How To Pair Homewerks Bluetooth Fan

If you're a invitee at someone's house, in that location are normally three instances that strike fear into the hearts of any person while using the bathroom:  a toilet that won't affluent, an empty toilet paper ringlet or an exhaust fan that won't plow on when you need information technology the most.   While I tin't help yous with the plumbing emergency or even how to use the alternative "three seashell method" I'll give you a little tip today for a home improvement upgrade for your bathroom exhaust fan "in loo" of another bathroom related panic. Bath PUN!

This post is function of an ongoing Smart Home Series brought to you lot by The Domicile Depot.  All chapter links will be noted with an *

We've got 1 full bathroom in our house and when shower time rolls around it'due south a full on rush of estrus and humidity hitting that little room.  Which means having a bath exhaust fan that actually runs is a must.  The problem is… y'all flip the switch to our fan and there'south a practiced 10 to 15 minutes of screeching like an old car's fan belt just to get it turning.  And so I'm not really sure it'due south pulling whatsoever air when it does run (more on that afterward).   Plus… it'southward RIDICULOUSLY LOUD when it does run.  My wife and I both like to listen to podcasts when we get ready for work in the mornings, but when the fan is louder than the speakers on your phone going at total smash then not only are you missing out on audio goodness but it'due south loud plenty to wake the residuum of the house.  So let'southward impale two birds with one stone here… how about nosotros upgrade the old fan with the Habitation Netwerks Bluetooth Stereo Speaker Frazzle Fan* (with LED light!)?

Then for those counting, that's a new fan that runs quietly, is a bluetooth speaker AND has a built in LED light?  Besides skillful to exist true?  A hard upgrade?  I'd rank this as a medium skill level install only because of "old firm problems" and someday electrical piece of work is involved I similar to err on the side of caution.  If you have a newer house or upgraded wiring, this should really be a breeze, but if you lot've got a business firm that'due south closing in on the century mark similar the states I'll show yous exactly how the worst case scenario isn't all that bad.  Merely commencement… plough your existing fan and light on… then turn your circuit off on your panel to absolutely make sure yous have no power going to what yous're about to work on.

Removing The Quondam Exhaust Fan

Now that you've triple checked that the power is off to the one-time fan, it'due south time to have information technology out (and not for a nice dinner and forget to call it later).  Typically these fans are screwed into a floor joist on only i side, then locate those screws and remove them.  That should give you the power to shift the fan around a little bit to either commencement to pull it down through the original hole or push button it upwards enough to start disconnecting the ventilation hose and potentially the electric running to the unit.

This is where I got the fun surprise that not only did the previous vent hose not fit the out feed of the old fan, but it had likewise been badly MacGyver'ed with camouflage athletic tape.  CAMO Athletic TAPE!!!  So all that wet from the shower was just going upward into the space between the floors instead of really being taken exterior.  Sometimes y'all merely demand to laugh at what previous homeowners do when pressed with making a decision to exercise it right or do it conveniently like the plumbing in my business firm.  This had to have been a panicked repair because…

The electrical piece of work was hardwired into the fan and done by a professional.  There was no manner to disconnect the wiring without disassembling the fan which was impossible with it however upward in the ceiling.  Then I had to direct up cut the wiring off where it entered the housing… and that'due south okay.

Installing The Upgrade

This is where our paths might separate depending on how your abode is wired and if you have a dissever switch for the light and the fan.  For me, I opened upwards the main wire and dissever and stripped the 3 wires.  Black is the "hot" wire, White is the "neutral" and Green is the "ground".  Even in older houses, inside the line you should have at a minimum those three.  If non… run while you lot can to become out of that burn down gamble.

Before we jump to the adjacent stride… make sure the new fan fits into the onetime hole.  If it doesn't, you're going to need to widen it to fit (with a dry out wall saw) plus have enough room in the space to hook up electric and the vent hose.  We have old plaster walls and ceilings so I had to pull out my reciprocating saw to cutting through the forest lathes behind the plaster material likewise.  Don't cutting the hole wider than the new vent embrace… or that'southward another thing you'll have to repair.  The new fan does have a removable connector for the ventilation hose so I went ahead and continued that and attached information technology with tape that wasn't camo or used for taping upwards ankles.

The new exhaust fan is set up to be used with a two switch organisation (light on, fan on) to begin with, and then for me, I had to cut off all those corking little heads for my one switch wiring.  And then it's a matter of matching the colors together (and the dark-green to the footing) and capping them off.  What's awkward about this is there's NO Manner to wire the new exhaust fan from the bathroom before y'all secure it to the floor joist.  The wiring connects on the exterior of the housing.  If you're able to practice this in a crawlspace above the bathroom… pfffttt to you lot.  I ended up physically duct taping my new exhaust fan to the ceiling abreast the hole so I could connect the wiring on the brusque leash of wire length I had.

With the wiring connected and the ventilation hose hooked upwardly, you just slide the frazzle fan into the hole and attach information technology to the flooring joist that the old fan was attached to.  Total disclosure, I couldn't use the manufacturer'south pre-drilled screw holes and hit the floor joist, so I pre-drill my ain where I knew they'd hitting and added a washer for practiced measure to each when I screwed information technology in.

Sight & Sound

The Vent/Lite/Speaker cover fastened with two wires (and 1 that securely connects past threading it on) so I hooked those up before I put the encompass on for good.  With that, I ran down to the console box, flipped the switch and listened carefully for the sounds of explosions, screams or fire outbreaks.  Instead, I heard a little musical jingle and was greeted by a soft white lite and a quietly humming fan when I entered the bathroom.  One time I got over the shock that my electric work really held, I popped the cover on and got ready to examination out the bluetooth.

Not all connected devices are easy to fix up.  This was pretty darn easy.  Turn on the switch, listen for the jingle and so go to the bluetooth bill of fare on your smart device.  Click the Home Netwerks selection and pair your device.  Ready to go.  Now every time you lot go into the bath and turn the fan on, your device volition pair and be ready to play.  The range on the device is fairly full-bodied for a reason.  Imagine I'm listening to the Fabricated For Profit Podcast while on my figurer and my wife is listening to Stuff You lot Missed In History Class in the shower.  We don't need a fight for bluetooth supremacy raging on every time we plow on the bathroom fan.

As far as concluding impressions, the light is plenty bright and is a skillful improver over the top of our shower that was weirdly dark when the curtain is closed.  The fan itself is and then tranquillity that I sometimes have to double check it'southward still on.  I'grand already skeptical considering of my wiring task, simply just to brand certain it's their product doing its chore and not me screwing up.  As for the speaker, it does a pretty expert job considering it'southward paired with a low-cal and a fan.  I'm not going to shake my house with thundering bass, just for listening to music or podcasts in the morn and adding a little more oomph to the "Brushy Brush" video my girl watches when she brushes her teeth it's a great improver.

The Home Netwerks Bluetooth Stereo Speaker Frazzle Fan* is available at present at The Home Depot.

~ Lazy Guy

*This post has been sponsored past The Dwelling Depot as function of a Smart Home and Smart Device series.  I have been compensated for my time and provided with production in commutation for my opinion.  My opinion is my ain.

Source: https://lazyguydiy.com/upgrading-a-bathroom-exhaust-fan-with-bluetooth-speaker/

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