Xpelair for utility - wall or window mounted?

[SunnyUpNorth]

I need an xpelair for our utility room as it gets quite steamy when the (condenser) dryer is on.

I have just been looking at the wall mounted ones to buy and noticed the window mounted ones too. Does anyone know if there is a difference in how effective they are?

If they are equally effective then it would be good to avoid the cost and wall damage of having an electrician install a wall mounted one, but how would a window mounted one be installed? Presumably a hole has to be cut out of the window? Is that straightforward?

many thanks.

[PigletJohn]

get a wall one. It is a more permanent job. One in a window looks amateurish. If it is double glazed you would have to order the glass specially.

You can get a "core drill" from a tool hire shop that makes a very neat, perfectly round hole through a wall, with no hammering or chiselling, then it has a plastic duct fitted to prevent condensation on the brickwork or cavity.

Try to get a Centrifugal fan as they are generally quieter and more powerful than Axial fans.

Have a Flex Outlet Plate mounted on the wall for the fgan to be wired to, it will make it much easier to replace the fan when necessary. Unless your utility room has a fixed bath, shower, sauna or hot-tub in it, this is not Notifiable Work, but find a qualified electrician anyway. It will normally be fed from the lighting circuit.

I recommend a cowelled vent on the outside. The cowl will keep the rain out, and there is a single flap to prevent backdraughts. Don't get the sort with little plastic flaps like a venetian blind, they rattle annoyingly in the wind for a while, before they break off.

[PigletJohn]

p.s.

if you are hiring a core drill, or engaging somebody who has one, make a hole in the wall behind the drier as well, then you will have the option to fit a vented drier in the future should you ever so desire.

[SunnyUpNorth]

Thanks Pigletjohn, that's all useful if not a little over my head!

I have got a quote from an electrician - he quoted £45 for the fan and £45 for installation. I have looked at fans myself on amazon but would be worried about picking the wrong one. He didn't mention anything about the plates or outside vent etc you mentioned,but I could ask him about that.

He was planning to excavate a channel running down to the nearest socket I think for the power supply. He had said we would then need to get that tidied up by a plasterer who could also repair any damage externally to the rendering on wall where the vent will emerge. That's why I thought it was all starting to sound a bit complicated and expensive and hence if a window fan would be just as effective and less complex.

Good idea re the hole for a plumbed in dryer at a later date. But would we need to cover that hole up in some way until we wanted to use it?

Thanks

[PigletJohn]

you can put a vent on the outside of an unused duct, to keep the weather out, and a plastic or metal "hit and miss vent" on the inside, which you can open or close depending on your wish for ventilation.

if the hole is cored from the outside, the outside render will not need patching up. the hole gets ragged when the drill breaks through the surface on the far side.

if it is cored half-way from one side, then half way from the other, both sides will be neat. It has a pilot to facilitate this, and is fairly easy if it's a cavity wall.

if he wants to spur off a socket, this is OK, but it will need an fcu with a 3A or 5A fuse.

Tell him you would like a centrifugal fan and ask what make and model he has in mind. The cheapest fans (at about £10) extract a nominal 80 cu metres per hour and better ones extract more.

Lots of examples here

[SunnyUpNorth]

Thanks, I'll show him this advice.