TA-120 Ultra Quiet 120 CFM Bathroom Ceiling Fan

For those of you who want to just want the details quickly, this fan moves a lot of air, it does it very quietly, and it look better than any exhaust fan I have ever seen. As previous reviews have mentioned, the flap that prevents back-flow when the fan is on needs to be redesigned, but there is an easy enough fix, and it won't be an issue for everyone. 4.5 star out of 5 I would purchase again, thanks for dropping by!Are they gone? Some people are always in a hurry, but for the rest of you, a tale of struggle and hardship. A tale filled with the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments, and of sorrow. But it is also a tale of redemption, joy, and fulfillment. Come, walk with me and let us speak of...The Tatsumaki TA-120 Ultra Quiet 120 CFM Bathroom Ceiling FanI recently purchase this house. It was built in 1960, a time almost a decade before I myself was built. As many of you know, purchasing an older home is often filled with little things that need to be cared for or replaced. Sometimes you will even find that those things contain withing them the towel dust, hair, and skin cells of the people that came before you. If you are like me, then just reading that last sentence made you a little uncomfortable, and now you are SURE that want to replace that bathroom fan. The previous fan was one with a built in light fixture that would take 60w bulb, though I replaced the bulb with an LED bulb that was much brighter. I have a triple switch on the wall for the main vanity light, the fan, and the light inside the fan. I wanted to keep the light since I already had a switch for it, and I had seen one at my local hardware store the looked almost identical. That fan was listed as 70cfm and was about $45, so I picked it up, and began the process of installing it. Installing an exhaust fan is such a pleasure, especially when it is the furthest spot from the access point to the attic crawlspace, you have blown-in insulation, and you managed to pick a surprisingly warm and sunny day to be working in an attic. It took FAR longer than it would have under other circumstances, but that was mostly not the fault of the fan. I also put in a new outside louvered vent and a new 4 inch hose. When I turned it on, the first thing I noticed was that it was really REALLY ugly. Unlike the old fan AND the demo model installed in a box at the store, the inside of this fan under the plastic grill was not painted black, but was just raw sheet metal. When the light came on, you could see every unattractive detail of the inner workings of the fan. Some parts reflected almost mirror-like, and that would catch your eye and make you look up, wondering what just flashed at you to get your attention. It was pretty awful, but that wasn't the worst of it.For you see, my good readers, there was also the sound. I am sure many of you have seen the videos from St. Marten where giant commercial jets pass only a few meters above the beach as they land, and when they take off, the thrust from the engines blows people across the road and down the beach. The sound those thrill-seeking beach goers heard as they were being torn from the fence and tossed across the sand, I imagine, is very similar, if perhaps softer, than the sound I had coming from my bathroom ceiling. When it was running I could hear it from outside, on the opposite side of the house. I actually worried the next door neighbors would complain. The crazy thing was that it made all that noise while moving almost no air. I got my hand wet and stuck it up by the grill, and even then couldn't feel any air being sucked into that noisy, ugly fan. Needless to say, it had to go.So I purchased the Tatsumaki, and choosing a cooler day, went back up and replaced that horrible machine. I still wanted a light, so I also installed a can light about a foot over, which turned out to be a much better lighting choice anyway. The Tatsumaki nearly doubled the CFM of the previous fan, and does it making so little noise that when I flicked the switch the first time, for a moment I thought I had screwed up the installation and it wasn't working at all. Then I heard a soft rushing sound... my heart sang with joy! The sound of air leaving the bathroom is louder than the sound of the motor making it happen. Glorious!The next day was breezy, as is typical here in the Pacific northwest. The wind almost always comes out of the southwest, and hits the external exhaust vent at just the wrong angle. It would lift the flaps and let the wind continue through the hose where it would hit the anti back-flow flap. The flap seems to be too light, so the breeze would rattle it, and the stronger the wind, the more it rattled. This might not be the case for everyone, but what I suggest is that you add a little weight to that flap. I took a penny and a couple pieces of Gorilla tape to the flap, which you can do easily before you even begin the install. You might even consider using some epoxy and a nickle, or hot glue and an old token from Chuck-E-Cheese... whatever fluffs your muffin. You do you, I'm not here to judge. Oh, and the inside is black, and the grill is SO much nicer than the other one I had put in. It really looks nice. So pick the Tatsumaki! You will be happy you did. I should also mention that there IS a model that comes with a light, but it is more of a night light. It would be great for getting up in the middle of the night, but I can't imagine it being bright enough to use as the only light in your bathroom. That is only a guess based on other reviewer's experiences, so don't hold me to that.Happy Fanning!

Fan is quiet and powerful. Some have complained the damper rattles due to it being metal. My damper is plastic and doesn’t rattle. Perhaps there was a design change? Installation was relatively easy. The only gripe I have is so minor most people won’t care. Since the grill is square I wish it had the ability to be turned 90 degrees. When replacing an existing fan you don’t always have a placement option, and the grill slats are rather wide apart so if they’re parallel to your line of sight you can see the inner workings clearly. If you could turn it so that the slats are perpendicular to entering the room it would hide the innards. Not a deal breaker but had I designed this fan I’d have built-in the option. Small nit to pick. Half a star. Otherwise nice fan!

Doesn't exhaust the air in the bathroom, I wish I had my 50 year old fan back. It is quiet but doesn't vent the air in the room. With installation it cost me $325.00 and it doesn't work, I'm just sick. I don't know what to do!

First off let me say these guys running tatsumaki are top notch. They are super quick on response time if you have any questions.i initially bought this to replace my bathroom fan.after installation i noticed it was a bit loud so i emailed them with a video. They quickly arranged for a new turbine to be dropped off to me ( we are both located in San Francisco). It's all in now and it works perfect. much quieter than my old broan fan and it clears the steam in the bathroom quickly. A+ product at a great price with AWESOME customer service. I cannot say enough about the guys at tatsumaki.

Definitely designed for new construction. Miserable to install as a replacement. Instructions said to cut a 9 1/4 sq hole, but it took a 12 x 9 1/4 hole to install and left a large repair in my ceiling. I will look for a different fan to replace my other bathroom fan.

Found this for a client that wanted a quiet fan, under 2 sonos but also stylish at a good price. Even though I never heard of this brand before, we gave it a try. Installation was standard, It's quiet and most importantly it had the style at half the price of similar fans and that made my client very happy:) Would purchase again

When I installed the product it kept tripping the breaker. After troubleshooting I found that the plastic connector that attaches between the internal Case (motor) and and external case wiring had a short in the connector. definitely a manufacturing defect. However, my project had to move forward I couldn’t delay to send this back and get a replacement unit. So I bypassed the connector and required the unit to get it working. I have never seen one of these connectors have a short; not even really sure how it is shorted. Probably voided the warranty by bypassing this but no time to rectify. Unit is now running. Low noise as advertised. Just wish it didn’t have this defect causing me to have to engineer a solution.

This is a very sturdy unit that looks like it will last a lifetime. The only irritating issue on the three units I purchased, was the cheap aluminum air flapper wants to chatter no matter what I try. The squirrel cage and inside housing is a heavy plastic polymer that needed to be taken out of one of the three I ordered, and twisted so fan cage would not engage against edge of plastic housing. The 1.2 sones level listing should be less for size and design, but it is as listed. Heavy metal outer housing leads to ease for installing without worry of the box becoming twisted and then vulnerable to added noise. A pleasure to install in existing change-out locations.