# attic fan directions?!



## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

They should both be blowing out for the reason you suggested on the rain. 

I assume they are gable fans at the peak of each end of the house. Thier main function is to draw air from the soffits up into the attic and out thru the fans. 

They never seem to last long either... I check mine every year to see if they are still functioning.


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

Cool thanks for the help!

BTW, any way to make them last longer? The one that was in place when I moved in never functioned. I checked it out and the wiring on it was crap, I rewired it and it worked fine, but the thing is LOUD!!!  I was thinking of spraying some wd40 on it but have no idea where to lol!


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## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

Your welcome!

Most of the bearings are sealed on the motors so lube is pretty much out. 
If the wiring is good its normally the motor thats goes so I always tag mine with where I got the last one to avoid having to replace everything versus just the motor since they do vary. 

Some of the noise may be from the air hitting the grille in front of the fan. 

You sure are busy today! Doors and fans.

I was just out in the garage reworking my do list. The nice to do, really should do, and GOTTA do.. 

I'm covered in DOOOOOOO!


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

Sammy said:


> Your welcome!
> 
> Most of the bearings are sealed on the motors so lube is pretty much out.
> If the wiring is good its normally the motor thats goes so I always tag mine with where I got the last one to avoid having to replace everything versus just the motor since they do vary.
> ...


HA! I'm sitting here doing my list too lol!!! I always have my daily list on my clipboard, otherwise it's always 'nice to do' projects!! Having a list keeps me in line!

Turns out I must've been high on attic fumes when I crawled up there, because I just peeked up there, and there's no fan at the other end. So, I've got 1 fan, and it's in the garage at the top of the gable, instead of in the attic (hmmm, I wonder why they would've chosen to install in the garage....!). Is it even going to help me reduce AC bills by keeping it wired up just in the garage? I should probably move it to the other end so it's pulling out how attic air instead of hot garage air... but that's more a 'really should do', and I've got waaay too many 'GOTTA do's'!!


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## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

Do list is the only way I stay sane... I try and make small jobs on it so I can cross off things and feel like I am making progress!

Most houses only have one gable fan at one end and a vent the same size as the fan at the other end and of course the soffit vents. If the vent fan is only pulling out of the garage and not the attic space then it wouldnt help the attic much which is what you want to cool.


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

Sammy said:


> Do list is the only way I stay sane...


Same here!!! Wow, you kinda know you spend a lil too much time doing diy work when a pleasurable day consists of 'do list' type stuff!! That's how I'd describe a fun day from the past like 4 months, a day where I did 'do list' type stuff and not other things!



Sammy said:


> I try and make small jobs on it so I can cross off things and feel like I am making progress!


Same here again! Here's a tip ya may like - when you make your list, break down the projects into their components, then you get to cross off more stuff!!! :laughing: 

But honestly, sometimes I'll do something that isn't even ready to be done, just to visually see something get done. Like if I'm doing something that's not gonna be finished for a bit (like stucco'ing my house), sometimes I need to just stop, go to home depot, get a dimmer switch and a cool brushed steel plate, and make a light a dimmer instead of a switch. Just things like that, to actually see something finished! Even though it would be quicker to do all the outlets at the same time, sometimes I just need to see something finished you know?!



Sammy said:


> Most houses only have one gable fan at one end and a vent the same size as the fan at the other end and of course the soffit vents.


Then why would whoever installed it put it in the garage? Dumb, lazy, both? I should probably move it then, but that's not too pressing. Kind of a pain though because I'll need to figure out how to tap a wire for power properly before I can do that (the current one isn't even 'final' wired, I just cut the female end of a computer's power cord off, removed sheathing, and wired the fan to that, so it's actually just plugged into the wall right now! I just wanted to test to see if it was broken, or if their wiring sucked. Oh and I know the wire they tapped into is good because I'm using it for a security light which is fine...).

About the soffits - those are vents? Wow, good to know, because when I rent a powerwasher again, which is soon, I was planning to use it to clean those!! Would've flooded my attic!!



Sammy said:


> If the vent fan is only pulling out of the garage and not the attic space then it wouldnt help the attic much which is what you want to cool.


Very true...  ! Why couldn't it have been installed poorly into that spot instead of the garage?! What purpose would you put it in the garage for unless you had 2 running for a cross breeze or something? Seems like a waste of time and money to buy an attic fan and then install it in the garage, especially when the garage/attic opening is only ~3' X 3' !!!


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## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

I'm the same way 10 projects in progress and none all the way finished so the little things done quick are nice. 

Check your overhangs and see if you have soffit vents. Some get covered up with vinyl siding which is fine as long as its the vented type. Garage may have been open at one time which is why they put the fan there and later it was closed off.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

joeyboy said:


> HA! I'm sitting here doing my list too lol!!! I always have my daily list on my clipboard, otherwise it's always 'nice to do' projects!! Having a list keeps me in line!
> 
> Turns out I must've been high on attic fumes when I crawled up there, because I just peeked up there, and there's no fan at the other end. So, I've got 1 fan, and it's in the garage at the top of the gable, instead of in the attic (hmmm, I wonder why they would've chosen to install in the garage....!). Is it even going to help me reduce AC bills by keeping it wired up just in the garage? I should probably move it to the other end so it's pulling out how attic air instead of hot garage air... but that's more a 'really should do', and I've got waaay too many 'GOTTA do's'!!


I would not worry about this one moving up the list anyway. I have been trying for years to understand the obsession with these ridiculous attic power vents. The only persons who benefit from these things are the guys who get paid to change the motors every year.:yes: It has been proven more times than I can count, that they cost more to operate than they will ever save in reduced power usage from your ac, and when you add the costs of replacing motors constantly, you are spending dollars to save nickels. Adequate gable vents or soffit/ridge vent methods cost nothing to operate, and do not have to be repaired almost yearly.
FYI, , they should be blowing out, the purpose of any type of mechanical ventilation is to exhaust the stale air, physics will take care of replacing it.


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

That's good to know!

I had always heard (I'm new to this stuff, and houses in general, I just moved into my first house from my apartment!) that if the attic isn't ventilated, it raises the AC bill, so having a fan up there will lower bills.

This afternoon when I powered up that thing, jesus, it was so powerful I was surprised, and had to wonder how much it'd truly be saving me in energy costs, given that it's *gotta* be sucking serious juice to move that thing!

That's really good to know, because had you not told me that, I would've wasted a day easily re-installing that unit in my attic! So I owe ya one!


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

!!!!!!!!!! I just realized the silver lining here! Because that thing is currently in my garage, and like I said I have it ghetto-rigged up to a power cord and plugged in, I can just unplug it and leave it *until* I'm doing stuff like painting/staining/etc in the garage (which is pretty frequent) and now I have even more ventilation in my 'shop' when I want it!


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