Bath Fan

[John120/240]

Home is ten years old. Two builder grade bath fan have shot craps. Broan/NuTuone brand. Replaced the first fan motor at six years. Fan is located between stool & shower. All electrical connections are good. Duct is free of obstructions. Fan impeller does turn, not locked up. One theory is steam from the shower causes shortened life. If that is the case what does it say about fan quality. Any Ideas ?

 

[infinity]

I would guess that the problem starts with the cheapo builder grade fan. The fan in my bathroom was a higher end Nutone and it still lasted only about 9 years.

 

[electricalist]

When I worked for a home warranty co the bath fan was the only thing 100% covered. Changed out plenty of fan for fan and a few old for new type for a small outrageous price.

 

[ActionDave]

Pull out the fan and the motor, blow off every inch of it with an air hose, pay some extra attention to both ends of the shaft where it is contact with the bearing, add a few drops of some bearing oil and plug the fan back in. Don't use WD-40. You will know in a second if that fixes it.

If you want to go all out you can pull the ends off and get a good soak on the little sleeve bearings from the inside. You have to be careful though because you can ruin the bearings this way if they don't slide off the shaft easily.

 

[kwired]

Home is ten years old. Two builder grade bath fan have shot craps. Broan/NuTuone brand. Replaced the first fan motor at six years. Fan is located between stool & shower. All electrical connections are good. Duct is free of obstructions. Fan impeller does turn, not locked up. One theory is steam from the shower causes shortened life. If that is the case what does it say about fan quality. Any Ideas ?

Do you have continuity through the motor? Does it draw current when enerized? You said it does turn but please clarify does does it lock up when you energize it? Moisture is going to be a bigger enemy for bearing surfaces then for winding insulation. Some of these motors possibly have a thermal overload embedded into them - if you have no continuity yet nothing looks burned up or damaged it may be this is stuck open for some reason, or could even be a one shot device - though those are more popular on heater units to prevent overheating.

Blocked vent actually puts less load on the fan - less cfm being moved takes less power.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I have found that when a fan sits and does not get used on a regular basis then it locks up. I have had one in my home do that- I spun it manually by hand and it finally started up. Ran it for an hour then used it regularly and it continued to work for years. I have since redone the bath and put in a fantech.

 

[flashlight]

About 15 years ago the super-quiet (and super expensive) Panasonic fans were all the rage.
I wonder how they are holding up, I haven't serviced one yet.

 

[Sierrasparky]

About 15 years ago the super-quiet (and super expensive) Panasonic fans were all the rage.
I wonder how they are holding up, I haven't serviced one yet.

They stil get gummed up like the rest!

 

[kwired]

About 15 years ago the super-quiet (and super expensive) Panasonic fans were all the rage.
I wonder how they are holding up, I haven't serviced one yet.

I have 2 of them about 10 years old in my house - never had a problem with them yet. They are wired to the shower light - if you want light in the shower they will run - it is those people that put the fan on a separate switch that get situations where users seldom ever turn the fan on But this is also a reason we go with super-quiet fans and connect to the light - so you know it will get used, yet is not so loud the user wants to shut the fan off.

 

[Sierrasparky]

I like to put them on Timers or Humidistats

 

[John120/240]

Thank You for your responses. Yes the fan motor is done. From the knowledge here & confer with a co-worker I have decided to insist on Quiet fans ($$$) in the future.

 

[electricalist]

One of the nicest installs I've seen is the fan in the attic and the duct work goes to the bathroom connected to an ac vent grill. Then the switching is a 3 way for each bathroom if there is 2 so it can be turned on from either bathroom .. Pretty quiet when it's done.