We want to add an exhaust fan to our bathroom, but rather than fish
wires through walls, is it OK to wire the fan to the existing light
fitting (separate recessed fitting for the shower, so there's already a
ground wire)?

Any Code issues here?

Perce

I don't exactly know what you are saying, but yes you can wire an exhaust
fan to the circuit feeding the light, although if the fan is above the
tub-shower, it will have to be U.L. listed for that purpose and protected by
a gfci




"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
We want to add an exhaust fan to our bathroom, but rather than fish wires
through walls, is it OK to wire the fan to the existing light fitting
(separate recessed fitting for the shower, so there's already a ground
wire)?

Any Code issues here?

Perce

I meant that I want to avoid having to fish wires for a separate switch
for the fan -- just have the fan run whenever the light for the shower
cubicle is on.

The existing (enclosed) light fitting is not on a GFCI-protected circuit
-- it's an older house -- but the fan will be outside the shower cubicle.

I'm planning to upgrade the electrical system later on and will split
some circuits, putting all the bathroom ones on a GFCI.

Perce

On 08/07/06 03:25 pm RBM wrote:

I don't exactly know what you are saying, but yes you can wire an exhaust
fan to the circuit feeding the light, although if the fan is above the
tub-shower, it will have to be U.L. listed for that purpose and protected by
a gfci

We want to add an exhaust fan to our bathroom, but rather than fish wires
through walls, is it OK to wire the fan to the existing light fitting
(separate recessed fitting for the shower, so there's already a ground
wire)?

Any Code issues here?

On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 15:25:44 -0400, "RBM" rbm2(remove
wrote:

I don't exactly know what you are saying, but yes you can wire an exhaust
fan to the circuit feeding the light, although if the fan is above the
tub-shower, it will have to be U.L. listed for that purpose and protected by
a gfci


I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.




"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
We want to add an exhaust fan to our bathroom, but rather than fish wires
through walls, is it OK to wire the fan to the existing light fitting
(separate recessed fitting for the shower, so there's already a ground
wire)?

Any Code issues here?

Perce

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

"Mark Lloyd" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 15:25:44 -0400, "RBM" rbm2(remove
wrote:

I don't exactly know what you are saying, but yes you can wire an exhaust
fan to the circuit feeding the light, although if the fan is above the
tub-shower, it will have to be U.L. listed for that purpose and protected
by
a gfci


I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.

A lot of people think the steam from their showers is different from any
other steam. If the fan didn't go on with the light in hotel bathrooms, the
wallpaper would be falling off in chunks and the maids would spend half
their time removing mildew.

Here in Jersey you have to have the fan activiated with the light if there
is no window.


"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"Mark Lloyd" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 15:25:44 -0400, "RBM" rbm2(remove
wrote:

I don't exactly know what you are saying, but yes you can wire an
exhaust
fan to the circuit feeding the light, although if the fan is above the
tub-shower, it will have to be U.L. listed for that purpose and
protected
by
a gfci


I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.

A lot of people think the steam from their showers is different from any
other steam. If the fan didn't go on with the light in hotel bathrooms,
the
wallpaper would be falling off in chunks and the maids would spend half
their time removing mildew.

I have taken night light on trips fpor in bathroom, hate waking up
confused not knowing where things are but dont want bathroom fan
running all nite...

I've now hooked it up, and it's so quiet that you'd hardly know it's on.
It's a GE that's claimed to be super-quiet, and indeed it is -- nothing
at all like some of the motel bathroom fans I've encountered (which
probably had clapped-out bearings and were ready for the dumpster).

Perce


On 08/07/06 04:48 pm Mark Lloyd wrote:

I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.

We want to add an exhaust fan to our bathroom, but rather than fish wires
through walls, is it OK to wire the fan to the existing light fitting
(separate recessed fitting for the shower, so there's already a ground
wire)?

Any Code issues here?

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 15:48:47 -0500, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

:I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
:the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.

That was my thinking. But the OP suggested (I think) that the light is
for the shower cubicle, not just the bathroom as a whole. In that case,
it may make sense. Also, he seems to be saying the bathroom is
eventually going to be rewired, so he can do things differently then.

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 22:42:47 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

:I've now hooked it up, and it's so quiet that you'd hardly know it's on.
:It's a GE that's claimed to be super-quiet, and indeed it is -- nothing
:at all like some of the motel bathroom fans I've encountered (which
robably had clapped-out bearings and were ready for the dumpster).
:
:Perce

Are these things necessarily recessed in the ceiling? What's the
effectiveness? Don't they have to exhaust to outside to effectively
decrease the humidity in the bathroom?


:On 08/07/06 04:48 pm Mark Lloyd wrote:
:
: I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
: the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.
:
: We want to add an exhaust fan to our bathroom, but rather than fish wires
: through walls, is it OK to wire the fan to the existing light fitting
: (separate recessed fitting for the shower, so there's already a ground
: wire)?
:
: Any Code issues here?

"Dan_Musicant" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 22:42:47 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

:I've now hooked it up, and it's so quiet that you'd hardly know it's on.
:It's a GE that's claimed to be super-quiet, and indeed it is -- nothing
:at all like some of the motel bathroom fans I've encountered (which
robably had clapped-out bearings and were ready for the dumpster).
:
:Perce

Are these things necessarily recessed in the ceiling? What's the
effectiveness? Don't they have to exhaust to outside to effectively
decrease the humidity in the bathroom?

Recessed in ceiling or wall. And yes, they have to be vented to the outside.
Pumping humidity into the attic will cause any number of nasty problems.

On 08/08/06 10:24 am Dan_Musicant wrote:

:I've now hooked it up, and it's so quiet that you'd hardly know it's on.
:It's a GE that's claimed to be super-quiet, and indeed it is -- nothing
:at all like some of the motel bathroom fans I've encountered (which
robably had clapped-out bearings and were ready for the dumpster).

Are these things necessarily recessed in the ceiling? What's the
effectiveness? Don't they have to exhaust to outside to effectively
decrease the humidity in the bathroom?

That is being taken care of right now as the roof insulation is being
upgraded. Neither of the two existing bathroom fans was vented to the
outside either, but all are being fixed.

Perce

Dan_Musicant wrote:
On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 15:48:47 -0500, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

:I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
:the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.

That was my thinking. But the OP suggested (I think) that the light is
for the shower cubicle, not just the bathroom as a whole. In that case,
it may make sense. Also, he seems to be saying the bathroom is
eventually going to be rewired, so he can do things differently then.


Add my usual rant about putting a fan remote in so that you can run the
fan and light independently if you want.

Although I prefer the bathroom fan to be on a timer.

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 22:42:47 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

I've now hooked it up, and it's so quiet that you'd hardly know it's on.
It's a GE that's claimed to be super-quiet, and indeed it is -- nothing
at all like some of the motel bathroom fans I've encountered (which
probably had clapped-out bearings and were ready for the dumpster).

Perce

Yes, it was the noise that was no bad.


On 08/07/06 04:48 pm Mark Lloyd wrote:

I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.

We want to add an exhaust fan to our bathroom, but rather than fish wires
through walls, is it OK to wire the fan to the existing light fitting
(separate recessed fitting for the shower, so there's already a ground
wire)?

Any Code issues here?
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

On 08/08/06 11:39 am z wrote:

:I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
:the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.

That was my thinking. But the OP suggested (I think) that the light is
for the shower cubicle, not just the bathroom as a whole. In that case,
it may make sense. Also, he seems to be saying the bathroom is
eventually going to be rewired, so he can do things differently then.

Add my usual rant about putting a fan remote in so that you can run the
fan and light independently if you want.

Although I prefer the bathroom fan to be on a timer.

Now there's an idea: I'll put the light and fan (wired together on same
circuit) on a 5-min fixed-delay timer. That'll shorten some people's
showers.

Perce

On Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:00:41 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

On 08/08/06 11:39 am z wrote:

:I remember being in motels that had a fan in the bathroom, wired to
:the light so the switch turned both on. That was annoying.

That was my thinking. But the OP suggested (I think) that the light is
for the shower cubicle, not just the bathroom as a whole. In that case,
it may make sense. Also, he seems to be saying the bathroom is
eventually going to be rewired, so he can do things differently then.

Add my usual rant about putting a fan remote in so that you can run the
fan and light independently if you want.

Although I prefer the bathroom fan to be on a timer.

Now there's an idea: I'll put the light and fan (wired together on same
circuit) on a 5-min fixed-delay timer. That'll shorten some people's
showers.


And lead to accidents when the showers aren't QUITE that short.

Perce
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin

On Tue, 08 Aug 2006 11:44:49 -0500, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 22:42:47 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

I've now hooked it up, and it's so quiet that you'd hardly know it's on.
It's a GE that's claimed to be super-quiet, and indeed it is -- nothing
at all like some of the motel bathroom fans I've encountered (which
probably had clapped-out bearings and were ready for the dumpster).

Perce

Yes, it was the noise that was no bad.

I agree that the noise is the issue. In my mother's apartment, I put
a pull chain switch in both of the fans so she could turn off the fan
when she was putting on makeup or whatever. This is the one change I
didn't undo when we returned the apartment to the people who run it.

In my house, when I put a light above the mirror (it only had a light
in the ceiling), I interrupted the wire to the fan and put a
push-button swtich in the new light housing, to control the fan.
Anotehr one to control the wall light. I don't take steamy showers**
but I do want to run the fan sometimes to get rid of fumes from
cleaners etc.

**But yes, my steam is better than anyone else's steam. My dirt is
better than anyone else's dirt too. That's just the way it is.