Upgrading a Broan 688 Bathroom Fan For More Airflow

[Apoptosis]

My girlfriend said the bathroom fan isn't getting the hot air out fast enough, so I went looking for a new solution today... They have high cfm fans that cost $80-$120, but they require cutting drywall and all that stuff... I wanted the lazy man solution and ran across the NuTone 690NT White Exhaust Fan Upgrade Kit...

I have a Broan N688 that the builder installed when the house was built back in 2005. This is about as cheap as bathroom fans come and costs just $14 online and at Lowes. This fan is just a 10" x 10" box that has a fan that is capable of moving 50CFM of air and has a rated noise level of 4.0 Sones... Not too much air flow and is only designed for bathrooms up to 45 SQFT. My bathroom is bigger than this, so good to know my builder used the right stuff in my house. Here is a great website that helps you figure out the math for what size fan to use for your bathroom.

I headed up to Home Depot and while it wasn't on display they had a box on the shelf for the NuTone 690NT White Exhaust Fan Upgrade Kit... It basically is a new fan and motor that works with NuTone models 693, 695, 696N; Broan models 670, 671, 688, 689; Nautilus models N671, N688... Score one for the home team as it works with my model and costs $28 at Home Depot or $34.64 online. It is rated at 60 CFM and 3.0 Sones, so 20% more airflow and 1.0 Sones quieter. At 60 CFM this is good for bathrooms up to 50 SQFT.

End result... The NuTone 690NT White Exhaust Fan Upgrade Kit does seem to move more air, but 10CFM more might not be enough still... When it comes to noise level... I grabbed my dBA meter and it went from 65dBA with the Broan 688 down to 61dBA... A slight decrease. Not bad difference for less than 10 minutes of work... No tools are needed other than a wrench that comes with the upgrade kit.

Just thought I'd share as this might help some fellow home owners with a simple project that might get overlooked.

Here are some pictures of the project:

The NuTone 690NT White Exhaust Fan Upgrade Kit Box - Spanish Side... Opps

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The NuTone 690NT on the right sitting next to the original Broan 688

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The NuTone 690NT is a totally different design

upgrade_kit3.jpg (57.63 KiB) Viewed 39946 times

[bmaverick]

Nice job Nate!

My motor at the old house died in the exhaust fan. It was a newer built home, but the fan assembly hasn't been made by NuTone in over a decade. Yes, those new kits want you to cut the ceiling and wire some. I too wanted the easy way out. So, that kit you got was the same one I had. BUT ... the orifice plate was way too small. So, after some trimming of the new plate to fit into the old box and making a motor mounting strap, every thing worked really well.

Isn't great that the skills of modding a computer gaming case can also help in modding similar devices to cool and exhaust elsewhere.

Great work on your part. NuTone must sell a bunch of those kits.

[Tim Burton]

My girlfriend said the bathroom fan isn't getting the hot air out fast enough,

"Hot Air"...We know what she really means....

[Major_A]

I don't know how big your bathroom is but putting in a small outdoor ceiling fan will help tons.
http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fans- ... ogId=10053

[KnightRid]

When we had our bathroom remodeled, we hired a MORON who coated our drywall with mud instead of plaster and never installed an exhaust fan! We now have the lovely looking mold forming We dont have the money to rip out the drywall and replace it, so we are looking to install an exhaust fan ourselves. I am hoping it will be ok to exhaust it into the attic rather than going through the roof, anyone know if that is ok? I was hoping to find one with some duct work taht I could run to the soffet (spelling) and vent that way.

Mike

I wish I could do the easy fix like you Nate

[GI-JOE]

When we had our bathroom remodeled, we hired a MORON who coated our drywall with mud instead of plaster and never installed an exhaust fan! We now have the lovely looking mold forming We dont have the money to rip out the drywall and replace it, so we are looking to install an exhaust fan ourselves. I am hoping it will be ok to exhaust it into the attic rather than going through the roof, anyone know if that is ok? I was hoping to find one with some duct work taht I could run to the soffet (spelling) and vent that way.

Mike

I wish I could do the easy fix like you Nate

I put an exhaust fan in about a year ago with it venting to the attic. Haven't had any problem so far! (Although my attic is fairly big, so it disperses moisture quite well)

[Apoptosis]

All the homes here in missouri vent into the attic and no one has any issues, so no worries with that... Just check local building codes before you start cutting the cieling out.

[Sparky]

We had a dark bathroom downstairs with a small recessed light and a noisy fan. I used a sawzall to cut the nails holding the old fan housing in place, removed it, enlarged the hole a bit then installed one with a fan / light combo. Now we have two lights and it's much better. I do wish I could have found a more quiet fan though. You can hear this one running when you are upstiars.

[Sporg]

I may do a fan upgrade at some point to pull that moisture out. One of my summer projects was to replace our glass block window with a slider. I have a neighbor who sells windows so got the hookup on a custom sized window that slides. I also got it frosted and tempered since it is above the bathtub area. Anyway, cracking it or outright opening it will pull all the moisture out lickety-split. Also with the awesome weather we have right now it has really helped with airflow in the master bedroom. I may look into upgrading the fan though for pulling that stuff into the attic. Good topic

[KnightRid]

All the homes here in missouri vent into the attic and no one has any issues, so no worries with that... Just check local building codes before you start cutting the cieling out.

building codes? It is inside MY house so the hell wih em - well until I go to sell, then it was pre-existing :p

I put an exhaust fan in about a year ago with it venting to the attic. Haven't had any problem so far! (Although my attic is fairly big, so it disperses moisture quite well)

Nice - maybe we will get to lowes or home depot this week to check on one or 2 - I might double up on fans since we have a walk-in closet opening in the bathroom too.

Mike

[bmaverick]

Further up north, be very careful in the winter time not to vent moisture into the attic alone. This could cause truss up-lift problems and ruin the top ceiling to walls on the second floors. Been there first hand to know this problem.

[Darkstar]

I would definitely vent it to the soffit vent, i have heard that you should never vent directly to the attic. the moistrure can cause dry rot and/or mold.



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