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Draught extractor fans

  • 21-01-2019 11:32pm
    #1
    john_doe.
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 643 ✭✭✭


    Hi ,

    Our bathrooms have extractor fans fitted
    Anytime I'm n bathroom and fans are off I can feel the cold air coming from them and there seems to be a draught. Their also absolutely useless at extraction.

    Was wondering what's the key to good extraction in a bathroom without freezing to death 😫

    Thanks


Comments

  • #2
    Calahonda52
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,561 ✭✭✭✭Calahonda52


    you need a fan with a back draught baffle
    check ducting, could be that white flexi, with a bend in it full of condensed water

    “I can’t pay my staff or mortgage with instagram likes”.



  • #3
    Lumen
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 31,137 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    If your extract fan is useless at extraction, the problem could be that it can't draw air into the bathroom, for instance because there isn't enough gap under the door, or you have insufficient ventilation to the hallway outside.

    But then if that was the case, it probably wouldn't be draughty.


  • #4
    Calibos
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,810 ✭✭✭Calibos


    Are the extractors in the wall or ceiling?

    The reason I ask is that I have a wall extractor in an attic conversion dormer ensuite and a ceiling extractor in the main bathroom. Both had a draught problem but the wall mounted extractor in the ensuite was by far the worst. It was a Vortice Extractor which has no closable or internal baffle with only a gravity flap cover on the outside to prevent draughts. Useless. The gravity flaps rattle constantly and an East wind blows right through. The ensuite and adjoining bedroom was an icebox during the snow of Feb/Mar 2018. I resolved to do something about it. First port of call was Woodies where I picked up a spring loaded baffle insert for the ducting between the extractor and the exterior gravity baffle. Waste of money. The tiny springs couldn't even keep the baffle closed against the pressure differential between inside the house and outside. ie. Air flowing out of the house. Yeah, they may have worked in an Easterly to prevent icey air blowing into the house but the other 360 days of the year we'd be losing heated air out this 4 inch hole in the wall. Of course before the backdraught baffle we always were losing heated air 24/7 out this vent but my concerns about air infiltration/draughts highlighted in the 2018 snow made me also realise how much warm air we were letting escape as well as the cold air that was being let in.

    So...I just bought one of THESE to replace the entire extractor fan.

    So far so good! I didn't buy any of the control modules (bit cheeky that they cost more than the bloody fan!!) because I read in an Amazon review comment that it was possible to remove the timer control module from the old fan and wire it into the new extractor. I did this and it worked a treat. 3 Iris covers open when the fan is on and close when the fan is off. Prevents air escaping through the vent as well as preventing draughts getting in.

    I bought the Icon 15 as it was for an ensuite but you can get larger and more powerful versions. The 6 inch versions may require widening your opening in your wall/ceiling or else using a skirt for flush mounting.

    The Woodies Backdraught baffle ended up not being a total waste of money. I was able to use it with the other bathroom extractor that is ceiling mounted. The exterior vent for this fan is a Roof Tile type vent not directly exposed to an easterly which meant less cold air ingress and less of a draw pulling out internal heated air. With the springloaded baffle insert orientated in the vertical for the ceiling extractor it meant that both the spring and gravity were acting in concert to keep the baffle closed unless the fan was switched on. So the spring baffle insert did work in this orientation with the original ceiling extractor in this other bathroom. However, next time I have another €60 blowing a hole in my pocket, I'll probably still replace the extractor with another ICON Iris fan (unless the ICON breaks and proves to be crap build quality or something)

    Correction

    Not all the control modules cost more than the fan. Just double checked and the 'Timer Only' control module for this fan similar to what I transplanted from the the old extractor fan would have cost me GBP£17. Its the Motion Sensing Control Module that I ultimately want to purchase for this fan that'll cost more than the fan itself.


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