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.

[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.

[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....

[troidus]

I have a Soler & Palau 100CFM unit to vent a 5x7 bathroom. The only thing I would do differently is neoprene-mount the fan support. It's much quieter than the cheapo Broan it replaced, but it's not completely silent. I have it on a dimmer so I can slow the fan down, but I don't know if it's worth it or not.

I did cut a hole in the roof and replaced the shingles around the vent. I also used insulated ducting, and anti-reversion valves at both the roof and the ceiling.

[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.

[Dave in Wi]

I JUST bought a new fan to replace the one in our upstairs bathroom. The one that is there is undersized and noisy. Havent installed it yet though.

I got it at Menards. They have a nice display where you can turn on the fans and see how noisy/quiet they are. All I remember is that the one I got is a Broan and its 100 or 120 cfm.

I wouldn't vent it up to your ridge vent. I think you should go through the roof or a side wall with a weather cap that has a closing flap. You DO NOT want warm, moist air going into your attic space.

Also, if you use the plastic accordion style vent tubing, how much you stretch it out will affect how much noise the fan makes. You do want to stretch it out somewhat.

Another thing I've done is to put in a timer switch for the fan. That way after doing whatever in the bathroom, you can hit 10, 20, 30 or 60 minutes on the timer and forget about it. That way you don't accidentally leave the fan on all day.l

[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

[vwboomer]

as I said, no eves so I can't go anywhere but roof. Which I spose I could do. little leery of what a 4" hole saw is gonna do to old fiberglass shingles. I guess with enough flashing and goop it shouldn't be a problem.

The Whisper doesn't seem too expensive. 80cfm would probably be ok, but I think I would go with the 110. and rated at .5 sones pretty much has be sold already.

[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....

[tubebender]

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

Got them here. Free Shipping

[troidus]

Originally Posted by vwboomer

as I said, no eves so I can't go anywhere but roof. Which I spose I could do. little leery of what a 4" hole saw is gonna do to old fiberglass shingles. I guess with enough flashing and goop it shouldn't be a problem.

Make sure your hole saw is sharp and the shingles aren't cold and you should be OK. This is the roof vent I used:



which comes with its own flashing, so you just need to cut the shingles to fit and goop the seams. I didn't use the included duct, since I had 4" insulated duct already. In my case, since I had a package of shingles on hand, I went ahead and replaced all the shingles around the new opening. I did have to use a 5" hole saw so there would be room for the duct insulation and the clamps.

[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.