Customer Reviews for Broan-NuTone Roomside Series Heavy Duty 80 CFM Ceiling Roomside Installation Bathroom Exhaust Fan

Nice and quite

This quality bathroom vent fan is a wonderful upgrade to many older bath fans, as mine was. The squirrel cage fan is much quieter and more durable than most previous designs. It was a breeze to install even with cutting the ceiling to a larger opening and removing the old smaller fan. Just measure carefully before cutting. I spent more time vacuuming up the drywall dust and old insulation than the actual installation. The installation instructions are easy to understand. My installation went very well and the design of the metal housing is very good. Of particular note on this fan is the metal grill; much more durable than most models with a plastic grill. And of course, if you do not want white on the grill, being made of heavy gauge metal makes it easy to scuff sand and paint any color you choose. This is a very good fan.

Overall, I'm pleased with this NuTone ARN80HD ventilation fan. It is a well built, heavy-duty version of the average market fan with no real innovations apparent beside of squirrel cage fan and a metal grille. It has a solid construction and a strong quiet fan. With that said I'm wary pleased with this fan. Two thing, the black baffle adapter connecting the fan to its vent pipe was made poorly and it do not close completely to prevent from backdraft and painted grille make sure to not scratch it will rust. The installation was straightforward and easy only I have to widen out the old opening and since my old fan was 3 inches went I have to buy reduction in order to connect to went line. It features a more efficient ABS plastic squirrel cage fan blade and a fully enclosed motor with decent bearings. It should last a long time without any attention, other than cleaning the squirrel cage. The motor and the squirrel cage blade can justify the premium price over similar cheaper models.

I have always bought either Panasonic of Broan bathroom fans. This Nutone fan is really, really quiet. It is actually quieter than my Panasonic FV-10VS3 (Home Depot Model # FV-10VS3E ) which is rated a 1 sone. I uploaded a quick video clip so you could hear it. It is the first bathroom fan that has a metal grill. All the other fans I have had had plastic, grills which ironically I like better for a bathroom. Might sound crazy, since metal is more durable than plastic, but.. I think plastic is easier to clean, the paint will not chip, and if you are installing in a tiled shower, they tend to contour better than a metal one. I am also concerned about it rusting. I am happy with this fan and maybe it will convert me to metal grills!

This is the third Invent Series fan that I have installed as I replace all the bathroom fans in the house over time. They are well built with a real squirrel cage blower wheel and are easy to install if you just follow instructions. There have been some issues with getting the old fans out but that gets resolved with a little work. Be sure to take the grill off your old fan and determine where the outlet is for duct connection. Also use a stud finder to determine where the fan will be attached and make sure that this fan won't be too close to the wall or crown molding when you might the required 10-1/2 x 9-3/4 inch cutout. Once you have the grill removed you can also generally tell whether the old fan had a 3 or 4" duct by the size of the outlet on the existing unit. I am accustomed to seeing mostly plastic grills on bathroom fans but this one seems like a welcome change with its metal grille. Be careful not to scratch the grill or you may end up with rust from humid air that will be removed from shower and tub areas. You will also want to check the breaker that controls the circuit where the fan is to make sure it is a GFI breaker if fan is anywhere near the shower like mine. I would budget about 90 minutes to install one of these units, which would include running into some issues removing the old fan and cleanup from cutting the drywall to a larger opening--even if you use a drop cloth like I did. While it isn't the absolute quietest fan on the market it is much quieter than the old fan and an acceptable sound level.

The fan was not the exact size of the one I was replacing, so it took a little more effort, but all in all not hard at all. The actual blower motor easily comes out of the case for install, then just clips right in. The 4in outlet also was different than the old fan I had so I had to get an adaptor, but those are easy to find and cheap. The metal grate was a nice quality and had a nice finish.

The NuTone ARN80HD InVent Series is really an easy to install bath exhaust fan. The Heavy Duty White 80 CFM Exhaust Bath Fan with Metal Grille offers easy, room side installation, with “No Attic Access Required”. Ceiling mounted ventilation fan features foldable mounting ears (from room side installation) and EZ Duct connector. The new duct damper technology provides a tighter seal, resulting in reduced warm and cold air back drafts. Nutone says that the fan operates at 80 CFM and 2.0 Sones. The sound is very low and quiet, about 35 to 40 dB when tested. The metal grill, which is the only thing that you see is well made with dipped paint. The Metal grille is 12"x 11", Housing is 9 1/4"W x 10" L x 5 3/4" D Over all a well made product, except the Back Draft Damper; which, if not handled delicately, can break off .

When we remodeled our bathroom several years ago, the contractor, for some reason, opted for the cheaper, smaller, slower and louder NuTone model 695N exhaust fan. In all fairness, it has performed well for the past 5 or 6 years but it’s getting a little noisy and it was time for it to be replaced. Unfortunately, retrofitting the NuTone model ARN80HD to where the old 695N was installed was not just a simple swap out. The new fan housing is larger, in length, height and width. It also calls for a 4” air duct as opposed to the 3” air duct that the prior fan used. Fortunately, a 3” to 4” plastic adapter is readily available. (# 203626506) Ideally, I would install a new 4” duct but the attic space in not accessible. Provided that your current installation provides the required duct-work, this unit is designed so that there is no need to access the attic. The instructions (English & Spanish) are easy to follow and provide for both new installations and retrofitting existing installations. Only one side of the metal housing is specifically designed for mounting. Pre-drilled holes in the housing or tabs on each end of the housing are provided to do so. This *does* present the issue of having to plan carefully where and how you mount the housing to the ceiling joist. How the housing is mounted determines the direction of the exhaust port. You want to create the shortest, straightest path for the duct to exit the home. There is an optional hanger bracket kit (sold separately) for mounting between joists. IMO the overall installation can be tackled by the average DIY homeowner. As expected you’re working against gravity for most of the installation but once the hole is positioned and cut out the process goes by pretty quickly. 4 sheet metal screws are provided to secure the various elements of the fan. You’ll need two or three wood screws to secure the housing to the joist. New installations will also require 3 wire nuts. Operation of the ARN80HD fan is not silent but it is a lot quieter than our aging 695N. The unit comes with a 1-year limited warranty. A parts list sheet is also provided. I would recommend this product to others.

I also had major issues with getting the grill to stay on. The wires got all bent and now it won’t go on at all. I tried getting a replacement grill but no store nearby had one this large.

Great product! Quite too! Get one for yourself!

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Easy to install! Works great!

The Nutone InVent Series 80cfm bathroom fan is a good quality product. Features that I like about the fan are the 24/7 operation, the heavy-duty motor and the metal low-profile grill. The fan is relatively quiet (2.0) sones, has good suction, and is relatively easy to install. One advantage to using this fan is that it can be adapted to use a 3" vent. This is accomplished by using a 4" to 3" adapter, with no negative effects. My customers like them too. Have had several compliments in regards to sound and suction.

Easy to install, works perfectly so far.

Went in really nice,beautiful!

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Installation was relatively easy, the instructions could be clearer regarding removal of the motor assembly in order to facilitate the wiring connections. Fan is extremely quiet, barely noticeable in spite of moving 80 CFM. Unit was installed a few weeks ago, we've had several comments about how much quieter this fan is compared to the one in this location previously. We would buy this product again, very pleased.

Good product, easy to install.

it seems to be louder than I was expecting and I don't think it's as strong as i was expecting. The contractor said it was a little difficult to put in … but he is not an electrician and it could have been the small hole that was there from the removal of the old one.

Easy to install if I your existing ceiling fan has the same dimensions as this product. It took some manipulation as the hose and fixture were different than my original. I had to buy a larger grill to cover the hole.

Quite easy to install. Super quite fan too.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

It removes burrito farts very well from the bathroom.

I bought two fans. One for each bath. Installation very easy. The fan is no more than a vent. When I first powered it on it seemed like it was working in a very low speed mode like it had low voltage. Tested it with my VOM and it was receiving a full 120 volt. I held a BIC lighter just to the side of the vent. It has such little air movement that it will not even distort the flame even when its within 2 inches of the vent. Thinking I have a defective fan, I tested the other new one in a wall outlet. Still no capacity. When installed absolutely moves no air or will not clear the bathroom at all. Useless. Very disappointing when you cut a hole in you new bath and basically its there for looks.

Don't waste your time with this one. I went to the store and picked this up without doing much research. After spending hours wrestling with my ducting, cutting out a bigger opening in the drywall, hanging out in a hot attic to get this installed, the back-draft damper is garbage. It just falls off. Nothing holds it in place. I can't use the fan because the damper is grinding against the fan blades. I called up customer service and Nutone offered a better damper that costs a couple dollars. Are you kidding? How many hours of work will it take me to uninstall this thing to try their other, better damper? Don't make the damper junk to begin with. When this fan is uninstall, it's not going back in. I really dislike when junk wastes my time.

Easy install. It’s nice and quiet works good in my guest bathroom.

Removal of the old unit and installation of the new were very simple straightforward.