Quiet. The Neighbors Can Hear You (Sound Control Thread)

Sincerely420

New Member
DO NOT! I REPEAT.....DO NOT! Get any variety of the 8" duct fans for between $30-$40 from eBay or Amazon thinking that it might be doable.
It's not. Not if you live in apartment or are worried about any sorta sound control.
I'm stuck trying to sell it now because I don't wanna invest another $25 for a fan speed controller because I've read several reviews of them NOT WORKING w/ DUCT FANS.
I got an 8" duct fan becauase I got an 8" in duct ozone generater. The fan moves 420CFM but at quite the decibel...So it's growing dust right now.....
If you're gonna get an inline fan, don't skimp on it. The headache from a cheap fan is no bueno..And def. hang it some how...It's the best way of dealing with the vibration and sound IMO :joint:
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Any fan should be run at 1/2 speed to be quiet. If I wanted to move 200 cu ft per minute, I'd buy a 400CFM fan and run at 1/2 speed.

The Lutron brand of variable speed fan controllers keeps that hum down. Model FS-5FH.
 

lykarckstar420

Active Member
My 4" inline fan sounds a like a swamp cooler. It has to be in my bedroom.. Tried a silent clamp thing on the end of my fan and that DID NOTHING> .. any ideas.
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Hanging stuff on the wall (short of drywall) will do very little. Fluffy stuff stops echo, but will not soundproof.

An echo is a weaker sound wave that doesn't have enough energy to actually enter the wall and leave the room. These weaker waves that can't leave the room bounce back into the room. Because they are weaker sound waves they can be dealt with by the fluffy stuff. Stronger sound waves will simply pass through the fluffy stuff, enter the wall or ceiling and is conducted away from your room forever.
 

Myles117

Well-Known Member
what is the easiest way to cut the 7 inch hole in the board? i have a 6 inch diameter bit for my drill but it wasnt cheap and id rather not buy another that is even more expensive.

thanks
 

Myles117

Well-Known Member
the only board that needs a circular hole cut in it lol. on both ends of the box where the duct comes through
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
I have one of those... Everyone's different, but I'd reach for the jigsaw myself. The saw blade cuts, where the rotary tool sort of uses a drill bit. Works great with drywall, but never likes it with plywood. I'll be curious what you find. If you're working with MDF, cut the board outside, as the quantity of fine dust will shock you
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Adjustable. Cuts through a variety of materials. Warning: you must be smarter than the tool you are using or risk serious injury or death.
 

Javadog

Well-Known Member
That is basically a "dremel" Myles, and you will benefit from having
it for other reasons too.

Put a carbide disk on one of these things and you can cut case hardened
stainless steel. (you might burn a couple up, but they cost very little)

Now that tool has me stoked HotRod....really. It is like someone sold me
a set of Jarts (remember the old lawn darts). It is like "I get to think! Yay!"

I see the potential hazard of that thing when it gets going, but with great
power comes great responsibility. Thanks for the idea.

JD
 

Myles117

Well-Known Member
I have one of those... Everyone's different, but I'd reach for the jigsaw myself. The saw blade cuts, where the rotary tool sort of uses a drill bit. Works great with drywall, but never likes it with plywood. I'll be curious what you find. If you're working with MDF, cut the board outside, as the quantity of fine dust will shock you
all of the construction is kept outside for that reason, i like to skip the cleanup portion of DIYing when at all possible :p

i just dont want to buy a jigsaw when i wont use it again in the foreseeable future.
 

diggabyte

Member
First-time poster, long-time reader.

As many others in this thread, I too use a tent grow and have had to deal with noise (and heat) in a small living space. To reduce my need for a huge, noisy ventilation system, I use a 250W Induction lamp in my tent. It's like a super-powerful fluorescent, comparable to a 400w HPS but with a fraction of the heat (there are other threads that debate this topic). The general idea is less heat = less air flow needs = less noisy fans.

That being said, I don't require a 6" inline vortex just for my light or anything like that. I just need some fresh air to keep the plants happy, keep the smell outside and to flush the limited (but noticeable) heat buildup. Everything out on the market for ducting fans is like industrial-grade, very loud. Airplanes taking off and such.

My solution was to purchase a $60 extractor fan used for bathrooms from Home Depot. It's rated 60cfm with a 4" duct and is nearly silent. 60cfm flushes my 4x4x2 tent (32cfm) every 30 seconds or so. The loudness of the unit is 0.5 sone (a loudness scale used for fans and such), which is absolutely whisper quiet, about as loud as the typical PC. I can sleep right next to it.

The extractor fan is designed to be mounted flush in the ceiling, like in your bathroom. So in order to mount it cleanly to my tent, I used 2 pieces of corrugated plastic as makeshift flange, using the existing ducting holes in the tent. The fan sits happily on top of the tent. I run 4" ducting for the outlet a few feet away in my window.

For the window, I used a foam-core board (art supply store) which I cut to fit. In between the foam core and window screen, I simply slipped in the original grill/face that came with the extractor fan (which would normally be mounted to your ceiling). From the outside, the windows looks like any run-of-the mill window AC unit. No one would be the wiser.

Without the airflow, aside from just being cruel to my girls, the canopy temp was about 92f (ambient room temp ~72f). Since I've added the extractor airflow, the canopy temp hovers right around 80f.

Now it's important to note a few things here:
1) this solution will not suffice for a HPS / MH lamp. Don't even think about it. There's too much heat.
2) If you use CFL, T5's, LED or Induction lighting, this might be a viable solution for low-volume ventilation.

There are all sorts of makes / models of these extractor fans. You'll have to do a little DIY to mount them, regardless. If you don't use a grow tent but have small grow room, you could mount one (or more!) in the ceiling for excellent, nearly silent ventilation.

I've attached some photos... enjoy!

air_3.jpgair_2.jpgair_1.jpgair_0.jpg
 

Zippo Guy

Member
I have that same tool ("Heavy Duty Hole Cutter"), I bought it to cut fan holes... do not get it is all i can say.
Took me about 20 mins to get through 9mm of MDF, and it's so messy and unstable to use by hand, I ended up having to buy a new panel and use my jigsaw.
My Hand-held Drill didn't have enough torque to cut larger holes with this, even my big mains powered one bounced about every now and then, but I must stress that it's very unstable and hard to do a good job with it by hand...
This attachment is more suited to those big heavy duty drills on stands, found in workshops ect.

For fan holes, Solid Ducting and other lil jobs like that you should have a look at 'Oscillating Multitools', they're great!
Got one a while back, now i only need to use my Jigsaw for long straight cuts or thick beams.

Anyway, I checked in here with some soundproofing advice, but felt compelled to share my waste of money with all, and hopefully save you all some cash!

-----------

I've been a sound engineer for the past 7 Years and have even taken part in a few commercial studio constructions...
During this time I have worked and spoken with many Acousticians and Specialist Contractors, so without being up my own ass... I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to Sound!

The number one rule you need to know about sound insulation is that it's all about the Frequencies!
Let's not make this too much of a Sound Engineering lesson, but basically we mainly want to concentrate on the Lower-Mid to Upper Frequencies, as fan noise is most resonant in this range.
Egg Crate type insulation can help, just like acoustic/foam padding, and actual insulation...
That's all good, but the number one thing you can do, is concentrate on the construction of the walls of your cab/room ect.

The key to Blocking Sound is to have a solid surface for the sound to hit, then a hollow space, followed by another solid surface (hope that explains it).
That doesn't mean that you can insulate a cab or a fan with 2 layers of 3mm plywood!!

here is what I have done from inside out:

3mm MDF board Sandwiched onto a 9mm MDF board with 'Green Glue' (a bit expensive, but if you apply it as per the instructions, a tube will go further than you might think. I used less than 1).
This already gives me 2 hard surfaces with a gap inbetween.
Then on the other side of the support frame, I have 12mm MDF board covered with some light carpet (heavy duty is best for sound, but not great for temps), as carpets are often used to control High Frequencies. Put on with Staple Gun a tiny bit of Green Glue of course :) (Love that shit!).
Outside was filled in with good old wood filler, then painted.

If youre dealing with an actual room, make a frame all around your room and put some Drywall/Plasterboard on the outside and MDF or something inside (Plasterboard is better than MDF, but will degrade if it gets wet so should not be used for the inside).
You don't need to shrink your space or spend £$£$ lol, a single layer of 12mm MDF framed up about 2 inches away from your actual wall will do wonders!
A cubic foot or two of space are worth the peace of mind in my eyes...

For an actual interior door, you can use screws in the corners, all screwed to leave an inch or 2 sticking out. Then simply push MDF board up to it and crew it to the door, this will leave the all important gap, whilst not adding too much weight to the door, as I've seen a Studio Door practically remove fingers! :S

Unless you spend a shitload of cash, there will always be some noise... especially as inputs and ouputst are a fact of life for us.
All i can hear from my grow which is near where I sleep, is a gentle hum from Airflow... and as far as that goes, Blowing through Oversized Carbon Filter with Solid Ducting is what will make the most difference (In my opinion).
I can sleep no worries, and with my headphones on but no music playing, I can't hear it!

Hope this helps anyone having issues...
Remember that the planning stage is the most important... and Green Glue is awesome!

Zip.:bigjoint:
 

Javadog

Well-Known Member
I wonder if the Whisperline line of fans have this sort of baffling already included,
as they are something of a box like shape; one that clearly houses a more typically
shaped rotary fan.

FV40NLF1.jpg
I hope so....I have one on the way. :0) 6"

Take care,

JD
 
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