Extractor fan triggered by shower pump

[penguinventures]

I'm looking for an extractor fan for bathroom/shower room. Ideally I'd like it to operate only when the shower pump operates with a timer to overun. Does anyone know of a product that will connect in this way?

Thanks

 

[GaryMo]

How about the switched line coming via a flow switch in the output of the pump?

 

[Richard C]

Any timer fan can operate in that way; it just has to be wired into the pump circuit instead of the lighting circuit which is the normal way of doing things. Seems a strange way to do it though, why not buy a fan with a humidity stat if you don’t want it coming on every time you turn the light on; or another alternative is to have an isolator switch on the wall outside so you can turn the thing off

 

[penguinventures]

Thank you for the advice.

A flow switch would work and be ideal and an overide switch could be in circuit for a non-shower user to use the fan.

A humidistat would work but as you suggest I would want to be able to isolate it when taking a bath.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

A humidistat would work but as you suggest I would want to be able to isolate it when taking a bath.

Why?

If a humidistat fan comes on while you are having a bath it's because you need the fan to come on while you are having a bath....

 

[1john]

if you have a window then just open it if you are going to be switching the fan on and off then it will eventually get left off. why dont you want the fan running when you are in the bath?

 

[Lectrician]

We have wired many commercial shower blocks with flow switches in the shower pipework to control the central extraction.

Not very common in domestics, but it was very common in the commercial blocks.

As the price of humidistats have come down, these are more popular these days.

 

[Richard C]

A humidistat would work but as you suggest I would want to be able to isolate it when taking a bath.

That doesn't make any sense to me at all

 

[penguinventures]

Thanks for the responses!

Preference is to not have any noise - I can't stand the sound of a extractor fans. Whilst in the shower there's plenty of ambient noise - in the bath...

Maybe my experience of extractor fans are bad ones - are there almost silent runs available?

I have option of installing ducting from a vent in the bathroom into inline fan in the loft then out the side wall. If a stand-alone humidistat is available for mounting in the bathroom seperate to a fan this could be a better option? I understand suspending inline fans from rafters on cord makes them very quiet.

 

[aptsys]

I use a Vortice Lineo fan - 365m3/h and the fan itself is silent running. You can only hear the airflow which isn't too bad at all if you select the ducting and grilles well.

 

[Richard C]

Preference is to not have any noise - I can't stand the sound of a extractor fans. Whilst in the shower there's plenty of ambient noise - in the bath...

The whole point of a fan is that it’s extracting steam as it’s being generated, once it condenses onto cold surfaces (walls/windows/sanitary ware) the damage is done & the fan becomes far less efficient as it will just be relying on air flow through the room to re-evaporate the condensation.

Maybe my experience of extractor fans are bad ones - are there almost silent runs available?

Some are very noisy; I don’t know what you’ve experienced or how critical your being but I love these;
http://www.iconfan.co.uk/icon/icon-detail.asp?ProductID=3
They are quiet, look the business & I’ve fitted many. Internal modules (timer/humidity etc) are available to suit your application but if you fit an isolator on the wall outside the room at light switch level, you can always turn it off anyway!

I have option of installing ducting from a vent in the bathroom into inline fan in the loft then out the side wall. If a stand-alone humidistat is available for mounting in the bathroom seperate to a fan this could be a better option? I understand suspending inline fans from rafters on cord makes them very quiet.

Seems like an awful lot of unnecessary hassle & a rather more expensive way of going about it but it's your call

 

[skenk]

A well-dampened inline fan in the loft would be a good bet. An over-run timer from the light switch will mean it will extract nasty smells as well as humidity.

 

[penguinventures]

Thanks for the advice - I'll be having a look at the options over the next few days and discussing with the electrician. I like the look of the Iconfan and can see that installation will be very simple - as long as it runs quiet!

Cheers

 

[Paul_C]

Why not just wire the fan to its own switch, then you can turn it on and off as you please?

 

[Adam_151]

Why not just wire the fan to its own switch, then you can turn it on and off as you please?

Round here, if the building inspector is involved on a job, we get pulled up if we put a fan on its own switch