Fan is Way Too Loud!

suspendedinair

Active Member
I just recieved a 6 inch inline fan by Hydrofarm. It's rated at 400 cfm but this damn thing sounds like small plane, ok maybe not that loud but i can hear it with my door closed to my grow room any ideas or suggestions to making this thing quieter?
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
get yourself a fan speed controller, also made by hydrofarm and run it at about 1/4 to 1/3 power, and also get yourself a phresh inline duct mulller.. between the two of them, you'll reduce your noise by maybe 70% or so.. i had the same problems with my fan, and i've only got a four inch 165cfm jobby..
 

ClamDigger

Active Member
i too am suffering from the same problem, a fan speed controller is sadly out of the question, can i get a bit more info on these "inline duct mufflers" ?
i know of duct mufflers on the end of a duct, but never inline.
thanks
+rep
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
i too am suffering from the same problem, a fan speed controller is sadly out of the question, can i get a bit more info on these "inline duct mufflers" ?
i know of duct mufflers on the end of a duct, but never inline.
thanks
+rep
that is the same thing m8.. its just the name of the one i got.. not really sure why its called that, but i'll get you a link for the one i have..
http://www.horticulturesource.com/phresh-carbonaire-duct-silencer-s-6-x-18--p8431/

and may i ask why the fan speed controller is out of the ? for you, was just curious is all..
 

pazuzu420

Well-Known Member
insulating the fan in a box is also a possiblity as well as adding insulation to the duct work itself then all you are left with is the sound of air comming out the end of the exhaust if it is still to loud then go for the muffler.
 

ChubbySoap

Well-Known Member
and all i ever did was add ducting with 90 degree bends in it until my fan quieted down...needed a bit of tinkering it did
added bonus...no more hurricane like winds in my tent AND the fan still manages to change plenty of air besides
 

suspendedinair

Active Member
My plan is to have a carbon filter then duct running to my hood then more duct then my fan and thats where the problem is way too loud at the end of it. Not for sure but think I need all 400 cfm to keep everything cool and i heard that bending the duct will result in lose of cfms. Again I'm not 100% if thats correct.
 

WeeGogs

Active Member
i have 8" 1015 cmh fans and you think yours was loud i had to build a box around it from 18mm thick mdf, i got 2 speed controllers, i bought acoustic ducting from ebay, i filled the inside of the box with cut up old cotton t shirts and closed it off each end the noise reduced was fantastic, the box got rid of the high frequency buzz, and the accoustic ducting got rid of the buzz and the anecoic chamber noise of rushing air in the duct, you must make sure your duct has no bends at least a metre near the exit and entrance because bends cause high circulating air flow which is noisy as hell, after i did this i let my grow room buddy hear it and he was totally amazed. here is a picture of the fan before i added the cut up clothes and accoustic ducting, you also have to hang your fan from rubber to stop vibration entering the walls, ceilings, i used a lenghth of car engine radiator hose thats the blue stuff i cut it and added it between fan and ceiling, i am going to remove them and use rubber exhaust hanging rings. i will take a new picture shortly with the new ducting added.
a link as a guide to the ducting and this ducting is as light as a feather and easily held up.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/150MM-X-10M-ACOUSTIC-FLEXIBLE-DUCTING-HYDROPONICS-6-/110661009597?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item19c3e900bd

this stuff is amazing, you must cut tape off and seal both ends at the edges to stop fibreglass particles entering your airspace .
 

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WeeGogs

Active Member
ok here is updated photos, pictures are 1 top left to 8 bottom right, picture 3 is the inlet fan with the new accoustic ducting fitted, 4 is where it enters the grow space, 2 is the tape that seals the ducting to the box, 1 is my unfinished exhaust fan with carbon filter and you can see where i drilled the hole for pwer lead to enter on right and the arrow flow direction sticker i transfered from fan to box, 8 is the air exit of the growspace for the exhaust fan, 7 is the exhaust fan with a piece of accoustic matting before i fill it with old cotton t-shirts, 6 is where the inlet duct gets attached to my sealed window box, you can see the light shining in through the duct flange, the window is a top forward tilt and has a patterned white window net and 2 layers of fly screen stretched tight over it with drawing pins and the entire window box is painted matt white inside and so is the inside of the duct where it attaches to the box, the piece of wood sticking out just above the duct is holding the window from tilting forwards and opening and cannot be seen just now from outside through the netting screens, during the day i can vent from the external space between grow room and existing bedroom, if the weather is far too hot or cold, picture 5 shows the cable that leads to a 20 watt monofilament bulb in the bottom corner of the widow box and it looks like a small bedroom lamp from the outside at night when the ducting is attached to it and sucking in, and honestly you would think someone was lying in bed reading a book. and it all is as quiet as a mouse, my fans run from a temperature computer with the fans and a small 2000w blow heater attached and it will keep the room at desired temps no problem with 4 x 600w hps on 20 hours a day.
 

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KawiZZR

Active Member
Rubber foam tape like for weather stripping under a door works well if you have the fan mounted directly to your wall. Just put the tape in between and it will help to dampen vibrations a bit. Probably will not be enough alone but that with a fan controller should do it.
 
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