Thanks 3katz. This is one I've been looking at from Panasonic. It has a built-in multi speed. Not sure if that's really a plus or not.

Panasonic FV-05-11VKSL1

I believe same one on Amazon. Panasonic

There are so many options for EVERYTHING out there. From sunblock to bathroom fans I just am burnt out on researching lately.

ETA - Looking again, that looks like it does a lot things so maybe something stripped down would be better.

Is higher CFM better always? Will it hurt anything if I go overkill with it for the size of the room?

I couldn't be happier with my Fantech. I love how powerful yet quiet it is, it's unobtrusive (fits flush in the ceiling). I chose a halogen light option, so it could be dimmed, but this was a few years ago - maybe they have other options, like LED now. The motor is installed in the attic and it's practically silent, but boy, does it pull the air. I've written on other threads that in the few times each summer that we have excessive heat, my upstairs gets a bit hot for sleeping, but it's always cooler outside by bedtime. I just turn on the fan for an hour (the windows are already open) and it sucks the hot air out of my whole upstairs and the cool air replaces it. Amazing!

I chose the 2 duct option, one IN the shower and one over the tub. The toilet isn't enclosed in its own room, but the fan quickly takes care of whatever it needs to, even tho' it's not directly above it.

Panasonic Whisper Quiet or similar name. I've installed 5 of them over the last few years as we remodel the bathrooms. No issues with any of them.

I used a humidistat/timer. If you turn fan on manually it will run for about 20 minutes and then turn off. If it detects high humidity it will turn on automatically and run for 20 minutes. Perfect for teens who forget or don't want to turn the fan on.

We installed two Panasonic Whisper Quiets when we remodeled, and I am very happy with them. I plan to purchase two more when we remodel the other baths.

Thanks for the above suggestions. Do you have any difficulties cleaning them? I assume if it was done regularly it wouldn't be an issue but mine wasn't done often enough and the moisture combined with dust and hair products left a mess around the grills. I can't figure out how to take the grill part off to clean it really well. I also want to make sure I can easily replace the light bulb when needed. I just read a review where the person was saying good luck finding a bulb replacement.

Side note, I noticed that with lamps lately. They make some that once the bulb goes, that's it. It cannot be replaced. Oh, they're supposed to be the magical last for 1,000 years LED bulbs but a lot of our LED bulbs have burnt out just has fast as halogen or incandescent.

One thing to consider with any kind of ventilation fan is that the rated CFM is given for a specific static pressure, conditions that may not hold in your house. Your static pressure could be higher if you have longer duct runs and/or more bends and joints in your ductwork. If that's the case, the CFM you see in your house could be very different from the info provided with your fan. So a fan that is performing badly might not actually be a bad fan, just an inappropriately sized fan.

Here's a primer (seems mostly geared toward commercial fans, but the science is the same).

https://www.grainger.com/content/kc-gen-how-to-choose-the-right-exhaust-fan

I just bought a Panasonic WhisperFit fan last week from Build.com. It has not been installed yet but I can report back when it is. I read that with an 8' ceiling, you take the length times the width of the room to find the required CFMs. My bathroom is 8x10 so I needed 80 CFMs. What I have now is only 50 CFMs! It's probably the same Broan you have, Shee. It makes a lot of noise but doesn't accomplish much.

The new one has 80 and 100 CFMs. The sones are much lower too. I called a local electrical supply store and he said that most ducts are a standard 3". The Panasonics fit 3" with an adapter for 4". I didn't need a light as the vanity light is enough. I read the lighting isn't great anyway. We're home so we don't need a timer. We'll just turn it off after half an hour.

We put a Panasonic (with light/nightlight and heater) in the second bath. That was 10 years ago. Designs have changed. Back then the light provided a good supplement to the mirror scones.

http://dfwago.com/4561-top-of-panasonic-whisper-quiet-bathroom-fan-with-light/the-bathroom-panasonic-whisperwarm-110-cfm-ceiling-exhaust-bath-fan-concerning-panasonic-whisper-quiet-bathroom-fan-with-light-decor/

Thanks for the additional info. and suggestions. Off to look at them. I did just manage to find the spec sheet for our fan. There are five models and it isn't noted which one ours is. If I was going to guess I'd say it's the basic model 678 with the 50 CFM.

Is this the same as yours Mayflowers? :) - Junk Broan fan.

The good news is I know what size duct and all the measurements so I can compare when shopping.

Yes May please let me know how you like the new fan once it's in. I heard that about how to calculate the CFM and I also read somewhere to take the length x width x height then multiply by .13. One gives me 68 CFM and the other 75. I'm going to order from Build.com again. I like them.

I'm wondering if I should bother with a light or just get a fan. The vanity is plenty of light (6 lights total). I use the fan light in the early morning when I'm dragging myself to the bathroom and don't want blinded. I suppose I wouldn't really NEED a fan light combo. It doesn't look like the fan lights are all that great. I saw they have some can options but I imagine that isn't going to fit as well, obviously, and will need additional work for the install.

ETA - Looks like Build is having a fan sale until the 17th. Is it really a good 'sale'? Are the prices usually much higher than listed?

When I was researching fans a few years ago for my daughter I remember the advice I heard the most often from companies was what cawaps says above.

the fan itself is not the problem. It is how many bends you need. If you can go straight up into attic and then straight up out of roof that is the best.but if you have to make many bends in your exhaust that lowers your pull of air.

my daughter had a good fan but it was not working well because of the many bends and turns.

I bought this one. It was a one day sale supposedly and I paid $94. I think Amazon had the same price. We are planning on buying another one after DH talks to the electrician this week. He was going to install it himself but the grill is larger than our old one and we want to be sure we bought the right one, though we were told by the local supply house that we probably have a 3" duct and they had that one in stock, but it was $135.

https://www.build.com/panasonic-fv-08-11vf5-whisperfit-retrofit-bathroom-fan/s1129241?uid=2710411

This is the same one with the light. Can you put your vanity light on a dimmer switch?

https://www.build.com/panasonic-fv-08-11vfl5-whisperfit-retrofit-bathroom-fan-light/s1129228?uid=2710397

I was just coming back to say about the bends. That makes sense about not working as efficiently. I believe it runs straight up but I'll have to check.

May the ones you linked to I was just looking at. The one with the light a reviewer mentioned he couldn't get replacement bulbs. I just sent Build an email asking some questions. I guess our vanity lights could be put on a dimmer. We have three switches - fan, the fan light, and vanity lights. Would they just put a dimmer on the vanity light switch?

I'm still messing around with picking a fan. The guy wants to come next week but it may have to be pushed back. Our HVAC guy was here today (also an old friend of DH) about something else and we realized we could have him install these (duh). He mentioned NuTone which I completely forgot. I've narrowed down to five models. Two NuTone and three Panasonic. I only set aside Fantech because I'm getting to my research limit (and time limit) again.

Do I want a heater? It sounds nice the more I think about it.

I really dislike the GU24 base bulbs I'll be forced to use with Panasonic. Reading the product descriptions it sounds like it's a new thing and they're proud of it.

We do want a fan/light combo with the main bathroom but ours could go without. I could get just a fan and my heater with Panasonic.

NuTone AN110L is just a fan and light but has normal A19 bulbs but it's noted they must be 4.4" or less to fit. I need to measure a light bulb.

He is going to correct our ductwork. The one is messed up and not even attached. In general the current set up is not very effective.

Then there's switches to decide on depending on what I get. I've been looking at Leviton but feel free to shout out another brand.

We put a fan/heater combo (Panasonic Whisper Quiet) in our master bath when we remodeled last year. I went with the kind of heater that blows hot air vs. the heat lamp because I thought it looked better (my mom has the heat lamp version and the big orange bulb is very noticeable on the ceiling). And it does crank out the heat and warm the bathroom quite nicely.

Unfortunately, my hope was that because of where the fan is placed (right outside the shower door) you'd step outside the shower into the nice cozy heat from the fan and that hasn't been the case.....we found that our skin is so warm and wet from the shower that the heat blowing from the fan actually feels like a cold breeze at first. If we step out of the direct breeze and dry off and then step back under the fan, it feels toasty, but those first steps out of the shower feel downright cold. I kind of wish I had the heat lamp version now, ugly though they are, because then we'd have the heat without the moving air.

Still, any heater is better than no heater in my book! So yes, I would get one with the heater. Just make sure your wiring can handle it -- I think we had to pull a dedicated circuit for ours.

Oh, re: the gu24 bulb, we did install another panasonic fan -- one that looks like a can light and is actually in the shower -- that one came with a gu24 led bulb. It's kind of pinkish toned, which I don't like - it makes our white tile look pinkish. I ordered an adapter from amazon so I could replace it with a regular bulb, but it's been a year and I've been too lazy to do it so I guess at this point I'm going to live with the LED until it burns out. (Also, I would not recommend the can-light style of fan from panasonic -- it doesn't move as much air as the regular style does.)

Also, I would not recommend the can-light style of fan from panasonic -- it doesn't move as much air as the regular style does

Lkplatow, do you think it would be adequate for a 5x8 bath?

We have the can light fan installed in our walk-in shower. Prior to renovating, we had some kind of nutone fan/light combo installed in the old shower. The shower is definitely steamier in general with the can light and if you can actually watch the steam swirling near the fan, it does not look like a ton of steam is getting sucked up. You can put a piece of paper up over the fan and there's enough suction to hold it there so the fan is definitely working, but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to suck out the steam as well as the old fan did.

If you're just looking for something to remove odors and circulate the air, the can light fan would probably be fine. If you have a heavy steam situation or are using it in the shower, I would probably think twice. I mean it's fine -- we don't grow mold or anything -- but it is definitely not as powerful as the regular style fans. If I had to do it over again, I would probably go with a regular fan/light combo instead (though IIRC we had issues with joists and tile placement which is why we went with the can light version to begin with and ultimately if it came down to it, I'd put the can light version in again if I had to).

We haven't had ours installed yet. DH was going to install it but the grill is larger than our old one and he has to go into the attic to look at the duct to make sure it's the right size. If we need our electrician, he's not available until the end of June!

I have the Panasonic Whisper/Warm for our reno, so I can't offer an opinion on how it works but you DO need a dedicated 20A circuit for the models with a heater.

I wouldn't go overboard on the cfms due to the availability of make-up air and pulling conditioned air out of the house. I rounded up to take into account a bend in the ducting to exhaust through the side of the house if the roof isn't an option. I would also size up on the ducting for better efficiency.

I bought the Leviton timer, too. It's what's often recommended in the Bathrooms forum.

Thanks for the detailed reply, lkplatow.

Just the fan ...

I put in a Nutone ... 80cfm I think in our 8x9 bath (er, shower only) area. Had to update the duct ... found the 3" stopped in the attic, at the soffit!

The third one I got did not make bad noise (HD is nearby).

Mold (mildew?) ... is that in the fan?

Does the fan work ... if you put an 8x10 paper on it (when it is on), does it hold the paper? One of ours ... the ceiling cut-out around the fan was un-sealed. That is ... the gaps around the fan were a "hole" into the attic. So, the fan sucked air - the air of least resistance (attic air!), not the air out of the bathroom.

A "squirrel cage" style is recommended by most net searches.

For all fan's I've replaced ... I just go with what fits into the box that is already there ... a new $15 broan replacement (fan only) will be better than a 10 year old model of the same.

Lkplatow - Thanks for the feedback. I did look at can light/fan combos but the CFMs seemed to only hit about 70 which is lower than I should go with. Do you happen to know what the kelvin temp of the pinkish bulb was?

Alex - I did see that about the 20 amp circuit. I'm assuming that's not typical and is something that needs added. The bathroom switches are GFCI. I don't know how relevant that is.

After talking with DH I think we're going to pass on the heater. He runs on the warm side so he's not excited about it. I'm not a morning person and I like sleeping in a cold room but dislike dragging myself out of bed in the cold I was joking I might just fall back asleep in the bathroom if we get a heater. :) I want the fan on a timer and he can't understand why it's necessary.

Scargoz - The mold was on the window and a tiny bit on the upper wall/ceiling area. It's from moisture just hanging out and not being vented out. I'm going to try the paper thing out of curiosity now. It certainly makes noise but I can't imagine it's sucking air real well.

Main bath I think I'm going to pick the NuTone AN110L. (fan/light)

build.com/nutone-an110l

Master bath I'm leaning toward the Panasonic WhisperFit EZ FV-0811VFL5. (fan/light/night light)

If I go with the WhisperFit I guess I'd have the fan and light put on a double switch then the night light and vanity would be on separate switches.

build.com/panasonic-fv-08-11vfl5-whisperfit

There's also NuTone RN110L I think I'll throw back in the running for the master bath. Also has fan/light/night light.

build.com/nutone-rn110l

Specs for the NuTone RN110L mention "QStreamTM Sound Technology
• Airflow-smoothing baffles reduce turbulence
QFlowTM Damper Technology
• When fan is on, damper position in the airstream is minimized to reduce
static pressure and noise
• When fan is off, damper provides a tight seal to prevent back drafts"

Panasonic doesn't mention anything like that but maybe it's all marketing heehaw anyhow.

As for noise our current fans are supposedly 2.5 sones and I honestly don't mind the noise but you can't hear much of anything else on the other side of the door if you're the one in the bathroom. All the fans I'm looking at should seem quiet in comparison. I think 1.3 is the highest.

No idea on the Kelvin temp, sorry. If it helps, I'm pretty sure this is the exact fan: https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-FV-08VRE2-Ventilation-Fan-Recessed/dp/B01N7L3FDR/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1527247041&sr=8-15&keywords=panasonic+fan

The only feedback I have on Nutone is that the fan/light thing we had installed in our old shower rusted really badly. It wasn't a square one - it was a round one with a light shade in the middle and vents around the outside edge, and all of the metal on both the trim piece around the shade (where the vents were - that piece was white painted metal instead of plastic) and even up side the fan box itself was totally rusted out. And it wasn't that old - maybe 8 years? It started to rust after less than a year and it was really a mess by the time we replaced it. Now it was installed IN our walk in shower and maybe it wasn't meant for that much dampness -- although it never got any direct water on it, only steam. But Nutone was pretty unhelpful when I called them to complain and that kind of soured me on the brand. And FWIW, the panasonic can light that's been in our shower for a year has no signs of rust.

Shee, if you had gone with a heater a new circuit would be added to the breaker box and new wiring run to the rough-in. You wouldn't have been able use the existing wiring. Like a dryer needing a dedicated circuit. You saved yourself some trouble!

If you're feeling it, you can go up there and check the ducting to make sure it doesn't have leaks, which would reduce performance.

Scargoz - I just was reading back over all these and I must have missed that you went through three fans (!) before one worked properly? Which one did you use?

Lkplatow - Thanks for the link. I don't know why they put that info. (or all the info. in general) in the descriptions.

Man that's not a good story about Nutone and the rust. Thanks for telling me because I'm keeping that in mind.

Alex - Thanks for explaining!

Well I guess in the end of all this anything I put in is going to be much better than what we have now. If in time they start not working we'll replace again!