Hot answers tagged fan
12
Since yours vents into your attic space I would never use it either. Probably the biggest use of a bathroom vent fan is to help keep mold down in bathrooms, especially in humid areas. Lots of lawsuits against housing tracks have happened in humid areas where builders just put the cheapest fan in and a couple years later the residents find mold. Most ...
9
If your bathroom doesn't have a window and no fan then that all that moist air is going to create a perfect environment for mold and other unpleasant things.
Also, excessive humidity will probably make it's way into your walls and I you have a wooden house then it will start to rot.
That's why it's a bad idea for a vent to exhaust to the attic. It's just ...
9
You want a timer switch. They are quite common. As Tester101 states, you have to make sure the switch is either:
a. rated for the load of the motor (most should be for a standard fan) or, if not...
b. you need to have the switch control a relay, which in turn will turn the fan off/on. I did this to install the lutron timers that I like on a ceiling heater ...
8
Where to find the specifications
Listed on the furnace
Somewhere inside the service panel of the furnace, there should be a schematic for the furnace. This may list the electrical specifications of the blower motor. If not, the blower motor itself will have a label on it. It should list the voltage, amperage, horsepower, etc.
Using an Ammeter
An ...
5
Its been a long time since I did any fluids, and even then, it was not much. But I'll take a shot just from simple logic.
Suppose we have a single fan at the front end of the duct. It is rated for 650 CFM, and without any duct there, you will get essentially that. But suppose you put this fan in a duct. Moving air will see friction against the walls of the ...
5
As others have said you don't want to let humid air into your attic space. You will not only get mold as others have mentioned, but the moisture will reduce the effectiveness of the insulation in your attic.
While I understand not wanting to have a vent on your roof, I would recommend either getting a low unobtrusive roof vent on the back slope of the roof ...
5
Here's the real story:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/ceiling_fans.html
As required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has established test procedures and energy conservation standards for ceiling fans and for ceiling fan light kits.
Ceiling fan light kits with any ...
5
I lived in a condo built in the early 50's with a super cool looking chrome bathroom exhaust fan. The original motor finally died after 54 years of service... so I went looking for a replacement fan/light unit.
Unfortunately I was unsuccessful as well since the original fan housing is not the "standard" (read: newer) bathroom exhaust fan size.
Anyway, I ...
4
Can you look at the furnace during the time it is blowing cold air and see if the flame is on?
The thermostat has the ability to control the fan, but typically the thermostat sends a "turn heat on" signal to the furnace and the furnace controls are setup to turn the flame on for a X amount of time (to warm up the air) and then turn on the fan once the timer ...
4
Moisture removal.
"Every bathroom requires an openable window that provides at least 1.5 square ft of air flow area when open – 2006 IRC [303.3] OR mechanical type ventilation: 50 CFM intermittent or 20 CFM continuous operation – 2006 IRC [303.3X]"
See this related thread for other comments: How do I refinish a bathroom ceiling after it got moldy and ...
4
It is a pretty strange design to have that fan inside the fridge. But it is needed to circulate the cold air properly within the compartments it self.. it helps avoid mould growth, humidity build up and other horrible things.
-- Fans go out sooner or later.. but they usually start to make horrible noises after 12 months.. I would suggest finding a ...
4
Some motors have a start up noise, and is normal for that type of motor. My table saw does this. Starts out a loud 60 Hz hum which quickly increases in frequency as the motor spins up, then gets inaudible or washed out by rushing air when full speed is reached. Motors that do this are not really appropriate for residential blowers.
It also possible it's not ...
4
Typically the blower motor or fan on a forced air AC or HVAC system only run when the AC is running (this is also referred to as the "auto" mode). Turning the fan to the on position only runs the fan, but not necessarily the AC itself, giving you some air circulation, without the extra power required to run the AC compressor.
With a window unit, you also ...
3
The reason you are only provided with the maximum is that you are expected to run it with a controller, which could allow you to run at anywhere from 0 to 2500 rpm (the rated maximum) and the current and power will vary depending on how fast you want the fan.
I think you are mistaken about the energy becoming heat aspect though - this is not a heater. While ...
3
You can't determine the actual amperage from the maximum. If the manufacturer did not provide this information (which is usual) your best bet is to use a device like a Kill-A-Watt (disclosure: I have no affiliation with this product nor have I ever used it, the name just stuck in my head). This device plugs into the wall and you plug the appliance into the ...
3
Yes, the concave shape should always curve in the direction of the air flow...
(Click to enlarge.)
Switching the L1 and L2 wires wouldn't change the motor's direction and the colors are a bit arbitrary since this is a 220V circuit. Verify that it is 220V and that neither wire is the neutral, then mark the white wire with black electrician's tape to ...
3
Most ceiling fans have a reverse switch. In the summer, you want cool air blowing down in the center to give you the breeze. In the winter, you want the warm air from the ceiling to mix with the rest of the room, but without the breeze, so you reverse it and the warm air descends around the sides of the room where you're less likely to feel the draft.
If ...
3
The Wattage regulator has nothing to do with speed of fan or brightness of bulbs or for a remote. It is a safety feature that prevents the fan from overheating. If you install bulbs that exceed the specified wattage, the wattage regulator either shuts off the bulbs or limits the wattage they receive to prevent overheating. Contact the manufacturer and they ...
3
Noise should be a main concern when shopping for a whole house fan, because the hours while you are sleeping offer the coolest temperatures of the day. More important than simply exchanging the air, the cooling of the thermal mass of the structure down to the core simply takes time. Unfortunately, you can not wring all of the heat out of the thermal mass ...
3
A 48 inch gas range sounds large to me and 350 CFM may not be enough. Many people have up to 1000 CFM for smaller ranges and cooktops.
A hood will help collect the cooking fumes while the aperture of an exhaust fan is not as large.
Real kitchen hoods have grease collection mechanisms and are designed to be easy to clean. An exhaust fan will not.
Don't ...
3
I've been using the fan on my furnace much more recently, so I was curious about this as well.
I have a Luxaire G9T100014UPC13C natural gas furnace that is about 9 years old, and a Current Innovations CI300E-WIFI thermostat (which I'm controlling from my iPod).
I'm measuring the overall power use of the furnace -- right where it comes into the ...
3
Build up of friction in bearings could do it. However, that often takes 10 or more years. The cure is to take the fan apart and clean the bearings.
A Failing motor capacitor. will slow the fan. Again this usually happens over many years, but it does happen spontaneously. The cure is to replace the capacitor.
2
So I've learned that the poly is fire retardant, but it would be better not to expose it at all and use fireproof boards over all of it, instead.
For the fans, I found a slight water leak on one, and now see that solar attic fans are probably the better route. I will consult an electrician to install some from Lowe's.
2
I finally installed one, and following a tip on a review left on Amazon.com, I built a box larger than the fan, then put pipe insulation around the bottom edge of the fan. Slipping the fan into the box I built causes the fan to rest on the pipe insulation, reducing the vibration transmitted from the fan to the rafters to a minimum. It doesn't reduce the ...
2
I can't speak to how much better the "low noise" fans are than the old ones, but I have an old one and really don't notice the noise much.
The location of the installation is key here. In my case, the fan is on the second floor at the end of a hallway where all the bedrooms are. While it is loud if you are in that hallway, you can really barely hear it ...
2
I had a fan that was also having a hard time starting to spin. Inside the light fixture, the fan/motor assembly was plugged into a small outlet within the box, which along with a couple of screws made it easy to remove the fan.
Once that was out, I was able to clean lint out of the motor and add a few drops of lubricant oil where contact was being made. At ...
2
If you have the option, I think it's easier to connect the wiring and ducts from the attic side. If it was installed during construction, they did it without the ceiling in place, so you may find that the screws/nails to remove the enclosure cannot be accessed from in the bathroom. Make sure you get a tight fit with the drywall, otherwise you'll be sucking ...
2
First off, I vote for a new unit if you can swing it, but $100 is a lot cheaper and you are not likely to offset the cost of a new unit with the savings from a newer, more efficient unit for many years.
The condenser fan motor isn't that hard to change, you just need basic hand tools and a gear puller. It would also be a good time to replace the fan start ...
2
I'd start by checking for physical obstructions first. For example...
What happens if you manually rotate the blades by hand? Do they shake/wobble? Do you notice any grinding or irritation?
When the fan is running do you hear any strange noises? Grinding? Clicking? Humming? Buzzing? Knocking?
2
Something has to be different than what you say for this scenario to occur in a house that's wired in a manner even approaching code compliance.
The voltage drop on the outlet while the fan is on is normal. The fan is simply using some of the power of the circuit, decreasing the remaining potential elsewhere in the circuit.
You say that the voltage changes ...
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