom?

3. 
   Hudson Valley Carpenter | Mar 28, 2007 07:08pm | #4

   On the other hand....I bought a HD bathroom fan*, vented by flex hose into the attic space, which works fine in a small bathroom.  I don't recall the CFM but it wasn't the lowest rated model they sell. 

   Another good idea, put a timer on it and install the timer near the TP holder, if you can.  Hard to forget that way. 

   *doesn't mean I'm a fan of HD, just a matter of convenience ;-). 

1. 
   JDRHI | Mar 28, 2007 07:18pm | #7

   vented by flex hose into the attic space, which works fine in a small bathroom. 

   By "small", I'm assuming you mean "half bath"? As in, no moisture producing shower.

   Venting humid air into an attic is unnacceptable.

   I'm not personally crazy about the idea of venting the conditioned air of the living space into an unconditioned attic.

   But steam from a shower is a definite no-no.

   Democrats.The other white meat.

    

    

2. 
   DanH | Mar 28, 2007 07:18pm | #8

   Venting into attic space is not a good idea.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

1. 
   Hudson Valley Carpenter | Mar 28, 2007 07:29pm | #9

   <<Venting into attic space is not a good idea.>>

   Oh dear.  Might I be disturbing the olfactory senses of some, unknown to me, "guests" in my attic?

    

   PS: It's a vented attic space and there's no tub or shower in that bathroom. 

   Edited 3/28/2007 12:43 pm ET by Hudson Valley Carpenter

1. 
   DanH | Mar 28, 2007 08:03pm | #10

   Whatever. The bats in your belfry are of no concern to me.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

2. 
   JohnT8 | Mar 28, 2007 08:42pm | #12

   Oh dear.  Might I be disturbing the olfactory senses of some, unknown to me, "guests" in my attic?

   Yeah,  they're not talking about the stink, they're talking about the moisture.  So for your 1/2 ba, I doubt anybody would care.   But if someone were venting a tub/shower into the attic, then they'd be pumping a lot of moisture into the attic.  Vented attic or not, you don't need to introduce additional moisture into that space.

    

    

   jt8

   "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."-- Mother Teresa

   Edited 3/28/2007 1:44 pm by JohnT8

3. 
   BossHog | Mar 28, 2007 09:04pm | #14

   You're still dumping warm, moist air into a cold attic. That's a recipe for condensation.
   In the 60's people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

1. 
   Hudson Valley Carpenter | Mar 28, 2007 09:12pm | #16

   <<You're still dumping warm, moist air into a cold attic. That's a recipe for condensation. >>

   My dung isn't moist enough for your recipe, I'm sorry to say. ;-)

    

2. 
   BossHog | Mar 28, 2007 09:56pm | #18

   The air is your house is warm, and is more moist than what's outside. When you blow it up in the attic where it's substantially cooler, the relative humidty increases a great deal. And so you get condensation.

   Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

3. 
   PatchogPhil | Mar 29, 2007 01:58am | #20

   Yo,  Hudson....

    

   How big do the icicles get in your attic?

    

     

   Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

1. 
   emana | Mar 29, 2007 02:23am | #21

   So how about venting a bath to a garage? In this case, the bath is center of the house, adjacent to the garage. The garage is insulated and not heated/cooled.The bath has a shower in it....I know venting into the garage may not be the best option, but are there any others that are practical?

1. 
   DanH | Mar 29, 2007 02:44am | #22

   If you can get into the garage you can generally run up to the roof or over to an eave with little difficulty.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

4. 
   DanH | Mar 28, 2007 07:17pm | #6

   Just FYI, the minimum code spec for bathroom exhaust fans, last I checked, was 50CFM. This is what the cheapest models will pull. This is probably adequate for a "fart fan", but not enough to keep an average track home bathroom reasonably unfogged during a shower. For that you need a minimum of probably 70CFM, with 100-150CFM being better, increasing with bathroom size, but not, eg, doubling with double the bathroom size.

   Of course, you don't want to create a "wind tunnel", and you also don't want to unnecessarily exhaust heated/cooled air.

   Most bathroom fans are "sone" rated for noise. You can compare sone numbers to get a rough idea of how noisy they will be. In general, the deeper the box (farther up in the ceiling), the quieter the fan will be. The Fantech units are mostly "duct fans" that can be place remotely from the air intake, making them among the quietest.

   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
1. 
   bigbossman | Mar 29, 2007 04:05am | #23

   Is it watts or amps to look for on a full load when checking the listings on a new exhaust fan? I want the most efficient but I also do not want to overload my breakers.

   Any ideas?

1. 
   RedfordHenry | Mar 29, 2007 05:15am | #25

   Bigbossman,

   Every unit I've ever seen has all the info you need right on the box.  CFM, approximate room size, and sonde rating.  Almost every unit I've installed went on a 15 amp circuit, none needed a dedicated circuit, heck, it's only an iddy biddy squirrel cage fan and a light bulb (unless it has a heating element or infrared bulb).   I've had good luck with Panasonic lately, ruggedly constructed and quiet.  I just put an 80 CFM unit into a 60 sf bath.  My cost was about $139. 

2. 
   DanH | Mar 29, 2007 05:18am | #26

   A bathroom vent fan shouldn't draw very much current -- less than 100 watts in most cases. It can be wired on a standard lighting circuit. Unless you've got dozens of them you don't need to be concerned about additional circuits.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

5. 
   Jeff_Clarke | Mar 29, 2007 08:39am | #28

   NuTone QT series.

    

   Jeff

6. 
   Sbds | Mar 29, 2007 05:14pm | #30

   Check this website

   http://www.rewci.com/panvenfan.html