Bathroom Exhaust Fan Conduit

Is it wise to use metallic tubing as the exhaust (4 inch diamter) conduit for a Panasonic model FV-08VQL3 ?

Would metal tubing be prone to producing more noise than a plastic-covered ring tubing ?

Reply to
Vince
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Reply to
RBM

Reply to
RBM

Reply to
Vince

Reply to
RBM

Yes.

No, assuming the fan is installed correctly.

Reply to
Luke

Back in time, when oil was real cheap, they made almost everything out of steel. Most of that is still in use. Now that oil is real expensive, they insist on making everything out of plastic (which is made from oil). Your plastic ring tubing will probably be cheaper, but you'll replace it every 5 years or so, and that will help waste more oil and fill more landfills and in the end raise the price of oil while wasting your time.

Do it right the first time. Use steel (as in round ducting / probably

4 inch diameter.) Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

Better still, use 4" thinwall PVC sewer pipe (without the holes punched into the sides) you will find it very smooth inside, has all the fittings to make clean bends, glues together to prevent leaks and will not rust from condensation. Also because it is plastic it will not conduct the heat through the walls causing additional condensation. If the pipe is a tight or loose fit on the fan and/or the outside louver you can expand or contract the diameter with a heat gun. To reduce the size heat it with a gear clamp on it and tighten to make it fit an undersized hub end of the fan housing.

Reply to
Eric Tonks

Vince,

I'm also planning to install a panasonic fan in my bathroom. Venting thru unheated attic to an outside wall. I'm thinking about using pvc pipe. I'm also looking for a way to insulate it! If you come up with any ideas please let me know.

Have you bought the fan yet? I found what look like pretty good prices at

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They sell the fan you listed for $145 w/free shipping. Not sure if thats a good price, as the fan I'm looking at is a different model.

I'm also planning to use a nice, push-button timer switch:

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Again, if you get any good ideas or sources for insulating the 4" duct please let me know.

Reply to
Lee

Hello Lee:

I read in another post the suggestion of using PVC pipe as the conduit, and gave that some thought. I think steel conduit would work just as well as PVC.

The problem that I might have here is that this ranch type house has a hip line roof, and there might not be enough room to angle the conduit to the vent opening that is already located in the soffit area on the house.

I have been concentrating on using Owens-Corning Fiberglass Duct Wrap

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the insulating material, if I can easily obtain it w/o going crazy. I think Type 75 in 4 inch thickness will be OK. However, I have not as yet found where to buy and do not know pricing info.

eBay has a couple of sellers for the Panasonic model FV-08VQL3 that I am keyed onto. Pricing is at about $142 with free shipping.

Thanks for the tip; very much appreciated since I was thinking that I need a fixed timer for 20 mins or 30 mins. I will consider the count-down timer shown at

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.

I think that I must be careful of which model to select, because the FV-08VQL3 fan (rated at 0.7 SONE) includes two fluorescent bulbs and a socket for an incandescent night light. I don't need the night light, so I wont bother with a separate switch for it. The count-down timer, Leviton model 4254/4255-Ivory, will likely handle the fan motor and the fluorescent bulb loads. Or, I might want to go with a separate (normal) switch for the fluorescent load.

Regards, de ~ Vince ~

Reply to
Vince

On the switch, in case you shop locally, the actual Leviton "Decora" number is 612-6230M. The number I previously provided must the the Smarthome catalog number of this switch. The Smarthome price beat what I could find locally however.

Reply to
Lee

Vince, I forgot to mention that I found insulation that might work to cover ducting, at Home Depot. It was in the duct area, near the foil tape and such. Its foil backed sleeves of insulation for 6" ducts and smaller. Take a look. Its about $5.40 for 5 ft.

Also thanks for the info on the duct wrap insulation. I'll check it out.

Reply to
Lee

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