Recommend Bath Light/heater/exhaust

rosco

reading reviews to pick a bath light/heater/fan is confusing at best.

for an ~8'x10' bath - i'd like one that is

• fast and easy to install,
• doesn't have switch limitations or special set-up
• the heater or heat lamp won't melt the plastic or require special insulation (some seem to be fire hazards)
• i read many reviews of several fans that indicate heater elements are going out in the second year.
• one that doesn't through a circuit breaker as many seem to do.
• i've read several reviews of people installing new units but soon going back to using space heaters.

also, it seems that putting a heater and an exhaust fan near each other on a ceiling is crazy. an IR fan that heated surfaces far away would be cool, but my experience is that they only heat surfaces w/i 5' or so. i guess i'll be looking at a double or triple switch since another light is already in there.

the problem seems to be that all these units are crap from China. I'm not finding much w/ goggle: "american made bath light/heater/exhaust."

Thanks All

rosco

i'm reading consumer reports. in doing so i've a stupid question: can the fan exhaust into the attic?

Scuba_Dave

No, you need to exhaust it thru the roof or outside

rosco

if i tied the venting into another bath exhaust what will make it vent outside w/o back-drafting into the other bath?

Yoyizit

8x10 x 8' high = 640 cu. ft. At 8 air changes per hour this is 640(8)/60 = 85 CFM.

rosco

thanks Yoyizit. i found this on the consumer reports (i wish i had the subscription to it): "The Home Ventilation Institute, the industry’s trade association, has this sensible rule of thumb for most bathrooms: The fan should have airflow of one cubic foot per minute (cfm) for every square foot of bathroom area up to 100 square feet."

Charlie123

What i did was install 2 separate units and 1 switch.

I bought the best fan-light combo i could get - made by Panasonic - and installed it over the shower [it's rated for it through a GFCI] - and exhausted it through the wall.

Then i bought a cheapo broan infrared heater - the 1 bulb version they also make 2 bulbs - and installed it in the area in the bathroom away from the shower since heaters are not approved over tub-shower.

My basement bathroom is small so the 250 watt infrared heats it up nicely. If you have a larger bath then a nice unit again made by Panasonic has the element kind with a fan to circulate the heat but it sucks up alot of energy - might have to use a separate circuit and switch for it unless you buy just the 1 combo with all in - heater-light-exhaust.

Either way the air MUST be exhausted to the OUTSIDE else you'll get mold water problems.

I wouldn't tie 2 bath exhaust fans to the same exit as 1 fan might overpower the other and blow air into the other unit. Drill the hole and separate outside vent it.

rosco

THX! Charlie - i think i can access this particular portion of the attic. If so, i'm good until it comes to the electrical wiring.