Suitable extractor fan for utility room - please help!

[dave163]

In our utility room there is a sink, central heating boiler, washing machine and tumble dryer. The room is about 7.5 cubic metres and has no opening window so to meet building regs needed an extractor fan. When we had the kitchen redone end of last year the sparky fitted a quite expensive (£100 ish) fan activated by pull cord with humidistat. It isn't wired to come on with the light. After only a few weeks it's packed up already and as there's no receipt I need to buy another. It's 6 inches square with a 4 inch diameter outlet across an exterior wall.

Bit of background - I've never had much luck with extractor fans, in a previous house I must have replaced the bathroom fan about once a year, and tried timers and humidistats to control length of staying on, they all seemed equally unreliable.

I normally run the dryer overnight. So ideally I'd like a fan that comes on with a pull cord (ie independent of whether the light is on, to save having the light on all the time the fan is running) and a timer that keeps it running for around 3 hours which is the typical length of a drying cycle. However not many fans seem to give the duration the timer keeps the fan on for after pulling the cord, and those that do only stay on for about 20mins which is way too short for the purpose I need it for. I could just get a fan that stays on until I turn it off but then it would be running for hours when it didn't need to and might wear out sooner. Given my appalling track record with extractor fans that will happen sooner or later.

So please can someone recommend me a fan suitable for running at 3 hours at a time for when the dryer is on and that does enough air changes (I think for a utility room it's 10 per hour so 75cubic m/hr, right)? Not wanting to spend a fortune either.

Also can I fit it myself (I could probably follow a + and - wiring diagram!) or is a registered sparky required to fit a replacement fan? Undoubtedly it won't be the last one I get through.

The really dumb thing is that the tumble dryer is a heat pump model so the room doesn't steam up even with the door shut and dryer running - I'm only doing this to satisfy the very fussy building regs inspector who is visiting shortly to sign off the kitchen.

 

[EFLImpudence]

The room is about 7.5 cubic metres and has no opening window so to meet building regs needed an extractor fan.

Not entirely correct.

Building Regulations:

 

[flameport]

end of last year the sparky fitted a quite expensive (£100 ish) fan .... After only a few weeks it's packed up already

Surely the person who supplied and installed it can return it and get another one?

If the requirement is just for a working fan to be present, then get a cheap one such as https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p33605

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Surely the person who supplied and installed it must return it and get another one?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Also can I fit it myself (I could probably follow a + and - wiring diagram!) or is a registered sparky required to fit a replacement fan? Undoubtedly it won't be the last one I get through.

Yes you could, but the advice is to have the electrician who supplied it replace the thing with a working one! He will have the invoice, as he'll need that for his P&L/tax return.

PS Your fan runs on AC voltage, so it will be an L and N wiring diagram!

 

[JohnW2]

I normally run the dryer overnight......

Given their history of bursting into flames (mine did, but fortunately rapidly self-extinguished), that's not necessarily too wise an idea.

The same theoretically goes for any appliance but, speaking personally, I'm fairly happy to have a washing machine or dishwasher running 'unattended', but I wouldn't be with a dryer (and that was my view even before our 'incident').

Kind Regards, John

 

[aptsys]

Agree with JW. Call the electrican back - if they supplied and fitted then they are responsible for the guarantee of the item.

Given their history of bursting into flames (mine did, but fortunately rapidly self-extinguished), that's not necessarily too wise an idea.

The same theoretically goes for any appliance but, speaking personally, I'm fairly happy to have a washing machine or dishwasher running 'unattended', but I wouldn't be with a dryer (and that was my view even before our 'incident').

Kind Regards, John

The heat pump type are very safe.

 

[John D v2.0]

I'm only doing this to satisfy the very fussy building regs inspector who is visiting shortly to sign off the kitchen.

In that case the utility is nothing to do with it so he can't refuse to sign off the kitchen. But anyway he's not going to come round everything time you do a load of washing to check is on so don't bother with the timer and just leave it switched off.
If you're really set on a timer just get a plug in one and wire the fan up to a plug.

 

[JohnW2]

The heat pump type are very safe.

It sounds as if they ought to be, but I must confess that I've never heard of such a thing!

Kind Regards, john

 

[dave163]

Thanks - so is there really no extractor fan on the market that's suitable for a utility room? Criteria seem simple enough: adequate air changes and stays on until dryer finishes. My electrician thought he was covering the latter by getting a pullcord on that would turn itself off when humidity fell (ie dryer stopped) but the humidity from a heat pump dryer is pretty limited and the fan died not long after installation. As did a previous humidity-controlled extractor fan I had in the bathroom, so not very happy overall with that design. Why can't you get fans with a timer that stays on more than half an hour?

If I leave the dryer running for a couple of hours overnight I guess I'll just have to accept that I need to remember to turn the fan off the following morning and hope it doesn't wear out too quickly!

 

[JohnW2]

Why can't you get fans with a timer that stays on more than half an hour?

I guess probably because there is not much demand. However, one can get timers (not to mention simple time switches) which would allow you to have it stay on for as long as you want.

Kind Regards, John

 

[John D v2.0]

would turn itself off when humidity fell (ie dryer stopped) but the humidity from a heat pump dryer is pretty limited

So just need to get things clear, why do you actually want a fan on when the dryer is running if there's no humidity to speak of?
Once we know what the fan is for, then we can work out something else possibly to help you out. As far as I can tell it's either 1, that you want to keep an over enthusiastic BCO happy, or 2, that there's some pollutant other than emitted by the dryer that you want to remove, or 3, you want to do it out of interest's sake.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Why can't you get fans with a timer that stays on more than half an hour?

Just a guess - not needed ?

If I leave the dryer running for a couple of hours overnight I guess I'll just have to accept that I need to remember to turn the fan off the following morning and hope it doesn't wear out too quickly!

Or -

One night you forget to turn it ON, you may realise it's not needed.

 

[John D v2.0]

The heat pump type are very safe.

Probably safer than the standard one, but remember the grenfell fire was started by a fridge (relatively new one) so I wouldn't be 100% on any electrical appliance.
Obviously the terrible consequences of the fridge fire were caused by the building design not the fridge as the actual fire in the flat was put out easily.

 

[aptsys]

Normally fridge fires are a result of things like the defrost heater and not the heat pump system. Heat pump tumble dryers are effectively dehumidifiers, hence the very low power consumption.

I agree though, with such severe cost reduction in all appliances nothing is 100% safe.