Bathroom extractor fan help

hohoho16

The extractor fan in my bathroom suddenly just stopped working one day. I wasn't overly concerned so just left it as I had other things going on that were a bigger priority. I ended up forgetting about it for a few months when it started working again (sort of) but made a crackling sound followed by a bang and a sulphar smell. So I got the electrician out who replaced the extractor fan but showed me the old one which appeared to be a bit melted and she said it could have caused a fire

I've had my new extractor fan for almost a year now and it appears to be following in the last ones footsteps; crackling noise and black bits falling out of the fan.

I don't have any windows in my bathroom so the fan is attached to the ceiling and to a duct that passes through my attic to the roof. I'm now paranoid that it is going to caue a fire and so don't use the lights in the bathroom as the fan switches on with the light switch.

So 1st question, Why does this problem seem to be happening again so quickly?

2nd, How big a job would it be to have the light and fan connected to different switches so I can still use the light?

3rd, Is it necessary to have the extractor fan? Can I have it disconnected completely?

I will be calling the electrician next week but any advice until then will be appreciated.

Carrot007

Do you clean it ever?

Is it one that's on the roof in the bathroom? I find they rend to get very dirty. It's much better to have the unit half way along the ducting in the loft then you only need to clean the in vent which is much easier when it's just plastic and not a fan.

It certainly should not be getting to end of life that fast unless you never clean it or live down a pit!

Different switches is a small job. Depends on wheather you want 2 pulls or a switch outside the bathroom. Pulls are easier. Though it may be against regs, I'm not sure.

You don't have to have one, but if you have a shower it's advisable. You could always just leave a window on vent 24/7 instead I guess.

Furts

There are some common pitfalls that come to mind with bathroom extractor fans.

1) many are p-ss poor quality Made in China rubbish. Unbranded, and cheap, suspects are widely available even through reputable sources like Screwfix. I have experience of the fans from Screwfix achieving a life of three months maximum.

2) Many ducts retain condensation and this can burn out the fans. Insulation of the ducting is vital, and also avoiding water traps. This comes down to poor installation.

3) Fans are not set true in the ceiling, or ducts are blocked/crushed. or the extract vent detail is bodged.

You need to look at what you have, and what exists in your roofspace, to establish if these pitfalls exist with your set up.

Hope this helps.

hohoho16

I use a hoover with a brush attachent to clean it as much as I can. The fan is on the ceiling in the bathroom. Sometimes after I have had a bath brownish coloured water will drip from the fan? There are no windows in my bathroom so it does become very humid very quickly.

Furts

hohoho16 wrote: »

I use a hoover with a brush attachent to clean it as much as I can. The fan is on the ceiling in the bathroom. Sometimes after I have had a bath brownish coloured water will drip from the fan? There are no windows in my bathroom so it does become very humid very quickly.

No water should be dripping from your fan. It is highly likely it is condensation build up in the ducting as I mentioned in the previous post. It needs sorting out properly and not just by replacing the fan.

It sounds like you have been conned by the electrician who replaced the fan. A genuine, professional approach would have been to establish why the fan had failed. You would then have paid for this to be rectified and you would not now be posting your woes because everything would be ticking along nicely.

Mr.Generous

fixing the fan is a much better option than leaving it switched off, if you wanted to add a switch because of the wiring a ceiling switch braking the live to the fan would be easier, a pull cord (remote switch) IS allowed in a bathroom. With this type of switch unless you altered the wiring in the loft it would still only work when the light was on, it could easily be wired to work independently. If its a fan that continues to run for a few minutes after the light goes off then even easier to change it to run regardless of the light. I was in a loft a few weeks ago where a fan was installed in a windowless bathroom and fitted had just vented it into the roof space, I have seen 2 others recently where people have been had - one vented into a cavity wall where the house had been extended and the other was blanked off outside so it was just blowing into a small space and achieving nothing. Get someone you trust to check exactly where your fan is and where it vents to.

coffeehound

hohoho16 wrote: »

I use a hoover with a brush attachent to clean it as much as I can. The fan is on the ceiling in the bathroom. Sometimes after I have had a bath brownish coloured water will drip from the fan?

What can happen is the water in the extracted air condenses on the inside of the cold duct where it passes through the loft. The water then runs back down the duct and into the motor electrics. The brown shows that the water has rusted the iron bits inside the motor.

Three approaches to stop this happening:
1) Re-route the duct so that there is less chance of water running back down.
2) Use insulated ducting to stop it getting so cold, so that moisture is less likely to condense in the duct.
3) there are fittings that go between the duct and fan to catch the water and channel to a waste pipe in the soffit board area.

Edit -- sorry, furts had already mentioned some of this.

coffeehound

Here's an example of the condensate trap fitting by the way



http://www.fantronix.com/acatalog/Plastic_Condensation_Trap.html?gclid=CPC7052Z29ACFc287QodFUoKTw