Trickle fan, run continuous or only when needed?

[LM23]

Our bathroom has no ventilation apart from a trickle fan, it’s so quiet it’s hard to tell whether it kicks in only when the light is switched on or whether it runs continuously.

Any ideas? From what I can gather trickle fans are designed not to use a lot of electricity therefore best to leave on 24/7 or do you run the risk of it burning out?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Depends what you mean by 'best'.

Do you actually need a trickle fan in the bathroom?

 

[LM23]

Depends what you mean by 'best'.

Do you actually need a trickle fan in the bathroom?

it’s a relatively new build (4 years) therefore still working with what was in there.

No vents or windows in the bathroom therefore trickle fan only source of ventilation.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Let's start again.

Our bathroom has no ventilation apart from a trickle fan,

Well, it has the fan ducting (chimney) and presumably a door.

it’s so quiet it’s hard to tell whether it kicks in only when the light is switched on or whether it runs continuously.

Yes, but they are supposed to trickle all the time and then come on faster(normally) with a switch or the light.

Not possible to tell from the internet, I'm afraid.

Any ideas? From what I can gather trickle fans are designed not to use a lot of electricity therefore best to leave on 24/7 or do you run the risk of it burning out?

They are designed to run slowly(trickle) all the time so obviously they will not last as long as if they only work for thirty minutes a day but they will not 'burn out' if being used as intended.

However, my point was: do you actually need the trickle or indeed a fan at all. Is there a problem with the building causing unacceptable condensation and/or mould?

 

[ericmark]

However, my point was: do you actually need the trickle or indeed a fan at all. Is there a problem with the building causing unacceptable condensation and/or mould?

You do have a good point, my old house has a mould problem since fitting a shower over the bath, but mothers did not, and this house does not, so I started to look at why.

What I realised it was the glass panels around the shower, our house in Mold has a gap over the bath and above the glass panels so had a chimney effect and all the moisture was circulated around the whole of the bathroom, but in this house the shower doors seal at the bottom so all water is retained within the shower cubical.

Mothers house was a wet room, so again no curtain or door to create the chimney effect. Plus she had under floor heating in the shower, so floor dried out, and in both cases the shower is down stairs, and draws in air from a cool hall way, so are cool to start with which means it holds less moisture.

With a heat recovery unit (which can look like a fan) they tend to run 24/7, and allow air both in and out of the house, but with a fan it only pushes air in one direction so replacement air has to come from somewhere.

 

[old duffer]

Our bathroom has no ventilation apart from a trickle fan, it’s so quiet it’s hard to tell whether it kicks in only when the light is switched on or whether it runs continuously.

Any ideas? From what I can gather trickle fans are designed not to use a lot of electricity therefore best to leave on 24/7 or do you run the risk of it burning out?

I swapped to using constant operation fans in the bathrooms. Makes a huge difference to humidity levels...make sure you have enough air coming in to replace that being expelled...

 

[bernardgreen]

The continuous trickle may be due to the Radon gas levels being high enough to require permanent ventilation,

UKradon - Home

www.ukradon.org