help - bathroom fan problem

16 years ago

hi all.

I am in a condo building and am remodeling my bathroom. Currently the bath fan has a 3" duct and I want to replace the fan. However, most of the current models are for a 4" duct. I installed a Panasonic Whisper fan for a 4" duct and needless to say it is louder than a whisper. Do I need to take it out and get a fan made for a 3" duct or is there a way to make it work? It would not be easy to replace the duct.

any input would be greatly appreciated.

thank

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

hounds
16 years ago
What size CFM fan did you install? I am not sure that the noise level is solely related to your duct size. I just installed a Panasonic 110 CFM fan as well and was surprised at the higher than expected noise level. After reading many positive posts, it was somewhat dissappointing (I did not expect it to be super silent either). I'm sure it is a quality product though. I did call Panasonic (waste of time)and the vendor (Wave Plumbing - great folks) who has offered to replace the fan but did say that the 110 CFM fans are indeed much noisier.
woodinvirginia
16 years ago
My observation has been than 99% of you by the expensive whisper lite fans and then you go to Home cheapo & get a full run of flex duct for it.
THAT WILL NOT WORK WITH THIS FAN.

This fan is about as high end as you can get, most contractors won't read the directions cause they are used to installing the el cheapo models.

If you READ THE INSTRUCTIONS & use Galvanized straight pipe or even straight aluminum pipe and you block the pipe as the directions say on a downward angle towards a soffit or an eave or a gable vent. 99% of you wan't hear a ding dong thing afterwards when you turn it on.

Also if you intend to use a attic duct with this fan the duct run must extend straight for at least 3 feet before using a preferred 60 degree angle to the attic vent Not a 90 degree angled vent.
One more thing this fan needs to have an INSULATED duct when running through unconditioned attics..
Otherwise the condensation will form and may be the start of something ugly...mold & mildew...

Here is a link that might be useful: Panasonic Instructions
Related Discussions
mysterious wiring problem bathroom fan
Q
Comments (4)
The hot "white" wire is tradition for the feed from a switch loop (this is OK). The white going to the bare grounds is NOT OK. My guess is that originally this only had the switchloop in it (probably for the light alone) and someone kludged in the fan circuit as a non-switch loop. The problem is while there was a hot in the box, there was no neutral so the IDIOT connected the fan neutral to the ground. You need to fix this: 1. Either run power (hot, neutral, ground) to the fan and use what's running to that box as a switch loop (similar to what you have for the light switch) -or- PREFERABLY Run proper power (hot, neutral, ground) to the switch box for the fan. This is actually what is required by the later codes.
...See More
HELP retrofitting a bathroom fan
Q
Comments (4)
I am replacing 2 old bath exhaust fans in a 1960's house. They are the same type, but one is ceiling mounted, the other wall mounted. I can't tell the brand/model, but it consists of a gray metal box secured to the wall/ceiling (approx 6" x 8"). The motor/fan unit is mounted with three keyholes. The motor has a squireel-cage fan. The housing has a 2-pin outlet in the front of the box and the fan plugs into it. Maybe someone can identify this unit. Anyways, does anyone know where I can buy 2 replacement motors/fans? Would be it better to try and cut the boxes out and replace the entire units? Most of the new ones I have seen are much larger so there shouldn't be a problem expanding the opening, although I'm not sure how the old boxes are ducted. The wall mounted one just punches through the exterior wall and has a hood on the outside of the house. Advice please!!!
...See More
Help Solve Mold Issue Likely Related to Bathroom Fans and Ductwork
Q
Comments (12)
I'd be inclined to suspect a combination of fan dampers not closing properly and gross overchilling of the bathrooms. Aside and editorial: I'm not a doctor, but I consider anything below about 75 deg F too much change from outdoors for good health in the summer. The hotter your climate, the more critical this is. Seventy-eight or even 80F is ample cooling when the outdoor temp is in 3 digits. It saves significant money on your summer electric bill, too. Overcooling the indoors also makes you more miserable when you go outside, because it inhibits your body's ability to adjust to the heat. As you've seen, overcooling can also cause house problems. If the bathrooms were in the 60-65 deg F range, that's excessive. I've never heard of a bathroom with more than one heating/cooling register. Is the bath that huge??? Try closing off all the vents but one. Leave the doors open when the bathrooms aren't in use. Remove the fans from their housings and check for proper damper operation. Clean the dampers and ducts thoroughly with a brush and vacuum. Lubricate the dampers (if necessary) only with a dry lubricant, such as Teflon or graphite. It sounds like the fans aren't really working all that well. I think that the 14' run to the cap is too much, especially with bends. You need a shorter path to free air. Consider ducting the exhausts straight up through the roof (example). The roof cap will also provide a redundant damper. Use rigid pipe.
...See More
marble bathroom floor problem please HELP
Q
Comments (27)
You need documentation no matter what comes next. You need all your in-progress photos, all texts and emails between you and contractor, the contract, the texts and emails from the tile people, printed out manufacturer’s instructions for the waterproofing materials he used such as wall boards and pan liner, texts and emails from the local rep for the manufacture (if you contacted them), etc, etc. Buy the TCNA handbook and read the shower chapters. Ask for a meeting. In meeting explain what your concerns are and cite all the things that he did wrong, with in-progress photos and cross-referencing all the violations to the standards, codes and instructions. Ask what his plan is for re-building the shower. If he refuses, ask him does that mean he’s quitting the project? If he says yes, that means he has quit, you did not fire him, document/confirm that in an email. If he says no he’s not quitting, then tell him remedying this situation is part of the project, so ask him which day he’s coming over to demo and re-build it. He may quit at that point. If he does try to re-built it, if/after that fix fails, you can fire him. Then send a demand letter certified return receipt asking for full refund plus the cost that you will have to pay to hire a new tile professional to demo and re-build (use local averages or get actual bids). Cite all the violations like you did in the meeting with the references. We had to do all this stuff when our GC quit rather than fix the issues. It’s a PITA but we got double our money back. Read my “Project Goes South” post, you might find some helpful info in there. Now, if you don’t have any of the documentation I listed above, don’t have a contract, etc, etc, I don’t know what leverage you have. You can still have the meeting and send the demand letter, but if it goes to court documentation is your friend and you want max documentation. Hopefully you can dig up some photos of the waterproofing process involving both the floor and the walls. If you don’t have much, add this to your meeting: ask the contractor to simply explain each step (like he’s teaching you) he used to build your shower, starting with framing. Then write down every word he says, asking him to slow down or repeat if needed. Don’t correct or challenge anything he says; let him explain his process. That can substitute a little bit for your lack of other documentation. Then you can cross reference any wrong info he told you to the codes, standards and manufacturer’s instructions, and proceed from there with demand letter. If he refuses your demand letter, which he will, you can decide about suing him. In my state justice court (small claims) is non-binding. We didn’t sue our GC, but he sued us saying we fired wrongfully him. We responded with counter-suit in District Court and asked that the lower case get rolled up to that level because of the $ amount and we wanted a binding decision. It’s a pain and I hope we never have to talk to a judge again, but we had to respond to quit-GCs suit and go through the process. Best of luck to you.
...See More
johnmari
16 years ago
"My observation has been than 99% of you by the expensive whisper lite fans and then you go to Home cheapo & get a full run of flex duct for it.
THAT WILL NOT WORK WITH THIS FAN."

Not so fast. I have "the expensive WhisperLite" fan and flex duct, and I am extremely happy with the quietness of our fan. I can barely hear it unless I am standing directly underneath it (it is less than 7 feet from the shower floor to the bottom of the fan cover) and listening. I had to pick my battles with the electrician and GC by that point, so I called Panasonic tech support and they said not to worry about it, there would not be a real difference in the noise level. They were 100% right. So if you can't replace the duct it is not the end of the world.

Anyway, to answer the OP's question, the Panasonic WhisperFit has a 3" duct adapter and comes in both lighted and non-lighted versions. Both have a 1.0 sone rating at 80cfm, 1.5 sones at 110cfm. That's one heck of a lot quieter than most - I did a few minutes' worth of research and found that most 3" duct fans are up around 4 and even as high as 6 sones! Call Panasonic fan tech support at 1-866-292-7292 and ask if using the duct reducer would appreciably increase the noise level.

Hounds, Panasonic says very clearly on their website that the standard 80cfm fan is 0.3 sones and the 110 is 0.8 sones. Doubling the number of sones doubles the loudness level, so of course the 110cfm fan is louder than the 80cfm.
fotostat
16 years ago
Panasonic's instructions mentioned installing a short piece of flex duct. Did anyone do that? How did you do it, just clamp the flex around the galv. straight duct?

help - bathroom fan problem

Comments (4)

hounds

woodinvirginia

Related Discussions

johnmari

fotostat

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US