Dear Customer,
Thank you for purchasing one of HIB’s bathroom extractor fans.
We are wholehearted supporters of the quality, design, noise and overall efficiency of HIB’s excellent fans over and above the ‘standard’ cheap white extractor fan that is often fitted. We say this from 5 years of experience selling them, and we even have several in our offices right here.
However, despite the quality, they are a slightly more technical product than most cheap fans, and as such we have created this troubleshooting guide to help solve possible issues that arise during installation.
We understand that your qualified installer might have informed you that the item is faulty. We also understand that it is exceptionally disappointing to spend money on something and for it not to work as expected. The creation of this guide has arisen due to situations where fans reported as faulty have been collected and professionally tested before being found to work perfectly. In the majority of cases where a problem has been reported, the reasons have been found to be related to the installation of the item.
It is important that we point out that if the item is collected, tested, and found to be fine, we will subsequently be unable to refund or replace the installed fan, and any replacement issued in the interim will become chargeable, as well as any delivery or collection costs incurred. We will provide the testing report, but unfortunately we will not be able to cover any costs involved in attempting to put right a problem that was caused not by a faulty item, but instead by incorrect installation or calibration.
We want to avoid any disappointment, and we absolutely want to avoid you incurring any costs that are avoidable.
Therefore we would ask that before returning the fan as faulty, you and your electrician double-check the fan’s fitting instructions as well as reading through the common issues in this guide. If you still believe your fan to be faulty, we will of course look to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
We would also strongly recommend that your electrician gives HIB’s technical team a call on 020 8441 0352. This guide is non-exhaustive, and there is no substitute for the help and advice of the technical team of the manufacturer of the product. We supply over 10,000 products and although we undergo regular training to ensure we can help resolve any product issues that might arise, HIB’s knowledge of their own range is greater than ours.
Once again, thank you for your purchase – we want you to be 100% happy with anything you have ordered from us and we hope you understand that we are not trying to avoid helping, but instead we aim to avoid future upset based on many years of experience with these products.
HIB Fan Trouble Shooting Guide
Q-What can I do if my blades have started to slow down?
A- Check there is nothing blocking the blades. If there is no blockage, there may be an issue with the motor. If your environment is quite dusty, it is important that the fan blades are cleaned on a regular basis to avoid build up and blockages that will eventually result in motor failure.
Q- My fan is continuing to run and not shutting off
A- If the fan has a humidity sensor, please check that the humidity setting is on 90%, and not the minimum 60%, as if it is set very low it might continue to run. If the fan is already set at 90%, please check your humidity. If the bathroom is very humid the fan will not turn off until this level has been reduced.
If it is neither of those things, please ensure that the fan has been correctly wired with all 3 wires (live, neutral, and switched-live).
Q- My humidity-sensing fan is turning off whilst the bathroom is still humid
A- As above, please ensure that the humidity setting has not been set too high. Calibrating the setting so that it turns on at a lower humidity level may well solve the issue.
Alternatively, this may again be due to a wiring issue. Please check that all 3 wires have been connected correctly.
Q- My fan turns on as soon as power is put to it, ignoring my timer settings
A- This is usually not a fault with the fan, but rather charge left in the capacitor. To initiate the timer pull the switch to turn fan on, then pull again to turn off. The fan will then run on for however long the time is set for.
Q- My fan has stopped turning on completely
A- If your fan is an HIB Hush model, please check that the LEDs are positioned on the right hand side if the fan is mounted in the wall. If the LEDs are positioned at the bottom then it has been installed incorrectly and condensation has entered the PCB causing it to fail.
For all other models please first check the wiring and connection. If the fault continues, please contact HIB for a replacement (020 8441 0352); or contact our Customer Support team who can liaise with HIB on your behalf.
Q- My fan is not extracting correctly and my room remains humid
A- Please check the ducting in the loft (or other relevant exit). Make sure it's no more than 3m, and that it runs straight with no kinks or bends.
Ducting must not be vertical and motor must be mounted on the floor and not in the air. Check fan has sufficient extraction power to hold a piece of tissue (tissue test), and that the blades are turning freely.
Make sure windows are closed, and the fan is left for at least 20-25 min to attempt to clear the room.
Q- The lights are working but motor has stopped after originally working fine
A- The motor and lights are wired in separately on all fans apart from the Air Star where the fan has a transformer due to it being 12v. If the motor has originally been working, but then subsequently fails, and the light is working, it may indeed a fault and a replacement could be needed. Please contact HIB’s technical team (020 8441 0352); or contact our Customer Support team who can liaise with HIB on your behalf.
Q- My fan does not work from installation
A- Check the wiring. Please make sure that all 3 wires have been connected correctly (live, neutral, and switched-live). Please ensure there are no loops in the wiring.
If you fan is humidity-sensing and is not turning on in a humid environment, please ensure this has been correctly calibrated.
Q- The fan is intermittent and comes on by itself
A- If this behaviour is unexpected (i.e. it’s not due to the humidity level, and you have checked the wiring and the humidity calibration if relevant) then there may be an issue with the circuit board. This can be replaced in some fans to avoid the need for uninstalling and reinstalling a complete replacement. Some models will require an outright replacement if this is indeed the cause of the problem. Please contact HIB for a replacement (020 8441 0352); or contact our Customer Support team who can liaise with HIB on your behalf.
Q- The fan is making a loud noise
A- Please check that there is nothing blocking the blades, and that nothing has come loose on the motor.
HIB’s technical team: 020 8441 0352
Our Customer Support team: 01202 556655 or help@tapwarehouse.com