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

[cappeeler09]

ive got 2 small desk fans in my tent and they make quite a bit of noise ones clipped top 1 of the poles off the tent and ones hanging with the wire going out of the hood,is ther anythink i can do

 

[splap]

There is always that egg-crate foam mattress padding too. You can easily line the adjoining wall with it for cheap. Disperses the sound waves, preventing penetration through the walls.

I heard that's not really true. I heard that it just muffles the sound but it's just as loud. Then again, the person who was telling me about that was talking about music, not fans...

 

[cappeeler09]

no ther not extraction fans,ive got my filter inside and the extraction fan is ontop of the tent connected to my filter,ive got 2 small house fans inside just the ones with a stand wich spin left to right

 

[kagenical]

I heard that's not really true. I heard that it just muffles the sound but it's just as loud. Then again, the person who was telling me about that was talking about music, not fans...

Generally, thin egg crate foam does more to attenuate higher frequency sounds than it does lower frequency ones. In effect, you could say that this open celled foam changes the type of sound you hear, from a higher pitched sound to a lower one. This wouldn't change the apparent volume of music (as it's such a complex waveform that a bit of attenuation at one end does very little to it's overall SPL) but it can help with simpler frequencies.

Thicker, denser foams (especially layered foams... An inch thick rubbery foam plus your egg crate foam make a great combination) attenuate and reduce SPLs for a wide band of audible ranges...

The cheap foams (Like mattress padding) do very little for low rumbles (air pumps for example) but can give you a bit of an edge with the higher pitches (extractor fans aka jet engines).

Other things people can try... How about an AC fan speed controller? Wired in-line with your extractor fan, you can turn it down to the exact level you need. Many of the fans do too good a job at cycling your grow space (especially our cabinet growers) and the top 50% of their RPM range does very little extra over their RPM rating @ 50% speed.

 

[Veeznutz420]

does anyone have ideas for a safe box to be built for a ballast? i have two pc fans just need an idea of what to put in the box..

 

[2perlight]

how do i cut the sound of my exhaust from my room going outside its loud outside the window and what do i do about winter my exhaust is going to look like a fire is coming out of the window with so much steam from the heat what to do any suggestions please!!!!

 

[sarita99]

The solution to getting rid of the loud whooshing noise of the air being pushed outside is a plenum or muffler. Basically it is a box or container that you place in the duct before the air passes out. You can build it out of anything. The box in the first pic is for the exhaust. It was built out of wood and sheetrock. The second box is for the intake, and as you can see it is a bucket. The bucket isn't as good as the wood box. The air gets pushed into the plenum where it disperses, and then it wanders out from there. My back yard used to sound like a tornado, now you can barely hear it, it cut the noise down like 95%.

 

[neiltoosweet]

so what about 1,a box,2, acoustic ducting,and 3, an exhast muffler,
would doing all three make the fan silent?

 

[2perlight]

thats great what should i put inside the box for the exhaust just use wood? what kind of set up do you have looks like mine

 

[sarita99]

Just wood. The idea is to slow down and disperse the air so it doesn't go shooting out at high speed through the narrow duct.

 

[2perlight]

what about steam in the winter?

 

[naked gardener]

Okay, I will admit that I did not real ALL 16 pages of replies--so sorry if it's a repeat (and I'm sure it is)--simple suggestion that worked WONDERS for me---INSULATED DUCT WORK, $30 per 25ft@Home Depot (and definitely bungees for suspension--tho I use jack chain like a sling, (each side connected to a different hook) from my joists above for the 66CAN & bungee for 8"FAN) Little noise except right near the area and NO vibration
Went from 'holy shit--it REALLY DOES sound like a jet engine' to...well....I'm sitting directly above it now and can't hear A THING--couldn't believe the difference by simply switching the ductwork

 

[Hotwired]

I'm not sure if I ever replied to this thread over the year it has been here but I have mentioned this before in other threads and I have used multiple types of fans from various companies including the big names.

The Panasonic Whisperquiet fans are without doubt the BEST overall for stealth. I did a comparison test way back when I did my tent write up. These fans are awesome if you are worried about noise. I use a 6" in my closet and I sleep 10 feet away and can't hear it.

I saw a few threads about the endurance and strength of the fan. All for the bad side, but I went ahead and ordered one just to see for myself. I hooked it up in my attic back in April of '08 and have not turned it off since. So this proves the endurance. It keeps my tent 2 degrees above ambient cooling a 600 watt. So it has strength in distances under 10 feet.

I will agree that any run longer than 10 feet may have a problem tho. That's where the other fans are better. But you pay for that type of strength with a ton of noise.

The 8" would probably do a 15 foot run with a few turns in it. There are a few places to grab the specs on these before you order.

http://www.ntsupply.com/files/products/FV-40NLF1_Spec.pdf

This shows the drop off once you get passed the 1.0 static pressure mark. But who cares? You still get 200 cfm at 1 sp and it will be so quiet you can stand next to it and whisper to a friend. If you add insulated duct you would be able to make a baby sleep right next to it. No shit.

 

[Krawnik]

I'm planning on building a grow box that will house like 4-6 plants. Think it'll be necessary to go through the worry of building any sound control??

 

[miztaj]

I'm planning on building a grow box that will house like 4-6 plants. Think it'll be necessary to go through the worry of building any sound control??

depends on if you can hear it outside where people may hear it,neighbors,do u have utility workers checking electric or gas meters monthly that may hear it. Or it may bug the shit out of u hearing fans all the time.

 

[DankShasta]

Hey guys, I just moved to a new apartment this weekend. Went from a place with no worry about noise issues and now I am getting nervous about this new place.

My main concern is the humming of my ballast. I want to build a box for it and line the inside with foam. My concern is that it will get too hot. Earlier today I placed the ballast inside a cardboard box with towels wrapping the box, took care of the noise, but it quickly got too hot.

Any ideas? will a properly constructed box get rid of the heat issue?

Dgital ballast, i got a couple they are amazing for heat and noise. They also turn on super fast!

 

[curioushiker]

Not sure if I need to worry about noise but heres my setup.
25x30' garage with attic space above. 2x4 walls, R-13 insulation, with Hardi panels on the outside and 1/2" drywall on the insde. My actual room in built inside the garage. It is 8'x20' Construction is 2x4 walls, R-13 insulation, 1/2" sound board then 7/16" OSB (wafer board)
I am running lumateks and a 12" max fan and several other cheap standing fans for circulation.
The 12" max fan will be on top of a 39" can filter with ducting that exits the room through the top and into the attic above the garage. The ducting will then move into the attic space above the house and vent there to flow out the gable vents and soffot vents. The garage attic and house attic are "sealed" from each other.
Of course this is in the blueprint stage so I dont know what my noise will be like, if any.
What do you guys think?

 

[elegentsmoker]

good thread built boxes saved my grow keep on growing my green thumbed brothern .

 

[tod]

yeah tod here england i have had major problems with sound when the bubble pots fans and ballast are buzzing parranioa sets in well you want stealth go to carpet centre thick wood floor underlay and silver sound proof pack your pots underneath and your ballasts even under fans 200 mm or even less .........happy days can't hear a whistle

 

[tod]

johnny go to bQ and buy two big rolls of thick laminte underlay then buy 1 4mtr square accoustic sound padding all your probs will be gone fold the underlay as thick as desired and put sound padding on top hope you do well tod yoda