Vent Replacement
Out with the old, in with the new.
The original Vent had a plastic opaque center cover. This was damaged a few years back and caused a pretty significant water leakage issue. The PO was unaware a branch has hit and cracked the plastic. Water leaked in for an unknown amount of time. The vent needed to be removed to ensure the water had not ruined the insulation. It did not. Picked up a New "Fantastic Fan" on E-bay and the fun began.
Removal of the original was not that hard. I drilled out the rivets (on center) and slowly lifted up the vent assembly. To my surprise, I saw and heard a short from a bare wire. Seems the Factory did not use wire nuts, and powered the DC light by cutting into power and ground. Poor workmanship and the fact they did not use wire nuts caused the tape to pretty much "ooze" off the wires, probably due to heat over the years. See the above photo.
After a couple of attempts to cut the existing hole 1/4" per side larger, I settled on a Die Grinder to fit the new assembly. (inside and out)
One drawback to the Fantastic fan is there is no built in light. So I worked on the light fixture to free it from rust, due to all the moisture it has seen. With a 1-1/8" hole saw put a hole in the ceiling to run the power wires. Luck would have it I had a grommet the fit the hole to prevent chafing of the wire.
The Kit included a cellulose gasket to prevent leakage and make up for any abnormalities around the opening. I checked and rechecked the wiring to ensure there were no more bare spots left. Still puzzled why the original vent was wired in the way it was. Taped up the ends with a heat resistant electrical tape (pays to work at a power plant) Then verified the fan worked as well as the light. Installed the mounting screws and applied Vulkem to the edges.
Not quite the finished product. Trim work needed, once I figure out how to cut the inside trim piece.