Manrose 100mm Standard Mixed Flow Fan

Bought this to replace a budget fan that had finally given up the ghost after 8 years service.I ended up having to mount the last fan on rubber grommets as the vibration through the ceiling joists (which the fan was screwed to) was making a very noticeable droning noise through the bathroom ceiling. Retro-fitting the rubber grommets largely cured this but the noise was still there.... Even when the fan was on during showering the bathroom still steamed up badly (resembled a steam room!) and the fan had to be left on for 15mins after the event to clear the fog!Fast forward to the present and the Manrose fan arrived in a big box! I was amazed as to just how much larger it was compared to the fan it was replacing! Not a big deal for me as the fan was going into the loft and the area where it was to be fitted had plenty of free space. Folk that are mounting this in a very tight space I would advise to carefully check the fan's dimensions to avoid disappointment...The fan was a doddle to fit! From looking out the ladders from my garage to switching the fan on took 35mins tops, and that was me taking my time. The fan cover hiding the electrical connections is held on with 4 Philips screws and after that all you really need is a small flat blade driver for the electrical terminals on the fan block connector. Oh and you have to pierce the rubber "grommet" to thread the mains cable through to the terminal block connector and there is a cable clamp to tighten once the wiring is completed. No earth wiring is needed as the unit is double-insulated. As this is the non-timer version of the fan, only two wires need connected at the fan. Simplicity itself!The fan has two speed settings that can be used, and you select the speed by deciding which terminal you connect the neutral wire to - again very straightforward (supplied instructions quite clear). I selected the slower speed as I only have a small bathroom.I decided to re-use the rubber grommets as I had them to hand and lightly screwed the fan down onto the joist (you need your own screws for this) taking care not to over-compress the grommets.The flexible hosing was quickly connected to the fan and I used duct tape to ensure the hosing would not come loose and also to ensure an air-tight seal. You can also use cable ties (or I expect a very large metal hose clip) to do the same thing.So job done, then! What's it like in use? To be honest it's a revelation in comparison to what went before! The bathroom hardly steams up at all now, and less than 5 mins later what little steam was there is gone! The bathroom mirror is quite close to the shower (it's a bath shower with a curtain, not a shower cubicle so steam can escape beyond the shower area) but the mirror is only JUST starting to fog-up after a 10 min shower, and that disappears quickly. Noise-wise the motor itself is completely silent, with not even the faintest vibration coming through the ceiling! The noise you do hear is of the air being sucked through the vent - which you never heard with the old fan - probably because it didn't shift nearly as much air. The suction noise is pretty noticeable, but I don't find it annoying - if anything its good to know the extraction is so effective!All in all I rate this fan really highly. It seems very well made, is mechanically near-silent, shifts a heck of a lot of air (even on low setting) and is easy to install. Servicing the motor (e.g. to remove lint/dust) only involves removing two screws and the fan part of the assembly detaches from the rest of the fan body, leaving the hoses undisturbed. Excellent! Can't comment on reliability, but the fan runs on good bearings and the chassis seems solid, so I expect it'll last.

There are reviews for the similar model that has the timer function included, but to be honest, this fan is very efficient, so unless your bathroom gets VERY steamy, you wouldn't really need it. I had another smaller inefficient Manrose extractor fan fitted in the loft, when the bathroom was refitted 3 years ago. That one, Manrose Shower Light Extractor Fan Kit chrome or white was fitted by an electrician at the time, but it wasn't up to the job & was rather noisy for such a little fan. It wasn't very durable either, packing up after only two years. So decided to invest in this one. Its considerably more powerful, robust in construction & without the timer function, easier to wire up, just two wires in my case!.First thing that struck me, when I removed it out the box, was just how big it is! Compared the original (which was basically a 4" fan/motor, with simple couling around it, and a small box-cum-mounting bracket, containing the timer electronics.) This one is still a 4" fan, but the extra couling around it, means that it is approximately 10" long, 7" high & 6" across!I fitted the mounting bracket to a piece of loft boarding & screwed that to the roof joists, but I recommend that you put a piece of rubber matting or similar, between the mounting bracket and boarding, to help reduce vibrations through the roofing joists. My one is situated directly above shower itself (in the loft), so I did this to reduce noise. Took me all of an hour to fit it, its very straightforward and simple to do, but if you're not compentant with electrical wiring, best get someone in to do this, but it'll only take a few minutes to do.One handy additional feature on this model, is that it is possible to wire it for two speeds, if perferred. I chose to wired it for the lower speed, as believe me, in a modest sized bathroom, it is more than suffient! First time I used it, absolutely no steam formed in the bathroom at all! But I would recommend that you have a window slightly ajar, to allow fresh air to vent the room. This allows the fan to do its job properly, but does create a slight draught doing so! I found the room to be slightly colder after stepping out of the shower, than before with the original fan. It'll be interesting to see what it'll like in the winter! Easy to gain access to the working parts to clean, there is two arched brackets that loop over the fan assembly part, simply unscrew two screws, flip the brackets over & lift the fan assembly out. The brilliant thing here is, there is no need to undo the ducting, as the ducting is attached to two coulings couplings, that sit either side of the fan. Simple, logical & practical design sense! I also found this one to be quieter in operation than the original fan.All in all, I'm impressed with this one, it feels like it will last, but unable to comment on durability as of yet, I've only just fitted it today! Hopefully this one will last considerably longer than the wimpy fan that I had before!UPDATE: 02/05/14: I have now had this fan fitted for just over a year, and have had absolutely no problems with it at all, does the job! I used to have a small problem with mould forming in my bathroom from time to time prior to fitting this fan, not had any mould form in the bathroom since! Very impressed with this!UPDATE: 07/09/15: 2 & half years have passed now, Fan still functioning perfectly fine, still no mould forming in my bathroom!UPDATE: 08/09/16: Still good folks, no problems at all, went to clean the fan assembly a couple of weeks ago, which I've not done since I installed it 3 & half years ago, hardly any dirt to speak of, just a quick wipe of the fan blades was all that was required!UPDATE: 12/09/17: Now getting on for 4 1/2 years since I've fitted this fan.....still going strong folks...no problems at all...superb fan! (That almost sounded like I want it to break down, dunnit!!!!) :-)UPDATE: 17/01/20: It's still going! :)UPDATE: 28/07/22: Yep..it's still going. 9 years now, no problems at all. :)UPDATE: 19/03/24: It's still going! And I've never cleaned it in all that time!

After discovering that the electrician who fitted my previous shower fan had actually used a cheap, plasticky one I trawled the web for something better and found this at a good price on Amazon. The person who fitted this one commented on how well made and sturdy it was. To be honest if I put this next to the one that came out the other one looks like a cheap toy. You need to check the measurements because for a 4" fan it is big. But it is very easy to fit and put into place. The only downside is that it is loud-sh. Mine is wired to come on as soon as the bathroom light is switched on and it goes off immediately too with no over-run. I believe if you fit an additional part you can adjust the over-run time. In terms of its ability to work well and remove steam I am very happy with it. (This fan only extracts from directly above the shower in a proper shower cubicle and is not installed in the main bathroom).I will see how it goes but in the 3 or 4 weeks I've had it installed it is working very well.