Extractor fan for bathroom

[furtive]

I need a new extractor fan for my bathroom. Want it to suck as well as possible as it gets quite steamy in there, but I also want it to be as quiet. What should I be looking for? Centrefugal? Inline?

Has anyone got any recommendations?

[Swoxy]

Do you have permanent and switched supplies? If so, get one with a humidistat - it'll stay on until the moisture's gone.

[Torquey]

I dont have much advice to offer but I'm so glad I wired mine to come on and go off with the lights.

Stayed in many hotels etc... where you go to the toilet in the middle of the night and spend the next 10 minutes listening to extractor going before going back to sleep.

[furtive]

It's going to be connected to the light switch with a timer, and with a separate cut-off switch above the door.

[Davi]

don't skimp. Don't go to wickes / b&q! If you have loft space free above it, get an inline one. We got a whisper quiet one and it's virtually impossible to hear it, but as opposed to the cheaper one we started with, which would clear the mist "eventually", this one is so powerful that the mirrors don't even fog up in the first place!

was trying to find a link to ours, but can't find it - it's basically like this only does 250m3/hr - we went way overboard on the flow rate, it worked out at something like a complete change of air within the room 20 times every hour - hence why we don't get any moisture issues LOL

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SLTD160T.html

In comparison the original wickes one sucked something like 50m3/hr and was feckin useless, complete waste of money

Edited by Davi on Wednesday 30th March 12:15

[russ_a]

We have an inline one and it's sometimes hard to tell if the fan is turned on.

[furtive]

Davi said:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SLTD160T.html

That one looks perfect. Cheers!

[dave_s13]

Can you get away without one, from a building regs point of view, if the room has an opening window?

I've yet to fit my ensuite. The wiring is there for a fan but I can't be arrised core drilling through the wall. Pig of a job.

[Davi]

dave_s13 said:

Can you get away without one, from a building regs point of view, if the room has an opening window?

I've yet to fit my ensuite. The wiring is there for a fan but I can't be arrised core drilling through the wall. Pig of a job.

depends on the size of the room and the size of the opening part of the window, so the answer is maybe.

Get a core drill in an SDS and it takes 5 minutes to chew through the wall, no effort needed!

[Arthur Jackson]

Axial fans are very poor compared to centrifugal. They push through a wall thickness OK at 4", but once you put ducting on they don't move much air. I've seen kits with a fan and flexi duct that wouldn't move damp air 3 feet.

[hairyben]

Arthur Jackson said:

Axial fans are very poor compared to centrifugal. They push through a wall thickness OK at 4", but once you put ducting on they don't move much air. I've seen kits with a fan and flexi duct that wouldn't move damp air 3 feet.

They'll work alright with solid ducting, the problem is the airflow pattern from an axial propeller meets the shape of flexiduct and creates a vortex that goes nowhere. Any length of duct though and you should be looking towards centrifugal.

But yeah, as for the wickes special - sh!tty little axial inline and 9 feet of flexi -

[Arthur Jackson]

hairyben said:

They'll work alright with solid ducting,

If they are VERY powerful. Even in 110mm soilpipe the normal axial fans you get aren't anything like man enough.