I have a 6" Vortex inline fan (449 cfm) for my grow room. It is also on a speedster on the low setting. My grow room is real small for that big of a fan... Is it possible to quiet the fan itself? If so how?
is you fan fitted into a wall of have you got in hanging from ther ceiling? Hanging from the ceiling will help reduce vibration noise. Fragster
Build an insulated box and stick it in there. Hang it on some rubber mounts, or bungey chords to keep your vibrations down. Use the rubber mounts to hold the fan inside the box as well as the box itself. It will help.
Thanks for the input everyone. I started to work on it today. I had some egg crate foam and some one inch thick styrofoam sheets that are like 3'x6'. I tried to insulate better in between the joyces above the fan and I wrapped the fan with the foam. I think I had minimal success so far. I need to build a box for the fan I think. The fan is setup on the outside wall of the grow room, I just cut a 6" hole to put the flange through and then I mounted the bracket on the joyce above. Then the carbon filter is right on the fan also on the outside of the room with the air being sucked out of the room, if that helps any...
Well after some more work I have figured out that the noise that is really the problem is the hum from the motor which is being caused by my fan speed controller. I bought the speedster inline fan speed controller from my local hydro shop. So now what I need to do is to find a fan speed controller that isnt a variable one like the speedster and one that just has the high, medium, and low settings. The ones they sell at the local hardware store aren't beefy enough for my 6" vortex (100 watt). I found that out by blowing up a power strip after I tried to switch my fan to the "low" setting... Anyone use anything like that currently or know where to get one? There are plenty of "no-hum" fan speed controllers but only for like ceiling fans that I can see. I need one rated for more than 1.5 amps.
I'm looking to reduce the noise from my vortex fan and thinking about building a soundproof box. How much noise reduction did you get with the box you built?
Lots of info here on picking a quieter fan to start with(although it may be too late for that) and the second post briefly discusses ways of reducing noise from a fan. Enjoy! There are also a couple links to other horticultural fan speed control systems than the Speedster as well. You might also post there that your Vortex+Speedster combo had humming issues. I'm sure others would like to avoid that combo when going uber-stealth on a build. http://forum.grasscity.com/general-...haust-fan-sold-state-speed-control-setup.html
Ice chest with holes cut out in both ends makes it sleep... it just takes up alot of room... if ya find a better solution PM me,
Also I didn't see the size of your room which may sound like you have over powered your room.... I have 5 x 10 room with 8ft tall walls and use a 4 inch fan that works great or a TDS fan may work, love those fans The problem with speed controllers as you have found out is they slow fan blade speed but increase work force of the rated fan motor because it is not intended for that... yes it says it is able to HAVE a speed controller but yet it does NOT say it is optimal for that particular speed as far as noise is concerned. Catch 22. There are reduced noise fan speed controllers out there but they escape my mind because I take one step farther. From my personal experience the best option is to purchase a fan rated for my room size but yet purchase a carbon scrubber one size up of that. Thus reducing resistance, work force of the motor and greatly decreasing noise. Just a thot.
Dewave is correct re initial sizing All fans have a number of resonant freqs depending on their speed; but using the factory (Fantech, others are similar) controller, at a certain speed the motor hum exceeds the fan noise and no further reduction in speed will reduce the noise. There is a way to reduce both the fan speed and noise (excepting harmonics): -> use an autotransformer (Variac, etc - eBay) below 45 or 50VAC the motors will not run, but the noise reduction will be proportional right to nothing BTW, small ones do exist - but are seldom seen (control panels are a good source)
I had this problem and I solved the problem by fitting a silancer and by using insulated ducting and whare the fan is mounted I used expansion foam to deden any vibrations this worked well for me. Hope this helps
I Have the same problem with my oracle 8" inline fan. I bought the speedster fan controller which increases humming from the motor as you turn it down. IS THIS DAMAGING THE FAN?
Put it under water.... Tiny bubbles It's like farting in a hot tub. Seriously cheap speed controllers will cause the problem every time. I like the cooler idea. A little concerned about the heat. Wrapping anything around a motor is asking for a shorter motor life. Motors need to be-able to dissipate the heat.
I think you would be safe covering the fan in a cooler. It should not get too hot at all with all the fresh air moving continuously through it. I could easily be wrong.
you said your carbon filter was outside your room, i have always put them in the room which i believe is how they were intended to be used . if it is a small can hang it from the ceiling of your room using rubber grommets or washers making sure it is hanging a bit. also make sure you have a thermometer in your room, it should be around 72 degrees at all times you may find you can get way with a smaller quieter fan. if your room is air tight it doesn't take much to move the air, tuck tape and black and white poly is our friend loose lips sink ships