Today, another happy ending to report — and by golly — we love those. Doesn’t that shiny chrome exhaust fan cover look amazing next to Shawn’s starburst towel hooks? He ordered a NOS Emerson Pryne chrome exhaust fan grille cover for his bathroom from our secret source — House of Fans — matched up to a new Nutone 8310 exhaust fan. With a little help making a custom part from a local lamp shop and a stock chrome finial cap, Shawn’s bathroom is now business.
Shawn writes:
So glad you posted about the NOS chrome grille covers from House of Fans! Just finishing up the details of my bathroom renovation, and this cover is awesome. So shiny that I almost feel like I have a chromed out car. Lol
I used this with the Nutone 8310 fan. It comes with a threaded rod that’s only 2″ but I needed a 2.5″ one to fit the taller grille cover. My local lamp parts shop cut a 1/4-27 threaded rod to 2.5″ for me which also fit basic finial cap in chrome.
Oh, and round 11.5″ filter from eBay for $7!
We’ve heard from lots of readers who have successfully combined new fans and these NOS grille covers over the last few years since our story broke — and that just gives us a case of the warm fuzzies.
Karin Jeffrey says
Thanks everybody for all your tips. I will definitely get two chrome grilles from House of Fans, one for the kitchen, and one for the bathroom. I hope they still have two of them in stock. I’ve always liked them. When my parents moved into their 1956 bungalow, there was a chrome fan/vent with a pull chain on the kitchen backsplash which opened to the outside. It worked very well. When my parents had the kitchen retiled in the 70s, the chrome vent was removed and replaced by a Nutone hood over the stove. My father saved and recycled a lot of stuff, but the chrome grille disappeared. Maybe the tilers threw it away. Our neighbors kept their kitchen grille, and their son proudly showed it to me recently. He said that he had a heck of a time finding filters, but finally located them in a restaurant supply store. Now I have something to remind me of my parents’ kitchen. Thank you.
Joe Felice says
This is cool. I’d like to have one in my kitchen, but I don’t have an outside exhaust. While we’re on the subject of fans, you may want to alert people about the hidden danger of fans made before 1980. They should ALL be replaced, as they do not have thermo-protected motors, which can overheat and start fires. Grease, lint & hair build up on the fan parts, and the hot motor can ignite them. Ditto for some types of insulation. As a property manager, I have had several fires started in this way. In those properties, the insurance carriers require that all fans be replaced with newer ones.
Scott says
Obviously I think this is beautiful. And a triple row of starbursts certainly ices the cake to perfection and beyond.
I’m a big fan (couldn’t resist) of the filter not just because it looks so cool being all glimmery, but I also like the idea of there being that one extra barrier between inside and outside to keep out the whatevers that may be lurking above. The filter doesn’t seem to impede functionality either which I was able to test thanks to the TP test I learned about on Retro Renovation. That impressed my electrician quite a bit by the way! 🙂
pam kueber says
haha, the TP test
Gwen says
You know you’re sitting in high cotton when you have the ceiling heat lamps too. 😉
Gwen says
Well I have the original fans AND covers in two of my bathrooms. The fans are SO loud! How much are the new fans and what is the noise level? Maybe I want new fans for my old covers!
(my fan does have a pull chain that when left in the ‘on’ position is then controlled by the light switch. Would I still have the pull chain on a new fan motor???)
pam kueber says
Gwen, to find all this out you need to go to the websites that sell these products – sounds like you can start with House of Fans, that is, like they sell Nutone fans. Nutone fans also available many other places.
Scott says
I don’t know about the model Shawn picked but the Broan/Nutone 504 is as loud as a freight train. I still put in two because it was one of the highest performance (CFM rating) models I could find… and it mated up with this cover. 🙂
pam kueber says
The one I have in my kitchen is quite loud, too. I don’t know the model number. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t ever keep it on very long.
Shawn Ivy says
I definitely needed the filter to hide the fact that the guy who put up the drywall did a terrible job cutting the circle out. Lol! Also, the new Nutone fan was much smaller than the chrome grille. It looked pretty bad without the filter.
Julie, his is the type of cap that I got at my local lamp parts store:
http://www.mylampparts.com/Products/Solid-metal-top-hat-finial—chrome__SL07352a.aspx
Nothing fancy. You should be able to find locally.
Julie says
That is a beautiful thing! I bought a smaller NOS chrome cover for my kitchen wall exhaust fan last year and I currently have a gray plastic finial cap on it because I haven’t located a chrome one. Any advice where I can find one? I would love to complete the look and call that project d.o.n.e.
Allen says
lampparts.com would probably have something suitable.
pam kueber says
Even just your local electrical parts supply … or a lamp shop … should be able to help, I’d think….
lynda says
Happy the source I found back in 2011 is still helping people find the fan cover. I wonder how many more covers House of Fans has?
Daughter is still happy with the fan choice she made for her kitchen remodel.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Lynda!!!!!
David in Marietta says
The filter may not be needed for bathroom application. It is actually a grease trap for the kitchen fan to trap any flying oil vapors coming up from the stove. It prevents these from getting into the motor and shorting it out. I will have to admit that the filter makes it look better than without.
Karin Jeffrey says
I’ve died and gone to retro heaven. The chrome exhaust fan and starburst fixtures are exquisite. I too, got on the phone in a starburst-fueled frenzy and got one of the last remaining Rejuvenation chrome starburst toilet paper holders. Whew! The starburst towel rack was completely out of stock, but thankfully the shelf and a towel hook were still available. The fact that they only came in brushed nickel deterred me not a whit. I can always get ’em chromed.