New bathroom vent fan dripping water

Well I took Marq1's method, and installed a Continental in-line fan and took the 80-cfm fan out. This one is 147cfm, so it really clears the steam out of the bathroom quickly. I think in the end, it will do a better job of keeping the bathroom dryer. I also patched up the hole where the old square fan was and installed the round fan duct for the in-line fan right above the shower, to really try to get the steam out quicker.

So one thing I have noticed is that the fan housing in the attic drips some. I cant win! Basically it looks like water in building up in the fan housing, collecting into a small puddle in the fan, and seeping out the seams. Its not a significant drip, but enough to do damage by wetting the insulation. So I've given up and just put a rubbermaid bin underneath it. I also wrapped insulation around the fan itself, maybe that will help keep it warmer, kinda like the insulated vent lines. The pic below doesnt show it wrapped yet.

 

I think your issue is trying to exhaust too much steam, and condensation is going to collect in/on that fan as well because the fan is exposed to cooler attic temperatures. I believe moving the fan from directly over the shower would solve the problem. That and turn the hot water down for goodness sake. BTW, you don't want your vapor retarder on your insulation facing upward like that. I'd just remove it altogether. You're creating a "moisture sandwich" in those areas.

 

mossman,
thanks for the reply about the vapor retarder on the white insulation, was just some leftover insulation from another project that i added. I'll pull the facing off it. The pink stuff is unfaced. I think i'll see how much the fan drips into the bin, I just put the bin under the fan this morning, so havnt had time to see the results yet.

I installed the grill in the shower itself b/c i'm trying to expel as much moisture as I can, since we had mold/mildew issues in there before the renovation. Thought I'd try to get it out before it had a chance to collect on the walls. I guess if it drips too bad, i could reinstall the fan vertically instead of side to side like it currently is installed. That way if it dripped, it would drip back into the shower, which would be fine.

As for turning it down, the wife likes her showers hot. That and we made the new shower have 2 valves so we can change between rain head and normal head. The rain head does cause more steam, since more water flow in general, but we installed it to enjoy it, so unfortunately I dont want to try to fix any issues by taking showers we enjoy less.

 

Thank you for posting your solution. Closing the thread now as this question seems to have run it's course.