Broan-NuTone Ventilation Fan Motor

It is hard to know where to begin in any review of this product. In 1991, we had a USA-made Nutone bathroom exhaust fan installed. It came in an "A" housing for a ductless installation; however, the housing does have, in a corner, the "flap" which opens and closes when the fan is turned on and off. What's behind that "flap?" So far as I know, only the attic -- but no duct pipes are connected anywhere near to that "flap," on either side of it. When this fan was installed, everyone took it for granted. Its cost was under $20.00 from a local hardware store, and an electrician made no big deal out of installing it for us. Nutone issued a "lifetime warranty" for it, and the electrician told us that it probably was "good for life" anyway. Easy peasy. No big deal AT ALL back then for any American to install a bathroom exhaust fan. But, that was America in the "old days" when we still had some independence and a decent quality of life in this country. Spin ahead to 2021 when the motor in this bathroom exhaust fan had a bearing to wear out. We were advised not to repair the motor but to buy a new one OR to buy an entire new bathroom exhaust fan. As it turned out, NEITHER of those solutions solved the problem. First step was to telephone Nutone in order to get the "new" part numbers for various replacement parts for this fan ... and also to inquire into the validity of that alleged lifetime warranty. HA! But, of course, Nutone had been "bought out" by Broan, so that merger or acquistion (however the maneuver was structured) voided any "lifetime warranty" which Nutone ever had issued for its product.s. So, we had to buy new parts or another fan. BUT, it is not prudent simply to purchase anything directly from Broan-Nutone, since, for reasons unknown, the cost of any of its products via its direct sales today is 3X what the same products will cost the consumer when sold online via its "contractor sales agents." ??? Now, WHY is this? So, with part numbers recorded, one must begin an online shopping goose chase. The numbers/specifications for our original Nutone fan (which this kit fixed perfectly): Nutone Fan: Model 8814 -- 115/120 Volt, 60 Hz, 0.7 Amps. Motor: 45227 USA, #C-53581, Ser 472B 24000R, Model JA2C271G#, 115V, 60 Hz. .60 A, 1550 RPM, Cincinnati, Ohio, Impedance Protected F. There was NO mention of the fan's SONE rating anywhere on the fan, or its parts, but, when new, our Model 8814 fan was not too loud, but loud enough that one knew when it was turned on. Despite not being ducted, this fan always cleared steam and moisture out of the bathroom and worked as well as any bathroom exhaust fan is supposed to do -- and for about 30 straight years. But, this was how appliances used to become installed and then to work in American homes prior to globalization, right? The saga of the repair of this lowly bathroom exhaust fan makes it crystal clear that Americans these days have been totally screwed over by globalization, and by all political leaders who have promoted it. This saga presents only another chapter in the text on how the standard of living in the U.S. has tanked since the plan of "the new global order" was implemented and highlights how most Americans today no longer may have in their homes even a decently working bathroom exhaust fan! Americans, if any have any self-respect left, deserve better, or at least as "good" as we once had it, only 30 years ago. Option One: Buy a new fan: Forget that one, since only two models now are made for ductless installations of bathroom exhaust fans. Broan-Nutone makes them both. Read their reviews on Amazon! Most complementary comments which Amazon reviewers give these two models describe them as "Chinese made junk" with noise levels on a par with sonic booms and which "remove nothing (steam or odors) from the air." Insult to this injury: They still cost at least around $50.00 when purchased new on Amazon. Too bad for any American who must start from scratch in installing a new bathroom exhaust fan today, and this appears to be a true statement even if one is opting to install a fan that is ducted (for which there are far more choices)! Only "junk" is being sold for ductless installations. I did look at a new Nutone fan for a ducted installation that Lowe's is selling. Its motor looks like the face of a watch (and may be bent in two by even a woman's small hand), and the metal out of which its template is made is only a tad thicker than aluminum foil. Total fail; yes, that IS junk personified. The original motor in our fan must weigh almost five pounds and is about the size of a very large apple.. It has NO plastic on it. Option Two: Buy a new motor for the fan. On eBay, we found one, new/old stock, and made in the U.S. Miracle or what? However, when it was installed, the fan still did not work. Problem: The groove in the fan wheel which attaches the fan wheel to the shaft of the motor was stripped out. The purchase of a new fan wheel did not solve the issue. Next step was to order this motor-fan wheel assembly. Also, the rubber "isomount" to our original fan was fairly well worn out, as well, so obtaining all new hardware and gadgets (which are included in this kit), and which are factory assembled, IS a good idea.. When this kit was installed, the fan began running more quietly than it did when new, and it appears to be sucking air upward with more strength than it did when new. With this kit installed in the original Nutone "A" housing, the "kleenex test" is passed in spades! Kleenex sticks like glue to the fan cover when the fan is on. Issues of concern: The photo in this listing shows a Model 8663RP with 3.5 SONES. The motor-fan wheel assembly sent to us is a Model 8664RP with 5.0 SONES. I complained to Amazon about this, and, from its nearby warehouse, Amazon sent another one, since this seller informed Amazon that it was out of stock of the Model 8663RP with 3.5 SONES. The replacement which Amazon sent still was a Model 8664RP with 5.0 SONES. We installed the Model 8664RP with 5.0 SONES assembly. So, even with 5.0 SONES the fan actually is not too loud. The cut-out on the template of this kit, as other reviewers have noted, is a bit "off" from where it should be to accommodate the plug-in in the housing, but one still may wiggle the plug on the kit into the socket in the housing prior to finishing the insertion of the kit into the housing. The wires in the housing socket have enough "give" (as per how my electrician originally installed the housing) to allow this, although this does take some measure of adept manual dexterity. Otherwise, the installation of this motor-fan wheel assembly was as easy as could be and took unly a few minutes. NOTE: This assembly kit does not include the one mounting screw which one needs to screw the assembly into the housing. So, don't lose that screw which you have. Total time involved: In our case, several months to get from "what to do to fix it" to finally finding the working solution to fix our broken bathroom exhaust fan. DO NOT BUY A NEW FAN. Always try to repair the old one, since the new Broan-Nutone fans are nothing but "Chinese-made junk" and at a price that is too high for "just junk." We finally discovered, after several hits and misses, that replacing individual fan parts which are worn out may not restore the fan to working condition as when new. Save more time, and purchase the entire kit and kaboodle, i.e., this motor-fan wheel assembly. The motor in this kit appears to be comparable in quality to the original motor put into the fan, albeit this entire kit IS made in China. The motor in the kit is 1.2 A and 0.02 HP, however. Same 1550 RPM. The fan wheel in this kit is almost comparable to the original fan wheel put into the fan; however, from Broan-Nutone engineers, I was informed that it is the design of the fan wheel which dictates the SONE level of the fan. I have no idea why the fan wheel sent to me in this kit creates a noise level of 5.0 SONES when the older versions of the fan wheel for this model created only 3.5 SONES. Bottom line: Some innovative American should invent and bring to market a decent bathroom exhaust fan -- made in the USA out of quality materials, priced competitively, and sold everywhere locally. After an ordeal of many online goose chases on which we were sent in this saga, I cannot understand why, today, having a decent bathroom exhaust fan that works in one's home is akin to asking for "the impossible." Also, what about all the hoopla over our "carbon footprint" and "saving the planet?" How many gallons of fuel, not to mention packaging materials and man-hours involved, wound up used in shipment as we ordered online, and then returned, umpteen parts for this fan which failed at their intended purpose? What about those "good old days" when any American consumer could go to the local hardware store and purchase, at a reasonable price, a decent bathroom exhaust fan destined to last at least 30 years, and have nothing to worry about again for that long? !!! Not much in the way of a carbon footprint at all was created back then to acquire a working bathroom exhaust fan! Little wonder that the footprints left behind from our activities in the age of "globalization:" are becoming gargantuan in size. This blatant hypocrisy behind the fall of the American standard of living cannot be ignored either.