Manrose, MF100T, black

This is a great fan easy to fit and very quiet yet powerful when fitted correctly in the loft. No problems with it clearing the steam from my shower and bathroom. No misty windows so all good.

The extractor was bought to replace a more expensive fan of similar specification. The fan is of lighter construction than the existing, but in construction exactly the same. For ease of installation and future cleaning and maintenance the central body can be removed from the support stand by loosening the two retaining clamps, the end caps also come away allowing ease of attachment to the ducting.The timer and electrics are retained in a separate housing accessible by 4 screws and removing the top plate.At first glance all seemed straight forward, but the requirement for two live feeds, one switched was a puzzle. The instructions clearly stated the various methods of connection (timer / non timer) but not the why. After a little thought it became obvious: The switched live, in my case taken from the ceiling rose in the bathroom provided power to the ventilator at the same time as the light comes on. Switch the light off, and the ventilator switches off also. The second live feed is there to provide power to the ventilator for a timed period after the light has been turned off. Again I took the permanent live feed from the ceiling rose. Simples!!!It is worth noting that both live feeds use a common neutral, hence only one terminal to connect the neutral wire. I installed the ventilator using an isolating switch; the connecting instructions affirmed the connection of live and switched live feeds. If in any doubt use a qualified electrician.The only other question with the Manrose instructions was the positioning of a small jump lead used to select the speed of the motor. It just happened to be blue, so when the instructions talked about positioning the "blue lead" for a minute I was thinking of the neutral connection, also blue. All became clear on inspecting the terminals!Noise is an issue especially on timed over run at night. This unit is very, very quiet even on high speed, better than the existing fan it replaced.However, there is some noise, firstly at the intake where movement of air can be heard. Also the ducting acts as a crude wave guide and does channel fan noise down to the shower room. This is unavoidable and an indication that the fan is doing its job, very well in this case. For me, this is not an issue just as the noise from the shower is expected in operation.Of more concern can be the sound and vibration of the motor in operation. In this respect the ventilator is excellent. The motor can be heard in the loft as can the sound of air passing through the ducting. This is so minimal as to be hardly worth mentioning. This sound is not transmitted through to the rooms below as it is easily damped by the plaster board ceiling and fibre glass insulation.More difficult to achieve is isolation from the roof structure. Rigid mounting to the rafters should be avoided as this simply acts as a transmission route for vibration to pass through the rafters to the rooms below giving that annoying hum. I chose to isolate the ventilator by affixing it to an acoustically inert substrate allowing any vibration to drain away before reaching the roof structure. Firstly I drilled, plugged and screwed the ventilator base plate to half a concrete block. I bridged two rafters with a substantial piece of wood screwed down with 50mm x 5mm screws. The concrete block simply sits on the timber, the combined weight of motor and block ensuring no movement.Absolute silence! The block drains and damps what little vibration there is from the motor. I know I have probably gone over the top but worth it for the absolute peace and quiet.I have read of people building boxes over these ventilators and packing them out with sound deadening material. The risk of overheating the motor would prevent me recommending this course of action. The low level of noise from the Manrose ventilator renders this unnecessary anyway.

This was a straight swap-out for a cheaper model that had finally given up the ghost (the bearings were incredibly noisy and the fan often just did not run) that was sited in the attic above the bathroom.As all the ducting was already in place I swapped this out in about 15 minutes. The only fiddly bits was the wiring in a cramped attic space and the setting for the timeout. I set it to about half way but the fan kept going and going... So I had to remove all four screws from the cover (and not lose them), set the timeout control to something less (there's no indication of what it might be) and try again. By trial and error I got it close to the 15 minute target, but it loses a star because if the time-out control had been external to the electrical connections box it would have taken far less time to do all this.It's solidly made - or perhaps I should say more solidly made than the dinky little plastic fan it replaced, but it's still plastic. I have some metal 150mm hydroponics extractor fans running continuously for the last 5 years without a murmur so I'm hoping this bathroom extractor fan that runs for perhaps 30 minutes a day will have a long life too.If you're worried about the noise then I highly recommend that you use 100mm noise reducing ducting (as used in hydroponics). It's not expensive and just about eliminates any noise from the fan. It's comprised of a central, perforated duct surround by noise reducing insulation - have a look on the Internet and you'll see what I mean. It's quite different to the tumble dryer style ducting normally used which just transmits the sound from one end to the other.Place the fan on a sound absorbing piece of sponge or similar (on a board) and you'll hardly know the fan is on (apart from the noise of the air being sucked in). It certainly has a very good airflow and clears my bathroom nicely even on cold days when condensation would normally be a problem.I'm delighted with this and can only recommend it.

Most powerful fan on the marketThis is hands down the best fan on the market, it draws 245m3 of air, the silly wee standard fans only draw 85m3 so it 3 times more powerful than a standard fan.The unit is easy to install, the terminals are large enough to fit 1.5mm flex or T+E cable and screws are standard PZ1 fittings, it is so well designed that the same screwdriver that opens the electronic bay is the same screwdriver that tightens the terminals.The exhaust ports are raised and prominent so getting duct tape round it is easy.Big screw holes with easy access for your impact driver make it easy to screw to the joists.There are more expensive options on the market, notably the vent axia, it offers 255m3 of air, but it is nearly 3 times the price!! I have fitted one and the terminals are a pain to work with, the cable has to come and twist back on itself to terminate it, needlessly complicated.I am an electrician and fit around 20 of these fans a year