Any Exhaust/Vent Fan Specialists here?

[PoS]

Here's the situation: I own a 1 bedroom condo unit at another part of the city. A few months ago I allowed my vegan GF to stay at that place while the city went to covid lockdown since I felt sorry for her and it was near a grocery store. Now that the lockdowns have eased, I visited her, and she told me a problem: the bathroom exhaust fan stopped working.

So I went over to the unit, and opened up the fan to see what was wrong with it (it should have worked okay since it was only a year old), but when I opened the cover, the whole bathroom gets flooded with oil- the entire fan was drenched from the inside.

It seems that she bought an induction cooker and was cooking her meals in the bathroom during the lockdown. :doh

Now I dont mind replacing the fan, but here is my question- is it possible to buy a heavy duty industrial type exhaust fan for the bathroom that wont break due to the cooking oil that it absorbs?

The exhaust only goes into the ceiling, and the bathroom is nowhere near the windows. Im looking for a powerful restaurant type fan, but one that can absorb the oil with no ill effects, or one that has a catch or something that I can remove easily for maintenance.

If the exhaust only goes deep into the condo's foundation or ceiling panels, might this end up as a fire hazard?

Any advice/recommendations?

 

[Drawdown]

Here's the situation: I own a 1 bedroom condo unit at another part of the city. A few months ago I allowed my vegan GF to stay at that place while the city went to covid lockdown since I felt sorry for her and it was near a grocery store. Now that the lockdowns have eased, I visited her, and she told me a problem: the bathroom exhaust fan stopped working.

So I went over to the unit, and opened up the fan to see what was wrong with it (it should have worked okay since it was only a year old), but when I opened the cover, the whole bathroom gets flooded with oil- the entire fan was drenched from the inside.

It seems that she bought an induction cooker and was cooking her meals in the bathroom during the lockdown. :doh

Now I dont mind replacing the fan, but here is my question- is it possible to buy a heavy duty industrial type exhaust fan for the bathroom that wont break due to the cooking oil that it absorbs?

The exhaust only goes into the ceiling, and the bathroom is nowhere near the windows. Im looking for a powerful restaurant type fan, but one that can absorb the oil with no ill effects, or one that has a catch or something that I can remove easily for maintenance.

If the exhaust only goes deep into the condo's foundation or ceiling panels, might this end up as a fire hazard?

Any advice/recommendations?

Exhausting oily grease into you attic space will probably create a permanent funk in your house. Even kitchen fans have that oil trap people seldom clean in them. Also I doubt it is up to your code to exhaust just into the attic anymore.

 

[bluesmoke]

Here's the situation: I own a 1 bedroom condo unit at another part of the city. A few months ago I allowed my vegan GF to stay at that place while the city went to covid lockdown since I felt sorry for her and it was near a grocery store. Now that the lockdowns have eased, I visited her, and she told me a problem: the bathroom exhaust fan stopped working.

So I went over to the unit, and opened up the fan to see what was wrong with it (it should have worked okay since it was only a year old), but when I opened the cover, the whole bathroom gets flooded with oil- the entire fan was drenched from the inside.

It seems that she bought an induction cooker and was cooking her meals in the bathroom during the lockdown. :doh

Now I dont mind replacing the fan, but here is my question- is it possible to buy a heavy duty industrial type exhaust fan for the bathroom that wont break due to the cooking oil that it absorbs?

The exhaust only goes into the ceiling, and the bathroom is nowhere near the windows. Im looking for a powerful restaurant type fan, but one that can absorb the oil with no ill effects, or one that has a catch or something that I can remove easily for maintenance.

If the exhaust only goes deep into the condo's foundation or ceiling panels, might this end up as a fire hazard?

Any advice/recommendations?

My only advice is to not have an exhaust/vent fan specialists repair the unit. The bill won't be much less then to replace with a new one, considering life expectancy and likelihood of future repair cost.

 

[HumblePi]

That is definitely a fire hazard and I'm sure the condo has strict rules against using the bathroom to cook in. Most of those big commercial fans have a drip pan under them but I'd tell your GF to use the kitchen to cook in since nobody is on lock-down anymore and just replace the fan with a new one. We've had a couple of horrendous condo fires in recent years and usually it started while someone was either smoking in bed or cooking something that caught fire. Unfortunately, many people can die as a result of someone else's carelessness in a condo complex.

 

[PoS]

Exhausting oily grease into you attic space will probably create a permanent funk in your house. Even kitchen fans have that oil trap people seldom clean in them. Also I doubt it is up to your code to exhaust just into the attic anymore.

Well it did kinda smell funny when I walked into the unit. She told me the whole place would smell like food a few hours after she cooked her meals. :3oops:

My only advice is to not have an exhaust/vent fan specialists repair the unit. The bill won't be much less then to replace with a new one, considering life expectancy and likelihood of future repair cost.

So I should just buy a cheap ceiling vent fan and replace it once a year every time it breaks down?

That is definitely a fire hazard and I'm sure the condo has strict rules against using the bathroom to cook in. Most of those big commercial fans have a drip pan under them but I'd tell your GF to use the kitchen to cook in since nobody is on lock-down anymore and just replace the fan with a new one. We've had a couple of horrendous condo fires in recent years and usually it started while someone was either smoking in bed or cooking something that caught fire. Unfortunately, many people can die as a result of someone else's carelessness in a condo complex.

Well she's vegan and likes to cook her own meals. The living area of the condo is carpeted and small so its not a good idea to use it as a kitchen either.

 

[countryboy]

Here's the situation: I own a 1 bedroom condo unit at another part of the city. A few months ago I allowed my vegan GF to stay at that place while the city went to covid lockdown since I felt sorry for her and it was near a grocery store. Now that the lockdowns have eased, I visited her, and she told me a problem: the bathroom exhaust fan stopped working.

So I went over to the unit, and opened up the fan to see what was wrong with it (it should have worked okay since it was only a year old), but when I opened the cover, the whole bathroom gets flooded with oil- the entire fan was drenched from the inside.

It seems that she bought an induction cooker and was cooking her meals in the bathroom during the lockdown. :doh

Now I dont mind replacing the fan, but here is my question- is it possible to buy a heavy duty industrial type exhaust fan for the bathroom that wont break due to the cooking oil that it absorbs?

The exhaust only goes into the ceiling, and the bathroom is nowhere near the windows. Im looking for a powerful restaurant type fan, but one that can absorb the oil with no ill effects, or one that has a catch or something that I can remove easily for maintenance.

If the exhaust only goes deep into the condo's foundation or ceiling panels, might this end up as a fire hazard?

Any advice/recommendations?

If you can't vent to the outside, you might as well not have a vent fan. What type of condo is it? Apartment style, or house style?

 

[PoS]

If you can't vent to the outside, you might as well not have a vent fan. What type of condo is it? Apartment style, or house style?

Apartment style high rise condo. The problem is that the bathroom is right by the door, and so the windows are at the opposite side.

 

[Drawdown]

Well it did kinda smell funny when I walked into the unit. She told me the whole place would smell like food a few hours after she cooked her meals. :3oops:



So I should just buy a cheap ceiling vent fan and replace it once a year every time it breaks down?



Well she's vegan and likes to cook her own meals. The living area of the condo is carpeted and small so its not a good idea to use it as a kitchen either.

Maybe you should just get her to cook in the kitchen :lol:

 

[PoS]

Maybe you should just get her to cook in the kitchen :lol:

It doesn't have a kitchen, that's why she's using the bathroom. She put the induction cooker beside the sink, along with her blender and juicer...

 

[Drawdown]

It doesn't have a kitchen, that's why she's using the bathroom. She put the induction cooker beside the sink, along with her blender and juicer...

WTF!! Did you win this condo as a door prize at Costco? I have never heard of a place that didn't have a kitchen even if it was galley style along one wall of the living room.

 

[PoS]

WTF!! Did you win this condo as a door prize at Costco? I have never heard of a place that didn't have a kitchen even if it was galley style along one wall of the living room.

Its a Third World condo. I bought it cheap, and its in a nice commercial area with lots of restaurants, clubs, and bars- there are two restaurants within the building too- but the covid lockdown shut it all down.

 

[countryboy]

Apartment style high rise condo. The problem is that the bathroom is right by the door, and so the windows are at the opposite side.

You should hire a specialist and figure out how to vent it to the outside. What is the exterior cladding of the building? You would have to go out the side of the building. It's not just the oily air that's harmful to vent into the structure, but the moist air from showering. Some apartment buildings have dedicated ducting to accommodate bathroom exhaust fans. Your unit may have simply cut corners and not connected to it, or, it was disconnected at some point for some reason. Looks like you'll have to do some in depth research. Either way, you cannot continue to exhaust into the structure. Or shouldn't anyways.

 

[PoS]

You should hire a specialist and figure out how to vent it to the outside. What is the exterior cladding of the building? You would have to go out the side of the building. It's not just the oily air that's harmful to vent into the structure, but the moist air from showering. Some apartment buildings have dedicated ducting to accommodate bathroom exhaust fans. Your unit may have simply cut corners and not connected to it, or, it was disconnected at some point for some reason. Looks like you'll have to do some in depth research. Either way, you cannot continue to exhaust into the structure. Or shouldn't anyways.

Argh, I dont think the building owners would go for it since they want the outside to look pristine with its glass and steel facade. Im gonna have to tell her to stop frying stuff and just stick to soups or something...

 

[jimbo]

Here's the situation: I own a 1 bedroom condo unit at another part of the city. A few months ago I allowed my vegan GF to stay at that place while the city went to covid lockdown since I felt sorry for her and it was near a grocery store. Now that the lockdowns have eased, I visited her, and she told me a problem: the bathroom exhaust fan stopped working.

So I went over to the unit, and opened up the fan to see what was wrong with it (it should have worked okay since it was only a year old), but when I opened the cover, the whole bathroom gets flooded with oil- the entire fan was drenched from the inside.

It seems that she bought an induction cooker and was cooking her meals in the bathroom during the lockdown. :doh

Now I dont mind replacing the fan, but here is my question- is it possible to buy a heavy duty industrial type exhaust fan for the bathroom that wont break due to the cooking oil that it absorbs?

The exhaust only goes into the ceiling, and the bathroom is nowhere near the windows. Im looking for a powerful restaurant type fan, but one that can absorb the oil with no ill effects, or one that has a catch or something that I can remove easily for maintenance.

If the exhaust only goes deep into the condo's foundation or ceiling panels, might this end up as a fire hazard?

Any advice/recommendations?

If it were me I'd change girl friends and tell the next one to cook in the kitchen.

 

[PoS]

OK, I think Ive figured out a possible solution to this: place a coffee filter just beneath the grille so it'll catch all the EV olive oil my GF loves to cook with. :mrgreen:

 

[bluesmoke]

Well it did kinda smell funny when I walked into the unit. She told me the whole place would smell like food a few hours after she cooked her meals. :3oops:



So I should just buy a cheap ceiling vent fan and replace it once a year every time it breaks down?



Well she's vegan and likes to cook her own meals. The living area of the condo is carpeted and small so its not a good idea to use it as a kitchen either.

"Aye, there's the rub".

Online, I scour Walmart for the least expensive that are minimum 4-star rating on Amazon and read their reviews. Even a 4-star can have a couple reviews that say something specific that is too great a risk for just what I'm after. If it's a big enough ticket item, I check repair cost but rarely choose that. The worst is when what I want is not available that might prompt me into buying a compromise. I do everything I can to limp-by until available rather than click "order now" and later feel remorse. A grueling process it can be. As long as I stick to my process, I've been rather satisfied with outcomes. My best recommended mentality is to keep parsimony in mind, IMHO.

 

[Drawdown]

OK, I think Ive figured out a possible solution to this: place a coffee filter just beneath the grille so it'll catch all the EV olive oil my GF loves to cook with. :mrgreen:

Is it going to burn out your fan motor having the airflow obstructed?

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

OK, I think Ive figured out a possible solution to this: place a coffee filter just beneath the grille so it'll catch all the EV olive oil my GF loves to cook with. :mrgreen:

A portable fume hood with grease trap

Or just have your own made

Sheet metal stand with a vent fan above. Have the pipe lead to a tray wear the grease will collect. Then once a day she can empty it to the trash. Venting it to the ceiling will create a fire hazard and damage the condo

 

[PoS]

Is it going to burn out your fan motor having the airflow obstructed?

Ill take the chance since I had to replace the vent fan already.

A portable fume hood with grease trap

Or just have your own made

Sheet metal stand with a vent fan above. Have the pipe lead to a tray wear the grease will collect. Then once a day she can empty it to the trash. Venting it to the ceiling will create a fire hazard and damage the condo

A good solution, but I dont think its practical for that unit.

 

[Drawdown]

Ill take the chance since I had to replace the vent fan already.



A good solution, but I dont think its practical for that unit.

Okay but I would be putting that condo into the name of an LLC if i hadn't already. Damage in condos can run up by many magnitudes what damage in a free-standing house would be.

 

[Rexedgar]

What the hell can a vegan cook that causes that much oil to build up in a relatively short time? Most fart fans have only a louvred grill, if there was oil in the fan cavity, I would think that it would drip constantly...........

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

What the hell can a vegan cook that causes that much oil to build up in a relatively short time? Most fart fans have only a louvred grill, if there was oil in the fan cavity, I would think that it would drip constantly...........

She is cooking at too high a temperature and probably using the wrong type of oil
.
My wife cooked at way to high a temp and had oil dripping from the range hood. Once she turned the temperature down that stopped and the food cooked just as well

 

[PoS]

What the hell can a vegan cook that causes that much oil to build up in a relatively short time? Most fart fans have only a louvred grill, if there was oil in the fan cavity, I would think that it would drip constantly...........

To her credit, she did mention an occasional drip of oil coming down into the bathroom floor a few times a day, and she had mistakenly thought the oil was just falling naturally and nothing was left in the ventilator duct, but when I opened it, the whole fan's interior was covered with it.

She is cooking at too high a temperature and probably using the wrong type of oil
.
My wife cooked at way to high a temp and had oil dripping from the range hood. Once she turned the temperature down that stopped and the food cooked just as well

My GF likes vegan stir fry a lot. think chopsuey, but with tofu instead of meat, and she can cook this twenty different ways. She always uses evoo which has a low smoke point, so that was a factor too I think.