bath vent fan experience?

[vwboomer]

Not sure if its shiny or not, but I'm looking for a bathroom fan. No heat, no light - just a vent fan. Small house and 2 of the bedrooms are next to the bathroom so quiet operation is very important.

The bath is probably 5x8.
got a recommendation?
Anyone with first hand experience with remote fans?

[AtlantaViking]

No experience with remotes but do with noise. I HATE loud bath fans - when we redid the house, looked around quite a bit and ended picking Panasonic models over the HD/Lowes brands. They are quiet, really quiet....also we used timer switches with 10,20,30, and 60 minute settings. Turn em on and forget about it.

[tubebender]

Pansonic Whisper Quiet in my 2 bathrooms with 10,20,30, and 60 minute timer switches.

Got them here. Free Shipping

[vwboomer]

Originally Posted by tubebender

Pansonic Whisper Quiet in my 2 bathrooms with 10,20,30, and 60 minute timer switches.

Got them here. Free Shipping

aw man just finally getting to order and there is no free shipping

[vwboomer]

Panasonic was one of the brands I was thinking about. which model did you go with?

I like the idea of a remote fan. Granted, it could realistically only be put about 10-15 feet away from the bathroom (house is only 1250sqft ranch) but that could be sound deadened more - and possibly run an exhaust for the kitchen stove as well (there is no hood now).

The other thing is that I dont want to cut a hole in my rather old but in good shape fiberglass shingles. And there are basically no eaves. I could vent it over the front porch where it is open for ventilation

My other option is to just run it up to the ridge vent and push it out there.

[AtlantaViking]

Originally Posted by vwboomer

Panasonic was one of the brands I was thinking about. which model did you go with?

We did a couple of different ones depending on whether or not they were over the shower or in other areas of the bathroom:

For the shower we used: Whisper Value Lites since we needed lighting as well as venting

For areas that just a fan was needed we used: Whisper Ceiling

They are both pretty equivalent in terms of sound (they are pretty darn quiet) and we've had them in for 3 yrs now and no bearing issues or such nonsense. They were a couple bucks more than the big box stores but I would do it again in a second.

[McB]

Originally Posted by vwboomer

I could vent it over the front porch where it is open for ventilation

Idyllic scene. Wife, on a lovely late spring morning when the sun is hitting and the temps are rising, takes her coffee and paper out to the porch, sits back comfortably with her feet up, listening to the birds singing, when out of nowhere...........

[RedRocket]

A loud fan helps to mask your noisy ass explosions

[vwboomer]

Originally Posted by RedRocket

A loud fan helps to mask your noisy ass explosions

well. yeah. there is one good point. Maybe I need a small radio in there

[Manuel Garcia O'Kely]

We bought a fan a couple years back, they were all rated for noise level in Sones...whatver they are, but the smaller the number, the quieter they were.

My tip: Do not oversize the fan for your bathroom size - I got a bigger one than recommended and it's a cool breeze in the shower stall....

[groop]

Originally Posted by Manuel Garcia O'Kely

My tip: Do not oversize the fan for your bathroom size - I got a bigger one than recommended and it's a cool breeze in the shower stall....

If you've got a breeze I'm afraid you installed the fan upside down

[Manuel Garcia O'Kely]

Originally Posted by groop

If you've got a breeze I'm afraid you installed the fan upside down

Now yer just being a smartass. Exhaust fan in ceiling of stand up shower of minimal size - door is glass open 18" at top. Believe me, in the winter a chilly wind comes over the top of that door.

Fan is I think 3x more than it really needs but it drys the shower out in minutes....

[NICO]

Originally Posted by Manuel Garcia O'Kely

We bought a fan a couple years back, they were all rated for noise level in Sones...whatver they are, but the smaller the number, the quieter they were.

My tip: Do not oversize the fan for your bathroom size - I got a bigger one than recommended and it's a cool breeze in the shower stall....

Fuck that, I'll take a cool breeze over condensation on the walls and ceiling. I installed a Broan model that moves 300cfm, far superior to the turds that move less than 1/3 that. It's a touch louder than those inferior models, but I find it to be a fantastic trade-off.

[troidus]

Originally Posted by NICO

Fuck that, I'll take a cool breeze over condensation on the walls and ceiling. I installed a Broan model that moves 300cfm, far superior to the turds that move less than 1/3 that. It's a touch louder than those inferior models, but I find it to be a fantastic trade-off.

Move too much air in a tight house and you'll be pulling flue gasses into your living space, unless you go with a make-up air system.

[DriveShaft]

Originally Posted by vwboomer

well. yeah. there is one good point. Maybe I need a small radio in there

This is--no joke--a common consideration to incorporate into your specs. I have often speced (how the hell do you spell that?) a louder fan in the half-baths down on the 1st floor specifically for that reason, and quieter fans upstairs in the bedroom areas. It's just nice to offer you & your guests a little privacy to do what you have to, not just giving visual privacy a thought, but auditory privacy as well.

Paying attention to acoustic design is of particular concern given the tendency towards great rooms, and open floor plans. It happens to be my pet peeve, too, so I notice it alot when someone draws up specs that totally pay zero attention to it.

I remember one time having a rather personal conversation with a close friend of mine, who happened to have lost her father that week. She was a mess, and we spent a good bit of time talking downstairs. She had to take a bio break, and hopped into the half-bath in my old house, which had zero sound insulation, and pretty much let out two minutes of air biscuits. How the hell do you continue a serious conversation after that? Awkwarrrrd.