Originally Posted by
Jerry Peck
I don't know of any home inspector who checks "the performance" of any fans. That gets way ... WAY ... *WAY* ... beyond what is reasonable to expect a home inspector to check. If you want that done, you either should be asking for an HVAC person, or, a construction consultant leading toward litigation.......
There's a lot of talk about lawyers and litigation here. I'm not going to retain some $200/hr lawyer to fight for a new $80 fan.
The whole purpose of my post to find an appropriate way to go forward to my builder with facts gathered by me and a licensed home inspector for coverage under a New Homeowners Warranty. I'm a firm believer like most of you that a picture is worth a thousand words but data from a reliable scope or meter is useful in troubleshooting a mechanical component.
I have an Airflow TA45 thermal anemometer and can take some measurements but a simple tissue or smoke test will confirm is there is minimal draw.
Your point about the AC (room temp is 73-74F) is an excellent one (I owe you a beer for that one). We have no AC in our bathroom in NJ and the fan does a good job of managing the condensation.
There is a separate water closet (toilet room) and it has its own fan.
Here's the fan I use at home....1320cfm @ 4.4" static pressure. The 1.5hp direct drive motor is isolated from the air flow. Even combustible fumes would be isolated from sparks (arcing) in the motor.
The room also has 400cfm of filtered and dehumidified make-up air from a Thermastor APD. SD
