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FlyingPete

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#175730 10-Jul-2015 09:16
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My own going improving the standard of living in my house, I got a bathroom extractor fan properly installed (by a registered electrician and vented outside).

So this particular fan needs to have a air flow source to minimise the chance of it burning out trying to create a vacuum, standard approaches are to leave the bathroom door slightly open or a window, other people I have heard have shaved a bit off the bottom of the bathroom door to allow air flow.

What is the standard way for doing this?  Are vents sometime included from elsewhere in the house as an option, like through the wall to the hall (where there is a gas heater in my place).

Leaving the window cracked is OK in summer but not like mornings like this morning!

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hsvhel
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  #1340369 10-Jul-2015 09:20
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Does your bathroom seal sufficiently to create a vacuum now?




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lxsw20
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  #1340371 10-Jul-2015 09:26
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Easiest way is like you have said, take a bit off the bottom of the door. 

FlyingPete

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  #1340372 10-Jul-2015 09:28
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hsvhel: Does your bathroom seal sufficiently to create a vacuum now?


Not properly, it is carpeted under door, enough so that the installer said it would put extra load on it. 

I have kids so telling them "leave door slightly open" or "make sure window is slightly open" are not guaranteed to be effective.



FlyingPete

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  #1340375 10-Jul-2015 09:31
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lxsw20: Easiest way is like you have said, take a bit off the bottom of the door. 


Yeah I am leaning that way, should be easy enough to do.

lxsw20
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  #1340377 10-Jul-2015 09:33
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If it's a solid door, you could also put a vent in the door. 

Bung
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  #1340379 10-Jul-2015 09:41
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A separate vent is far too much trouble. A 20mm gap doesn't look too obvious and should be enough.

 
 
 
 

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Jaxson
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  #1340402 10-Jul-2015 10:15
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FlyingPete:

Leaving the window cracked is OK in summer but not like mornings like this morning!


One approach I heard of was to not use the fan during the shower.  The room would be warm and you put the fan on afterwards.  If you bring in cold air whilst showering then you'll get more condensation.

On the flip side, if you pull from the house, you're taking warm air and pumping it outside.

Air can only leave your house if it can get in at the same rate, so this typically just causes drafts from somewhere else.  Often it pulls from the garage or down through downlights.

There are pros and cons to everything.

timmmay
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  #1340426 10-Jul-2015 10:41
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I wouldn't worry about it too much. I have a particularly powerful extractor fan, just the fan motor is the size of a motorcycle tyre, a very small gap under the door - 5mm maybe. Air comes in under the door and around all the door edges.

mclean
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  #1340485 10-Jul-2015 11:27
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A 25mm door undercut can pass about 25 litre/s at a reasonable resistance, which might be enough to keep your fan happy depending on how much grunt it has.  For a higher flow rate the easiest thing is a door grille, like the Holyoake one which is sight-proof and just clips in each side of the door.  But they're not cheap, especially if you want it powder-coated to match the door.

https://www.sopersmac.co.nz/products/Holyoake_Door_Grille-p511.php

mcraenz
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  #1340785 10-Jul-2015 18:39
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I would think you could trim a little off the door with a circular saw.






 

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k1w1k1d
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  #1340803 10-Jul-2015 19:14
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Workmate put an extra fan in to suck air from roof space through a filter into the bathroom when extractor fan is running.

 
 
 

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Niel
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  #1341418 11-Jul-2015 22:26
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Gap under door is best as it is the lowest point so sucks cold air out of the house.  You still get (even colder) air coming into the house somewhere, but at least you are not sucking the coolest air out of the house.  Leaving a door open sucks the warm air out, which is closer to the ceiling.

I like the idea of a filtered fan sucking air out of the ceiling space.  I'll however probably go for having a second vent when I improve out bathroom.

Leaving the fan off during showers means the mirror steams up.  Or get a shower dome.




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