I currently have a couple of these Airflow ICON fan units and they are rubbish. I’m looking to replace them with a Manrose in-line extractor which with its added capacity should be ideal for our wee bathroom. It will be fitted in the attic space and be attached to the roof tile vent. My questions are what should I use to blank the hole in the ceiling? I assume there is some sort of plastic grate I can fit? Should I use insulated ventilation ducting to limit condensation running back down the ducting? Should I fit a condensation trap? Would it be better to fit the fan horizontally closer to the extraction point in the ceiling or is it ok to fit it 3ft vertically from the hole in the ceiling attaching it to the timber roof struts?
Thanks!

You can buy extractor fan covers – we’ve got one like this:

Extractor Duct Cover

Just make sure it is the correct diameter for your ducting.

In our previous home, we had a roof tile vent & had a problem with the steam condensing & running back down. After sticking some insulation around the pipe, the problem completely went away.
We didn’t bother with a condensation trap.

I don’t think it matters too much where you fit the fan, so long as the run on either side isn’t too long – it shouldn’t be for one of those manrose inline fans.
Have a bit of a think about sound insulation as well when positioning it. Our Aventa inline fan is mounted to the joists in the loft & it is definitely a bit droney from the vibrations being transmitted, but ours vents through the soffit & not the roof as such.
If I was in a position to raise up the fan, I’d consider hanging it from the roof screwed to a simple platform to isolate the vibrations.
It’s how the Nuaire Positive Ventilation systems can be mounted & seems like a good idea.

We have two Manrose fans and both just use duct covers similar to above. I didn’t bother with insulated ducting and I haven’t had an issue in 7 and 5 years respectively (I had one fan in bits a few months ago when it got a bit gunked up and the fan stopped spinning so I checked all the ducting then and it was clear and no standing water).

FWIW, I have got this version of the fan – it’s the older model but it is reputed to be more reliable and user-serviceable (and almost half the price it seems).

Have you thought about getting a heat recovery fan? E.g.: https://www.vent-axia.com/range/single-room-heat-recovery-srhr

When I had my bathroom done, requiring a new in-line extractor that vented through a roof tile, I asked whether it needed a condensation trap or the ducting insulating and the contractor + electrician installing it both said they wouldn’t be needed as it was a short run in the loft. It’s been fine for the 18 months since fitting, no sign of anything dripping back down.

As for the cover – I did originally want a brushed steel one (to match the down-light surrounds) but I could only find cheap ones and most of those had reviews mentioning rust so I just went with a plastic one in the end (looks fine as the ceiling is painted white anyhow).

Have a look on the Blauberg UK site.

Pretty much concur with the above.
We have 2 Manrose fans serving bathrooms & are excellent, both with insulated ducting within roof space (no condsensation trap) & venting through a gable wall rather than roof tile.
Fairly long horizontal duct on one (5m approx) & works great – put the fan as near to the outside air as possible, that way it is sucking moist air rather than pushing it out.
I have both fans mounted on a ply deck that is fixed to the ceiling joists with anti vibration fixings, a bit like these :-
Anti Vibration Fixings
All you can hear in the bathroom is the sound of the air being sucked out!
We have round (white aluminium) ceiling diffusers a bit like the ones already mentioned.

Our manrose is on plyboard over old karrimat, screwed into joist. Really quiet.

I’ve made pipe up to fan vertical, then the 2m run to eaves vent slope down. Any condensation now flows out of eaves vent. I can remove ceiling cover and clear out any dust.

They shift so much more air that the cheapy wall mount things. Much better.

Bit of a basic question but how do you power these? Can you use the lighting electrical supply or do you have to get the power socket supply there?

Just wire it into the light switch for the room if you can (the wiring is often in the roof void and drops down to the switch) and wire it to use the constant live too, so it can over-run when the light is switched off.

Technically, as this is in a wet room, it should be done by a qualified person I believe.

EDIT: It should also have an isolation switch outside the room to comply with regs IIRC.

I have recently filled one in my bathroom and decided to have a twin setup with two inlets going into a Y piece then into the fan. Fairly easy to do with fittings from screwfix. I now have the bathroom and a previously damp cupboard trying to implode from the powerful fan that’s trying to suck the plaster off the walls 😁

Thanks for all the info folks…love this place!!