How did you sleep last Friday night? We’re guessing not very well! With the ferocious storm whipping 60 mile an hour winds across our gardens and streets, most of us were probably disturbed by (or were awake worried about) damage to fence panels, dangerously flexing trees and rattling old TV aerials.
One person we know had very little sleep was Jeff Pearson, a local resident who popped in to our Kettering warehouse on Monday morning after being disturbed most of Friday night by the wind gusting through the extractor fan in his en-suite bathroom. He told us “It wasn’t the first time we’d noticed our extractor fan was a bit of a wind tunnel, but Friday night was ridiculous! First thing Saturday morning I did a bit of Googling for vent covers and couldn’t believe you were right on my doorstep.”
After a quick chat and a look at our display wall of grilles, it became clear that his current extractor fan grille was a very basic design. Looking something like the grille pictured right, the ducting can be seen through it and the vent has no external louvres and so offers virtually no protection against the elements.
We suggested a good start would be to replace the external grille. Rytons 6×6 Louvre Ventilator (pictured) is a popular extract grille with cowled external louvres to give protection against wind and driving rain. We also talked about a 100mm Dia. Pipe/Hose Connector with Damper (RD4CDAMP pictured). Connected to the ducting behind the extractor fan the internal damper remains closed when the fan is not in use buffering air blasts to prevent back draughts. We also have surface mounted external cowls and Rytons ABC8 can be fitted over the LV103 grille for added protection in very exposed areas.
Mr Pearson went for the LV103 grille and RD4CDAMP for a grand total of just £8.57. He kindly let us know how he got on with them by email saying “Thank you for the help and advice I received on Monday. The outside vent grille was easy to replace and I have fitted the fan damper for added protection. We have already noticed a difference and the bathroom is not nearly so draughty now.”
View Rytons 6×6 Louvre Ventilator (LV103) here
View Rytons Pipe/Hose Connector with Damper (RD4CDAMP) here
View Rytons Cowls here
First published on Rytons Blog 19.02.2014
Basic grille offers little protection
Cowled louvres protect against the elements
Damper opens when the fan is running