Bathroom Exhaust Fan Replacement

[Jims94vmx]

I just put up a 200mm computer fan with led lights.....was going to use the fan on the outside upper fridge vent. No room there because they did a great job creating a chimney to move hot air away. Will see how it goes, getting a shower later. It is quiet and looks cool

[howson]

I got lucky--the vast majority of the butyl tape came off with the fan assembly. I had very little to clean off the roof itself. (Yea!)





The MaxxAir 4500K is in without any drama. The shroud even installed without having to trim it. Easy!

The head-scratcher is I can't figure out why the FanMate I had over the OEM fan won't install on the 4500K. I am working with a MaxxAir rep now (via email). The problem is the FanMate won't seat down over the mounting tabs on the 4500K. As you can see in the pic below, it will only go so far and then stops. There's no physical way I can see that the two will work together. The area on the FanMate where it is supposed to align is way too narrow compared to the width of the mounting tab on the 4500K.



This pic of the bottom of the FanMate is not in focus, but not crawling back up on that roof until I have to!



Edit: See next post before responding!

[howson]

So the gap is supposed to be there. I'm surprised--sure doesn't "look" right. I guess doing it this way makes sure there's no interference with gobs of sealant.

From the manual (I added the crudely drawn red arrow):

[gbkims]

I was gonna say from their pictures it looked like it rode up on top with just enough space to slide the clips through.

Gene

[howson]

I was gonna say from their pictures it looked like it rode up on top with just enough space to slide the clips through.

Gene

What's crazy is that this leaves a bug-friendly gap between the FanMate and the 4500K. What good is the (optional) front bug screen on the FanMate?

[howson]

So this is nuts. The MaxxAir FanMate (I have model 755) is made and designed to work with the 4500K MaxxFan. Should be a simple install, right?

Here's what happened. I placed the FanMate on the MaxxFan's mounts without installing the clips and turned on the MaxxFan. The lid opened, impacted the FanMate, and lifted the FanMate up into the air! How in the world can this be right? Why would MaxxAir allow the MaxxFan's lid to open further than the FanMate will allow?

I've got another email in to MaxxAir. Their response should be interesting.

Ah the joys of working on stuff...and I was so happy with the butyl tape coming off so easily...

[SouthTX]

So this is nuts. The MaxxAir FanMate (I have model 755) is made and designed to work with the 4500K MaxxFan. Should be a simple install, right?

Here's what happened. I placed the FanMate on the MaxxFan's mounts without installing the clips and turned on the MaxxFan. The lid opened, impacted the FanMate, and lifted the FanMate up into the air! How in the world can this be right? Why would MaxxAir allow the MaxxFan's lid to open further than the FanMate will allow?

I've got another email in to MaxxAir. Their response should be interesting.

Ah the joys of working on stuff...and I was so happy with the butyl tape coming off so easily...

Howard - I had the same question when I installed fan covers - just didn't look right to have a gap and to have the lid hit the cover, but it works. The lid stops when it hits the cover.

BTW, you said something about the front bug screen - you didn't install the screen to the front, did you?

[gbkims]

So this is nuts. The MaxxAir FanMate (I have model 755) is made and designed to work with the 4500K MaxxFan. Should be a simple install, right?

Here's what happened. I placed the FanMate on the MaxxFan's mounts without installing the clips and turned on the MaxxFan. The lid opened, impacted the FanMate, and lifted the FanMate up into the air! How in the world can this be right? Why would MaxxAir allow the MaxxFan's lid to open further than the FanMate will allow?

I've got another email in to MaxxAir. Their response should be interesting.

Ah the joys of working on stuff...and I was so happy with the butyl tape coming off so easily...

Well I knew the Fanmate was bigger than the Maxxair II, so I thought it wouldn't touch it when the maxxfan opened it's cover.
My 4500K lifts the Maxxair II cover some, then stops opening, looks to be just how they work.

[howson]

...The lid stops when it hits the cover.

You're right. My DW gently reminded me we have a MaxxAir fan in kitchen. Why don't I go look at that one to see if it's the same? A "PME Salute" later (that's a slap to the forehead) I see that yes, the clips install with the cover sitting on top of the mounts (vs flush with the fan's frame as I assumed) and yes, the fan lid impacts the FanMate and stops. I still think both are poor design and engineering on MaxxAir's part. They can do better on both counts.

... you didn't install the screen to the front, did you?

No, I did not install the screen. Good thing as it would be useless at this point.

Bottom line--the Maxxfan is in, the FanMate is installed, and I'm done crawling on that roof today. Too hot!

[howson]

I have one more question for those that have installed a replacement fan with a remote control (you knew it was coming, right?).

The rocker switch on the bathroom wall cuts off the 12V to the MaxxFan and could potentially leave the lid open when I want it closed. Having the rocker switch "off" will also defeat the temperature-based feature (automatically turns on at temp x) of the fan. I'm thinking of connecting the fan wires behind the switch so it is non-functional. In other words, the fan will always have 12V regardless of the wall switch position.

Any down side to doing this?