I'm looking to get a new exhaust fan for a 65sq.ft bathroom. I'm considering a specific fan but it comes with 2 exhaust ducts, 4"or6". Is there a real difference? Doesn't the motor still draw the same volume regardless? Also, with soooo many 'clearing houses' on the Internet these days, does anyone have experience with a good reputable site. The prices I'm seeing can be $35 cheaper than Home Depot, Lowe's etc. Thanks.
When you want to return it, will the $35 balance what a pain in the ass it is to package it up and go to the post office? Also, I've gotten stuff like that cheaper at local electric supply stores than at the big chains or online. It's not supposed to be that way, according to myth, but it is. Same with faucets I've bought at real plumbing supply and bath showrooms.
Many manufacturers are going from 4" to 6" ducts to keep the units quiet. I would get a 6" unit, and if you want to use 4" duct, just go to depot and get a 6 to 4 reducer. The unit will have slightly lower CFM's and produce slightly more sones. I've bought Broan and Panasonic units from WAM and Wave Plumbing online sights and will do so in the future without hesitation. The last unit I got was from Wave Plumbing and saved over $100 over local suppliers.
The 6" can potentially move a hell of a lot more air. Check the cfm ratings.
I don't know what you are looking at, but Panasonic fans are much quieter than some of the cheap-o brands around.
The fans that are 6" usually can also be adapted to 4" and the manufacturer's website should have specs that show how much air it will move in either case. Then you can decide based on air flow as well as any installation issues you have with 6 vs 4. I'm also with Ed on making sound level a top priority. Given all the work involved, I'd rather spend $75 more and get a nice quiet one instead of saving a few bucks.
Thanks for the replies.... I was considering the Broan, or NuTone, but looked at the Panasonic as suggested.I found a Panasonic Whisper Quiet, rated at 0.8 sones,online. Pretty quiet compared to the rest. It's a 110cfm, paid $108 free shipping. If anyone cares I'll give a report when it arrives and I install it.
Broan and Nutone are the same company. In my opinion, they only make one model fan that's decent, which is called "ultra silent", and the truth is, even though it is very quiet and has a really nice blower unit in it, it's still built into a pos tin foil box, that has no integrity, and unless it's blocked and screwed to death, will cause vibration noises. You will be very pleased with the Panasonic, trust me
I installed an inline Panasonic fan and it is so quiet you need a wall timer. Came with various mounting hardware, mine sits on a cleat fastened to a 2x2' ply square.
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