Customer Reviews for VENTS-US VENTS 105 CFM Power 4 in. Mixed Flow In-Line Duct Fan

The removeable mounting frame which doubles as the duct adapter is very clever. The kit includes spare bracket arms in case of breakage. Excellent, clean design and quiet operation. Compact and nice looking too.

This fan was installed in a basement window for the purpose of venting an average size room on the first floor. It does the job well. The design of the unit, with removable motor assembly, mounting hardware and long power cord made installation very easy and allows for easy servicability in the future. The sealed motor housing and control switch is great for an application where humidity levels are high. Although the unit has a slightly higher vibration level than some others that I have used, I find it acceptable in this price range. All in all the design, features, installation and performance of this unit exceeded my expectations.

I've not installed this yet so this post is about informing you what to expect. From the description and single picture I had no idea and took a total chance on this. I'm doing HD's job here and informing you. CORD: Mine came with an 18ga 8' SVT. Plenty long enough to be useful, not too stiff to work with. NOISE: I can hear it, but that's all I can say about that. I would in no way characterize this as loud. I wouldn't call it quiet as an absolute, but in comparison with nearly every bathroom fan I've ever heard (my intended use), yes, it is quiet. The shaded pole motor is 'bumpy' and the rotor seems to be not very well balanced (it is low RPM, so that's fine) so I could see how this would cause vibration noise if mounted rigidly to wall or ceiling panel that would then act like a giant speaker or to a structural member so the vibration is transmitted throughout the house. I intend to mount it on rubber pads to isolate vibration and to have a flexible coupling (duct tape) at the ductwork rather than screwing the duct to the nozzles. Noise will be a non-issue. In fact, I expect it to be nearly silent given its use and location. SPEED: It has a two speed rocker switch configured I-0-II. Upon opening it up it appears it is a two-speed wound motor as the line input goes to the switch common and the two speeds go to the motor along two wires. I didn't notice a resistor anywhere. The rating on the side of the motor specifies 2818 RPM and 3113 RPM, though these numbers might not mean much as you'll see. POWER: As soon as I opened the box there is a bright orange bulletin under the flap that you see before you get to the product telling you about speed variations. It states that as the line losses increase the motor speed will increase to compensate and in the case of low line losses or stand-alone table-top operation off any lines at all the RPMs will be low. I experimented with it and this appears to be true. I occlude part of the intake or exhaust and the RPMs ramp up. Pull my hand off and it slows way down. I opened up the unit, including removing the motor from the housing, and there appears to be no flow or pressure switches or rheostats. My theory is that the power of the motor is so close to the edge of the requirements of the design that it becomes self-regulating. The fan blade has 1/8" clearance from the shroud, the frontal area of the rotor is 100% of the swept area, and the angle of attack on the blades along the unit's longitudinal axis is rather aggressive. I believe that when the fan is unhindered it is all the motor can do to push the rotor through the air and will push the rotor until it reaches its 'power:load equilibrium' before reaching its rated RPMs. If the airflow is restricted through occlusion or line losses the mass of air it pulls is decreased and the load on the motor drops, allowing the RPMs to increase until it reaches equilibrium again. Full occlusion of intake or exhaust doesn't result in runaway RPMs because of the natural limits imposed by the 60Hz power source. All this being the case, be warned: this thing is operating at its limits. It will not perform well with high line losses, such as running 50' of flex duct or too restrictive grilles. It has to breath easy to perform well. Keep that in mind and it will work fine. Also, since its speed and flow characteristics seem to be limited by the mass of the air being moved then its ratings were probably obtained under some sort of favorable laboratory conditions and YMMV, depending on your local humidity, barometer, elevation, etc. CONSTRUCTION: I mostly like it. Other than the motor itself and misc hardware it is all plastic. The brittle kind, not the flexible kind, so there's a bit of a down side there. I doubt the thing survives a fall unscathed. Luckily the mfr included and extra set of collar rings. YAY! That was actually surprising and very thoughtful Excellent customer service there. They made cleaning very easy. The intake and exhaust nozzles are separate pieces from each other and the fan body. The nozzles have integral mounting plates for affixing them to a surface and then the body secures between the nozzles using retaining collar rings. (Pic 1) Therefore the fan body is easily removed from the mounting and duct work by simply removing the retaining collars; no need to unmount the unit from the structure or uncouple from the duct work when the fan needs cleaning. Super easy. The collar rings are secured with latches that can be screwed down to prevent accidental release. (Pic 4) It is this collar ring that you get spares of. Get something cock-eyed and I can see this stuff snapping easily. The collar rings anchor via simple hook and pin (Pics 7 & 6) whose lifespan is predictably short, thus the spares. The nozzles and body have flanges on them which the collar ring uses for purchase. (Pic 5). It occurs to me there will be pressure losses here. I might see if I can put a bit of sealant on those mating surfaces prior to assembly. The fan body flange has a groove that looks like it might have been meant to accommodate an o-ring, but it is a little shallow so I can't see an o-ring staying put. That'll be where I put a bead of sealant. I believe this unit is designed for low loss lines. The rotor (Pic 2) appears to be designed to accelerate air longitudinally and the anti-twist vanes (Pic 3) seemed to be designed to keep the air velocity high. It's meant to move free flowing air fast down a duct, not shove resistant air hard through a restrictive pipe. Flex duct is probably a no-no. Stick to PVC and rigid AL/steel duct for smooth laminar flow. Loooooong duct of any description and/or hard turns (elbows) is probably a no-no.

I purchased this for use as an exhaust fan for my indoor grow tent 2x2x4 and it moves constant air flow over my plants and grow light keeping temperatures and humidity levels down. The 2 speed switch is awesome and sound at high speed operation is quiet. Very easy to install, disassemble and clean when needed. Will most likely be purchasing a 2nd unit in the near future

Perfect for my small basement bathroom, where i had limited space in the ceiling.

quiet used it to vent a parts washer in the shop is great

Easy install. Made dryer more efficient

I installed this fan in my former furnace closet. I made a wall mount to bring the fan up to the pre-existing duct from the old furnace. The integral mounting flange was good to design the mount to. The fan is made in Ukraine and feels of better quality than Chinese products. I like the two speed switch so I don't need a separate speed controller. I would buy this fan again.

Perfect for my needs.

This fan vibrated very badly. I believe the unit was way out of balance. It made a lot of noise. I returned it for credit.

moving stale air out of basement thumbs up

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

I bought this vent to vent my basement. I connected it to my dryer vent. It works very well.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Well made fan nice and quiet

Easy to install and quiet

Easy to install and fit my application perfectly.

Superb product Great design Easy installation

Quiet, does what it says it’ll do. I really like that you can take it apart, will make it very easy to clean. Can also reverse direction without unfastening from its location.

Installed in our bathroom about a month ago. We’ve used it everyday. Easy install. See how it performs long term. On high setting you can hear it, but not offensive.

This product exceeded my expectations. Very easy to install, very quiet even in high speed, but we run it on low which gives it plenty of air flow. I would defiantly purchase this item again if the need ever arises.

Very high quality, smooth running fan. No vibrations. 2 speeds, the low speed is very quiet. The high speed is still quiet enough to not be a bother.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Working great and easy to install

The Good: small, compact, quiet, long power cord.The Poor: mostly plastic, HD website says this is for a 4" duct, but the specs show an odd size of 3.75". I had to use some foam window/door tape to fill the gap.I cannot comment on durability as this is only a month old.

Quite and built well.