Bathroom exhaust fan

[Astrodokk]

My bathroom exhaust fan doesn't work. I remember that while I was plugged in to shore power, I was cleaning and spritzing the bath ceiling and the fan motor hissed when some spray hit it, so I pressed the button once assuming it would shut down a power draw.
I would like to replace it with one that tells on and off, rather than guessing if it is or not. Also, where can I get one? It's 14" x 14".

[Blue~Go]

Are you asking about a new fan for the existing vent? Or a whole new vent (with fan)? I'm going to guess the latter since you say it's 14" x 14". Just so you know, that is an industry standard roof vent size, so you have a huge selection.

Many (most?) folks really like the Fantastic Vent series of vent-with-fan. You can get them in all kinds of "levels" of options, from plain jane to automatic with IR remote. Rain sensors, thermostats.... the whole nine yards. (Or just a basic one - they have those too.)

In my year Concourse, the main living room vent is a fancy Fantastic Vent, whereas the bathroom one was a more humble "Heng's" vent with a small built in fan and a lighted ring around the perimeter that is the bathroom light. Maybe you have that one? It does have two pushbutton (toggle) switches, one for the light and one for the fan. Perhaps you could wire in a different switch if you wanted to (that would indicate on or off vs. toggling)? I did buy a new (light) lens for mine this winter because the old one was cracked/yellowed. Let me look and see if I can find which vent/part it is. I would think you could easily get a new fan for it (although people tend to like the Fantastic Vents better). But if you want to keep the vent and just replace the fan part...

Okay, here is a link to what looks like the same vent/fan/light that is in the bathroom on my era rig. It shows as Heng's part number V771212-C.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Roof-VENT-w-FAN ... 1374218618

And here is a page that has a lot of replacement parts for vents, including the Heng's. It looks like they have fans (although I'm not sure at the moment which fan model it is):

http://www.rvsupplyparts.com/index.php? ... _list&m=80

[Astrodokk]

https://www.rvsupplyparts.com/index.php ... ail&p=8120

This link shows a replacement fan using the same housing that I have. My bathroom lights are above the toilet and over the sink, and are not incorporated into the fan housing, so I can just replace the fan itself. I think I'll do this. No too bad at 48 bucks!
I was just wondering about the wiring. I have two wires (black and white). The new one doesn't show the wires or says how many there are. Do these usually have only two without the lights?

[jeanie19]

Thanks Blue for the bath vent research & links. Good info for the Concourse folks, I am bookmarking it for future reference.

[Concourse]

I was just wondering about the wiring. I have two wires (black and white). The new one doesn't show the wires or says how many there are. Do these usually have only two without the lights?

A fan (electric motor) will typically have two wires.

[kdarling]

Yes, your two power wires that are at the top of the bath will hook to the vent.

The vent switches then control if its lights and/or fan get power from those two wires.

You might have to meter them to see which is positive or negative. Unless they're LED, the lights won't care if you reverse them, but the fan might run backwards

In my case, I think I had to non-intuitively hook black to white and vice versa. Whichever it was, I made labels with my labelmaker and wrapped them around the wires. (Life tip: also always label a wall wart power supply when you get it. Then when later you find it in a drawer, you'll know what it goes to!)

[Blue~Go]

I've been down to the core on my Chinook wiring, and white has been negative/ground on every Chinook load circuit (with various colors being positive, since they color coded most of the circuits). Not to say you shouldn't check, but mine is 100% on that.

Also, that doesn't mean that something new you buy will have that same code; but I'm speaking of the wiring "in the walls" of the Chinook.

[ngpsaki]

I am down to what appears to be the last step in removing the old vent unit. These wire nuts appear to be crimped in place. Any suggestions on how to remove them without damaging the wiring?

[SMan]

They are a permanent crimp connection. With the power off just cut the wires re-strip and re-install with new butt connectors (I like marine type shrink connectors for a more water tight install) or use wire nuts.

[chin_k]

If there is not enough wire for you to cut off the end with the nut, one trick I learn from an old electrician is to use a diagonal cutter, and cut the nut length-wise, so you can open up the cut, and free the wire from the nut. If you cut it along the way the strands of the wire run, there should be no or very little damage to the strands.