good bathroom fan

[Steve]

I'm going to be having a thru-the-wall bathroom fan fitted, but ideally want one with an airtight shutter when it isn't in use, and one that is reasonably quiet and powerful in use!

I'm asking here because I figure electricians must fit bathroom fans more often than any other occupation!

I see TLC sell Icon fans, are these any good?

And are humidistats any good? Or is a timer fan a better/more reliable option?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

A timer fans is better, as the humidistat will run with high humidity in room, which can often be quite frustrating as they operate erratically.
The sizing of the fan would be based on the cubic volume of your room, as far air tightness, you are never going to get one completely air tight, but plenty about with back draft shutters on both fan and external grilles.

 

[RF Lighting]

The icon ones are good, but it's been a while since I did one and I can't remember how noisy they were.

The other make to look at is vent axia with proper draught shutters. I used to fit a lot of these for Leeds city council, and they are a bullet proof unit, but again I can't remember how noisy they were.

If you're fixing to a solid external wall noise won't be as much of an issue. It's when they are ceiling mounted onto plasterboard you get real problems with the sound resonating through the house.

Look for centrifugal fans. They're slightly bigger than standard fans, but have a much better extraction rate.

 

[RF Lighting]

Here's one

http://www.screwfix.com/p/vent-axia-solo-t-15w-centrifugal-bathroom-extractor-fan-with-timer/87031


It also has a trickle setting which just keeps the fan running really slowly all the time which keeps the bathroom aired even when it's not in use, and it'll help prevent draughts coming back in. It has a back draught shutter if the wind gets up a bit.

 

[Steve]

Ah. Rob, I'm chipping the 100yr old plaster off the external wall and dot n dab n screwing it. So in a way it'll be mounted onto plasterboard. But its only one wall, shouldn't be too bad. I'll put some more dots around the fan so it will be a bit less hollow and more firmly fixed to the wall.