Higher Thinking Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 (edited) I've been tossing around the idea of installing an exhaust fan in the sump closet for quite some time. For those who don't know, I have my sump opposite the tank, in what used to be the coat closet (much to my wife's dismay). Now I haven't had any mold or dampness issues to speak of, but every now and then the closet just smells like a sump (go figure). To rectify the issue, I have installed an exhaust vent in the ceiling of the closet. We already have a ceiling fan on top of the washer and dryer that I wanted to utilize. This would prevent me from having to cut another hole in the roof. However, building code, and basic physics, prevent you from just putting two ceiling fans to one roof exhaust. The flaw in that system would be air being pulled from one fan and pushed out through the other fan and exiting right back into the house. What you can do though, is install an inline fan and pull air from multiple locations. In this case, I cut into the laundry exhaust pipe, added the inline fan, and then split it off to the laundry room and sump closet. The previous fan was hard wired and the inline fan was corded. This problem was dealt with by pulling the cord from the hard wired fan and turning it into an outlet. Shout out to electrician Vance for giving me the insight on that! I didn't get any photos of directly above the ceiling because that's all partitioned off under vapor barriers and insulation and I didn't think about pictures until I put everything back together. But here are a couple photos from above the insulation. Our ceilings are vaulted which made the whole process that much more confined...ugh...not fun up there. Anyway, thanks for checking it out! Edited June 2, 2017 by Higher Thinking 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Looks good! Nice that you are able to use it for dual applications. Still don't see why you would think your closet smelling like a sump is necessarily be a bad thing though ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted June 2, 2017 Author Share Posted June 2, 2017 Here's a full shot of the closet. I also routed all the cords behind the wall from the outlet to the sump. I knew I wanted the outlet a bit above the sump to prevent water/electricity issues. Looking back I probably should have just installed the outlet a little lower, but oh well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoDoze Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Wow! 100% TOTALLY envious! I can't image the conversation with the wifie to get this permitted. My wifie would give me that rediculous look, take her closest space away for the tank!?! NEVER! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Yes, sharing a vent through the roof does take some extra work but it is nice not to put another hole in the roof. Love the wires behind the wall. Your sump is too clean! No chaeto lights? Those sure dirty up my sump... Nice job! Me likes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Yeah, the whole remote sump thing makes me envious. Just don't have anywhere to put it near the tank and hesitate to drill holes in my hard wood floors to reach the basement after all the work it took me to lay them. As it is, if it won't fit in the stand I can't have it. It does make me think about how one could rig an externally exhausted sump fan though... hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted June 2, 2017 Author Share Posted June 2, 2017 12 hours ago, NoDoze said: Wow! 100% TOTALLY envious! I can't image the conversation with the wifie to get this permitted. My wifie would give me that rediculous look, take her closest space away for the tank!?! NEVER! LOL Yeah, the wife was pretty hesitant. At first I was just going to move jackets to the side and just use the bottom portion. Then I slowly just took over everything. 5 hours ago, TheClark said: Yes, sharing a vent through the roof does take some extra work but it is nice not to put another hole in the roof. Love the wires behind the wall. Your sump is too clean! No chaeto lights? Those sure dirty up my sump... Nice job! Me likes... There is a macro light. It's rigged up behind the sump. Thanks man! 1 hour ago, albertareef said: Yeah, the whole remote sump thing makes me envious. Just don't have anywhere to put it near the tank and hesitate to drill holes in my hard wood floors to reach the basement after all the work it took me to lay them. As it is, if it won't fit in the stand I can't have it. It does make me think about how one could rig an externally exhausted sump fan though... hmm. It all depends on how long you plan on staying in the house. If you're going to be there a few years, just bust out the drill! You can always replace a couple slabs of wood. Although to be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to replace some of the floor, should I ever move. Our floors are laminate so they just snap together. That's an easy replacement for the board around the sump since that board is against the wall. The tank will be more difficult since those boards are in the middle of the floor. I'm not sure how to replace those boards without pulling everything up. I may just cut out the boards and cut off the groove part on a new board and kind of jimmy into place. Like I said, not really sure yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 1 minute ago, Higher Thinking said: Yeah, the wife was pretty hesitant. At first I was just going to move jackets to the side and just use the bottom portion. Then I slowly just took over everything. There is a macro light. It's rigged up behind the sump. Thanks man! It all depends on how long you plan on staying in the house. If you're going to be there a few years, just bust out the drill! You can always replace a couple slabs of wood. Although to be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to replace some of the floor, should I ever move. Our floors are laminate so they just snap together. That's an easy replacement for the board around the sump since that board is against the wall. The tank will be more difficult since those boards are in the middle of the floor. I'm not sure how to replace those boards without pulling everything up. I may just cut out the boards and cut off the groove part on a new board and kind of jimmy into place. Like I said, not really sure yet. Yeah - I laid all the 3/4 inch side-nailed hardwood myself so it would pain me to take a drill to it under any circumstances Also not as easy to replace based on the direction it runs. Believe me, I have thought about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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