Have a client who wants the window in her tub/shower removed, a skylight installed, and a vent fan/heater/light installed. She is fairly set that the skylight should be in the middle of the 5×8 bathroom (tub along short back wall,) and wants the fan/heater/light over the tub area.
I’ve always steered people against doing this because of the electrical hazard involved. I assume the light and fan/heater must be rated for damp use, but does anyone have any specific arguments against placing the unit above the tub?
It was my original intent to have the skylight over the tub and the light/fan more in the center of the room near the vanity, but she nixed that idea.
I found nothing related in the code check book.
Thanks.
I never met a tool I didn’t like!
Replies
I would ask the electrician who is doing the install. I have never seen a fan/heater/light inside a tub surround.
I need to solidify the proposal and he isn't available. Think I'll call the BI and see what he has to say, which what I should have done in the first place. Thanks.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
If its damp rated and you use a GFCI circuit for it its ok...
I have one in mine minus the heater.
Panasonic makes a very slick vent fan/heater/light/night light unit that would do the trick for your client, but it requires a 20 amp circuit (1400 watt heater). That may affect your decision.
Any idea if it's rated for damp areas? Thanks for the info.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Boris,
That has got to be the scariest thing I ever saw! My God! Did anyone actually survive the shower?"Don't take life too seriously, you are not getting out of it alive"
I did, threw across the d a m n room. I especially liked the loose electrical tape across the hot leads.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Oh, come on!
Everybody's turning into a safety nerd...
240 volts, that's just what I need to wake up in the morning.
I wonder if you could hook it up to the toilet seat also?
Jon Blakemore
I saw the unit this week when a factory rep did a demo for me. The series is called Whisper Warm, 2 models FV-11VHL1 & FV-11VVH1 with or without lights. Rated at 110cfm 4" duct and very quiet 1.0 sones.
From the Panasonic catalogue: "UL listed for tub/shower enclosure when used with a GFCI branch circuit wire." "Minimum 20 Amp dedicated circuit recommended."
Didn't seem to put out a lot of heat, and in fact they say that it is intended for supplemetal heating only. I was interested in the unit to take the chill off the ceramic tile at 5:30 am, but SWMBO says she wants a slate floor instead, so I'll install an electric radiant heat pad this summer when I rip out the tile.
I still like the Panasonic fans, and will probably install a Whisper Lite model instead (without the heater). They're rated for 100K+ hrs of continuous use, which is somewhere around 12 years before failure. And the best part is they are so quiet.
Go to panasonic.com if you want more info, and no, I don't work for them. :)
Last night before I hung up the mouse I found the unit on the Panasonic site. Looked to be everything this lady wants, unfortunately, there is no dealer to order from in this part of the country. I've called the plumbing supply house that I use, but they only deal with Broan. And HD is a Nutone kind of place.
Will keep searching. Thanks for the info.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
You can get Panasonic (great fans) from EFI.ORG.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Will try it, thanks.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Nick:
Have you actually tried one of the ceiling heaters? I mean they are absolutely useless. Even the 110 20a ones s u c k . If the folks are stuck on an electric heater, get them a wall mount 240 30a one. That may raise the the temp about 10 degrees.
I really like FanTech, and would try to steer the customer to an exterior mount fan, with a light. The reason is that the exterior ones are way quieter and easier to replace the motor should it ever fail.
http://www.fantech.net/bathroom.htm
Of course, you could do this like I saw in Bolivia last year. How about 240 volts hooked up to a shower head. It warmed up the shower nice, but don't try to adjust head, because you get 240 volts right through the body, and it throws you across the room. Picture is below.
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Granted, heat works better when it's lower, but I've got a NuTone unit in the ceiling and it works quite nicely. 8x10 bathroom, ceramic tile floors and NO other heating source. Shut the doors, turn on the heater and in 5 minutes it's toasty warm in there. after 15 minutes it's actually too hot.
Obviously mileage may vary.
If I'd been smart (and known that it existed) at the time, I would've put in electric radiant floor in the bathroom.
Thanks for the reply Boris, but I have had different results with the heaters. Granted they can be noisy, but often it puts out so much heat that my wife has to turn it off, and that is a miracle itself.
And it's what the lady wants. There's a hole in the floor from a register she wants removed and she's decided on this. Not where I want to put it (no working headroom so close to the rafters) but it's her bathroom.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
I don't know what kind of space that you have to work with or if she wants a senic skylight.
But I have run across some of the tubular skylights that have parts of the combinations that you want. I know that you can get them with lights, but I think also a vent fan or heater.
But I don't have a clue of which one(s) that those.
The space is 5x8, and by the time I splay out the skylight end, the 36" long skylight will extend to 4.5 feet. But at least she'll have the skylight where she wants. The tube light is a good idea, though I've never installed one. I'll find some brochure and next meeting present the possibilities. You say they come with light and fan? How do they look finished? I've seen them on the shelf at HD and thought they seemed somewhat cheesy, though they're not real popular here; I can't remember ever seeing one installed on any house I've worked on. Velux makes a model of sun tube right? Maybe I'll cruise their web site.
Thanks for the info.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
I have never seen one in a house, but AFAIK they just have a round diffuser disc on the inside for the basic units.
I guess that there is a grill around them if they add a vent fan.
The light part just goes in the light tube.
I've never uploaded a photo on BT, but if this works, here's a 4x4 Velux skylight in a 6x7 bath with a Panasonic fan. I blew out the ceiling to create a cathedral ceiling on the skylight side with a steeper slope on the fan side. It gives the small room a nice, open feeling on sunny days. No helicopters yet...
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Sorry to hijack the thread, but this reminded me of something I heard on the radio a few years back.
A lady in St. Louis called police. She claimed she was taking an early morning shower (Still dark) when she heard a helicopter right above her house.
Seems she had a 4X4 skylight above the shower and someone came down for a peek.
To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.
I've heard that story as well, and in fact related it to the lady. She just laughed and said if that happened to her, they were going to be disappointed. She's divorced and in her mid fifties, and is not at all concerned about using the bushes outside when her only bathroom is torn apart. Or so she says.
I never met a tool I didn't like!