Condo Bathroom Fan

Condo Bathroom Fan

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1. Can these be installed without access to the attic area? I live in a condo, and would desperately like to rid myself of the builder grade fan I have now. While there is attic space above the fan, there is no access to that area. When I contacted a local contractor who was recommended by the local Panasonic dealer he spent all of five seconds looking at the ceiling and quoted me $125 per fan to install one. He did not pull the cover off the current fan to measure depth or do anything else.

   After looking at some of the previous posts on this forum it appears to me that the ceiling would need to be opened up so that the fan can be properly secured to the joists. Once completed new drywall and texturing would be necessary. Is this a correct assumption?

2. There will need to be access to connect the duct properly to the fan unit.
   The drywall can be trimmed back to mount the fan to the joists, and it will depend on how much different the existing fan is as to how large the drywall repair will need to be.

4. 

   jadnashua Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx

   Joined:

   Sep 2, 2004

   Occupation:

   Retired Systems engineer for defense industry.

   Location:

   New England

   If the existing ductwork is flexible, you might not need to make the hole bigger. But, if it is flexible, you're performance will not be as good as if it were rigid.l

5. I would suggest the Panasonic FV-08-11VF5 WhisperFitEZ Fan

   the whisper fit is made to be able to install from bottom. It comes with brackets that fold in half so it fits the small opening and then it flips out to reach the studs. Then you slip the fan directly up on the brackets.

6. they can be installed from below, the ducting is challenge. Try to use as little flexible duct as possible. You may be able to use the flexible aluminum duct and form it back into shape as the housing is installed into the ceiling. Depends on the size of the opening in the housing and if it has a damper that is easily removable. Also if it is in an unconditioned space it should be insulated.

7. Well it only took eight months, but they are finally installed! Buying the fans - easy. Finding a local contractor to install them - difficult. Short version - the first four contractors either never showed up for the appt, or never returned my call after coming out and giving me an estimate. The electrician who did the job took about three hours for two fans. The first one went in smoothly, but we ran into some challenges on the second one.

   Overall it was worth the time and money to get them installed. Significantly quieter than the builder grade fans! The shower is louder than the fan.

   Only one oddity. Both are connected to Leviton preset timers. One is from their now discontinued Acenti line and works perfectly fine. The other is connected to one from their Decora line, but the timer (Leviton LTB60) buzzes when you select one of the presets. Worked perfectly fine before we started with the old fan, but buzzes when connected to the new one. A call to Leviton yielded two possibilities - 1) the Panasonic fan is incompatible with the Leviton timer, or 2) the Leviton timer is faulty. Has anyone run into this problem?

8. I am going to vote that the leviton timer is not compatible. The current draw of your new fan is not enough. Does your new fan have a light in it? If so if it has a cfl or led swap it for a incandescent bulb and it might be a cheap fix. Otherwise look for a timer that requires a neutral wire to work. Generally they will work fine from no load to what ever they are rated for.

9. 

   jadnashua Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx

   Joined:

   Sep 2, 2004

   Occupation:

   Retired Systems engineer for defense industry.

   Location:

   New England

   IMHO, what may be better is to change the switch out for a moisture sensing one that will turn the fan on automatically, then shut it off (you can still turn it on manually). I find that it actually works best to try to remember to turn it on manually, but it will then only run until the room ends up dry. This is actually sensing moisture, not humidity (you test it by blowing into the sensor - the humidity in your breath will trigger it on). Panasonic sells this branded under their name, but it is made by another company and may be cheaper bought from them. FWIW, what works better is to have this built into the fan, but then, it becomes hard to turn it on if you want to vent the room for purposes other than moisture!? It's handy for guests and children that might not remember to turn it on, and like your timer, it will shut itself off by itself, but does it via both time and/or moisture.

   https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16803552327

   There are others out there that should work, but buying one branded by Panasonic pretty much guarantees it will work with one of their fans. I put one of these into my mother's guest bathroom where most people would not think to turn the fan on. I usually remember to turn it on before my shower, but not always, and it's nice to have it come on automatically. I don't visit all that often.

   Last edited by a moderator: Nov 1, 2017
10. 

    Terry Administrator Staff Member

    

    Installing a Panasonic WhisperQuiet fan in the ceiling of a condo. There was just a small joist space here. The fan that was removed was from 1971. a 10" round, which gets replaced by cutting the hole square at 10.25"
    This piece gets wired up, and the flex duct installed to it with duct tape. Then this part is lifted into the ceiling space and attached, the square fan box clips in and is secured. Then the fan motor installs with the supplied three attachment screws and plugs in.

    

    

    Lastly the grill snaps in.

    Last edited: Aug 11, 2018

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Condo Bathroom Fan

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