Since the weather is cooling/ramping down soon since fall is right around the corner, do any of you guys use window fans (or fans in the window) to bring fresh air in or not? I usually use some window fans myself to bring in fresh air in the cooler spring and fall months.
Window fans, do you use them in the cooler months?
- Thread starter maytag85
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When I live the SF Bay Area, I had 8 fans strategically placed all over the house to bring in cooler air every single night from late May/early June through mid October, with some running 24/7. Outside temps averaged 55F-61F 95% of the time during the summer nights. They got a heck of workout and were oiled every month.
phillymatt53
Well-known member
I used to keep my Robbins&Myers "Whole House" window fan in the back room window.
That thing could quietly change the house air in minutes!.... on LOW speed too!
I'd put it on "exhaust" and let it pull in outside air through every open window in the house.
But it now sits on the floor, unused for a few years - I get a decent breeze anyhow thanks to mother nature.
That thing could quietly change the house air in minutes!.... on LOW speed too!
I'd put it on "exhaust" and let it pull in outside air through every open window in the house.
But it now sits on the floor, unused for a few years - I get a decent breeze anyhow thanks to mother nature.
No. My windows don't have screens and I haven't opened them for ventilation at any time during the 20+ years I've lived in this house. This area hasn't experienced an appreciable fall season in some years. There are periods of cool and warm into December, sometimes early January. It's not unusual to run air conditioning/cooling on Christmas Day and/or New Year's Day. Usually a couple/three sudden freezing blasts in late January and February, then segue back to some cooling by late March or early/mid April. Consider it as 10 months of cooling, two months of heating.
Signed: Goofy Glenn
Signed: Goofy Glenn
I have thought about building a tower of fans to be put in the sliding door to my balcony. In the summer months I have a panel to put in there with an opening to put the air conditioner hose on. I used it only twice this summer. With the mild climate overhere natural ventilation is the best option. I have screens for both bedrooms and one for the sliding door. During the milder months it’s almost like I live outside.
The fans could help the apartment cool down faster after the summer but they wouldn’t get much use so I decided against the idea in the end.
The fans could help the apartment cool down faster after the summer but they wouldn’t get much use so I decided against the idea in the end.
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One of the biggest gripes (I’m sure a lot of people will agree with me on this one) is sliding windows, can’t really put a window fan or air conditioner in without having to cut out a piece of plywood or rig something up.
I am not a large fan (ha!) of windows. They're a breach into the structure of walls, subject to aging deterioration & leaking, and a source of heat & cold, and UV exposure to the surrounding area. There are twenty-seven windows in my house ... far too many!
Signed: Goofy Glenn
Signed: Goofy Glenn
My old Durasraft double window fan is on right now. I try to keep my bedroom as cool as possible without running my a/c.
phillymatt53
Well-known member
In a properly constructed home, the window opening is framed across the top with a metal beam support.
At least MY home is.
In fact all doors and windows, and my garage have metal I-beam supports.
As to your other complaints, all of them these days are now corrected, right down to Low-E multi-pane glass to prevent UV and heat-cold issues.
I have that fan but with the earlier die cast script badge. The fan tag says it was rated by USC at Berkeley I think. They move some serious air on exhaust! The motors are the Hunter sealed type that get zero cooling air through them and run hot as hell but dont seem to mind it. Mine got retired when I picked up the rare Polar Cub Deluxe by Gilbert box fan.
I love my sliding door. I have it open as much as possible. Today is just the day for it.
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phillymatt53
Well-known member
Indeed, those motors run hot. - running at about 140 watts on low speed.
I've taken it apart and did a full servicing and lubing of it when I first got it.
She runs like a champ whenever I decide to use it.
Is your house masonry veneer on the outside? If so, a steel lintel is common to support the brick or stone above. I've rarely seen steel beams used over openings in wood frame construction, though I recently noticed a commercial building under construction that steel beams were installed above the openings, instead of wood headers. I have no idea what they plan to to cover the exterior walls with. It's some kind of small strip center, and I was surprised they are using wood frame construction instead of steel or CMU for the walls.
phillymatt53
Well-known member
My house was built in 1940 as listed on my deed.
It's a brick 18 foot wide rowhome with a rear garage below the dining room.
Also, a backyard that can store two cars, and a front yard 30x18 feet wide.
Interesting story:
When remodeling the bathroom back in 2008, behind the bathroom mirror I saw that it was hung over the original wall opening that used to have one of those 1940s built-in flushmount mirror/medicine cabinets.
The kind that had one of those "slots" to dispose of used razor blades, which would fall down inside the wall.
Out of curiosity, a peek down inside the wall I noticed a bunch of old razorblades still there....... along with a crumpled old newspaper!
I got the newspaper out gently, (it's brittle and yellowed) and saw that it was dated Tuesday September 24, 1940!
It must have been shoved in there by whoever was contracted to build my house, because on the sheetrock wall inside there was a note, barely visible written in pencil saying "Tub in this room scratched- "9-19-40" (the original cast iron tub is still there and just fine).
I still have that old newspaper, it's an American Communist publication called
"Daily Worker New York".
It's got the current stories about WW2 in it, one being the German bombing and invasion of Great Britain, local American news, and of course advertisments for things like woman's dresses and 78 RPM records, etc.
Naturally, I went through reading that old newspaper, I was facinated!
Talk about going BACK in time!
THE HOLE IN THE WALL .......
Neat story about the found newspaper. We have those tiles in two of our bathrooms though this house was built in 1958. My neighbor had them too and redid her bathroom a few years back. She said she had a helluva time getting them off the wall. LOL.
Speaking of fans. I have a portable a/c upstairs for the bedroom and our 2.5 ton minisplit does a great job of keeping the main floor and downstairs area cool (4 level split) . I have tried a box fan in the bedroom hallway, on the floor blowing up to the bedrooms etc but none of that ever worked real well plus they were noisy. I bought this fan earlier this year and have to say it's really good, and it's fairly quiet even on higher speeds. It oscillates up/down, side to side, and straight up to.. I give it really high marks if you're looking for a fan... bit on the pricey side but I think it's worth it. It actually does get the cooler air up those stairs and helps a lot. edit: I thought from the pictures it was going to be much bigger than it is but it's not.. it's actually quite compact, maybe 4 feet high and the fan housing isn't much bigger than a large dinner plate. https://www.amazon.com/Dreo-120°Omni-directional-Oscillating-Circulator-Adjustable/dp/B0CSG46SSN/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=cg6Q4&content-id=amzn1.sym.4efc43db-939e-4a80-abaf-50c6a6b8c631:amzn1.symc.5a16118f-86f0-44cd-8e3e-6c5f82df43d0&pf_rd_p=4efc43db-939e-4a80-abaf-50c6a6b8c631&pf_rd_r=7RERPXHVN8R784011QKP&pd_rd_wg=tNMHf&pd_rd_r=207b645d-1db5-4c7b-b69e-1f09b3a4cfb2&ref_=pd_hp_d_atf_ci_mcx_mr_ca_hp_atf_d&th=1
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phillymatt53
Well-known member
I honestly like those original 40's type ceramic tiles.
I like to keep my home looking cozy, with a vintage look, traditional furniture, with a few eclectic pieces here and there... some of the better Ikea stuff too.
The tiles hold up great, easy to clean, and they're perfectly installed, so why change them?
I figure, if a guest dosn't like my bathroom, then they can crap someplace else.
Louis; There are these . You'd just need to set the outside part on your deck instead of a window. I can't seem to find them for sale here. If the price was decent I might get one for our upstairs because that portable is very loud. .
cfz2882
Well-known member
my mom still uses a Marvin twin window fan i bought her in 2001-it was the only US made fan besides Vornado I could find at the time.The Marvin has two~8" stamped metal fan blades and the whole fan is turned in the window for intake or exhaust.
phillymatt53
Well-known member
I got a cool (pun intended) lakewood window fan from a friend about 15 years ago.
My friend said it stopped working and was gonna toss it out.
Seems that the chinese electronic control touch panel crapped out, so I tore that out and replaced it with a traditional 3-position rotary switch for the Low-Med-High speeds and it now gets used in my kitchen window right above the sink.
It's also very quiet too compared to typical fan blade types.
And it even has those expanding accordian panels like window air conditioners have.
No more summertime sweating while washing dishes!
The neat thing is, it's got twin squirrel-cage blowers with the motor in the center.
And it's reversible.
Here's a picture of a similar model that I got off the 'net.
That's interesting about the hole for the original cabinet. About the same time, I tore out my bathroom in this 1952 house. My parents had updated the room not long after we moved here in late Summer, 1957. One of the things they did was remove the recessed medicine cabinet, and replace with a large mirror, along with replacing the wall hung sink with one in a cabinet. As I was only two years old then, I had little memory of the room before. When my friend and I removed the mirror, there was the hole left from the old cabinet, and two boxes where light fixtures had been attached. There were splices in one box for the cable going to the new light above. Like you, I found razor blades at the bottom of the wall when I tore out the rock lath and plaster. That wall was totally removed, and that old bathroom is now part of a bedroom.
Hi Pete,
We have those too. They are very expensive, around 1700 euros. That’ll a lot of money for something I would use only a few days per year. I already had this unit. A neighbour/friend made the insert, the material was 25 euros,
The disadvantage of those portable split units is that the condenser is in the inside unit, so you still have a lot of noise inside.
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