How loud are Inline/blower fans??? Help asap

[DollarsAndSense]

Hey everybody.

Got a grow underway. Going into week 4 of flower soon. Need to build a carbon scrubber but stealth is of the utmost importance. I don't need any unwanted curiosity that brings sticky fingers not attached to me... I know this all too well already. anyway.....


My question is:
How loud would a 4" inline/blower fan be? (anywhere from 150-250 CFM) Could it be in a room and not be heard by someone outside the door?

I need to know ASAP.

Thanks a lot, in advance.

-Dolla$ out

 

[PuReKnOwLeDgE]

You could hear it. A 4" isn't that bad but it will make some noise.

 

[dotblunt]

I've a 6" vortex and the real sound IMHO is the air swoosh, not the fan itself. There are plenty of air silencer designs here that wouldn't be heard behind a closed door unless it was completely silent and they had their ear to the door and knew exactly what they were listening for.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Could it be in a room and not be heard by someone outside the door?

Could this hypothetical door have a lock?

If you can place the fan where no one is allowed to go, it can be tamed so it's noise stays behind closed doors. Look into mufflers, scrubbers, fan isolation, fan speed control, insulated ducting etc

Consider Panasonic Whisperfans and S&P Mixed vents. Can't speak personally of the Whispers but the S&P is MUCH quieter than a centrifugal. However, it doesn't suck like one. With S&P I'd get the model one up from what you "need". With a Whisper or S&P, you may be able to leave the door open though you might want to leave a radio on.

 

[NorthernKronic]

Get a 4" vortex and keep your computer/radio playing music or leave the TV on. And if you live with people who dont know your growing, or your trying to keep it a secret from them. Take my advice and rent your own place..

 

[grapeman]

get a vortex and a speed control. I have a 10" vortex and only vent what I need depending on the growth (usually from low to medium) and I cannot hear it inside or out. Cheaper models are not balanced nor do they have the bearing set that vortex does. Worth the few bucks more.

 

[SmokinSHO]

-

 

[Jnugg]

Inline centrifugal and blowers are two different fans,like apples and oranges.

Yes Inlines can be loud but you can do a few things to silence them or reduce the noise:

1) Build and insulated fan box out of MDF and line it with some sort of acoustical foam.This will take care of any fan motor noise.

2) Use insulated ducting.This not only keeps hot air from radiating out of the ducting itself but also reduces the noise of the air wooshing around inside the ducting.

3) Use over sized insulated ducting.Same advantage as ^ but the oversized ducting also allows for better less constrained air flow (less static pressure).

4)Buy or build a duct muffler and install it somewhere along the end of your duct run.Thes cause no static pressures and actually reduce the noise of the air exiting the ducting.

5) Carbon filters will reduce your airflow,so they also help to reduce noise,especially if exhuasted into rather then pulling air into.

 

[PuReKnOwLeDgE]

they are all right, i should have mentioned to you to get a silencer, but since I have no experience using one I didn't tell you because I cannot make that gurantee. Sounds like they work well.

 

[NorthernKronic]

they are all right, i should have mentioned to you to get a silencer, but since I have no experience using one I didn't tell you because I cannot make that gurantee. Sounds like they work well.

I have a 6" duct muffler right now located about 4.5' after a 6" vortex on full speed. I bought the duct muffler for around $85. To be perfectly honest I think that it helps but it not the solution to your problems. The Duct muffler really depends on how its positioned. And actually what would probobly be more effective than a muffler would be to use a size up in insulated ducting after your fan, to reduce restrictions and any woosh sound which is the majority of the noise that comes from these fans.


-N.Kron

 

[DollarsAndSense]

DAMN!

haha thanks everybody. I got a little research to do.

As of right now, the room has two fans in it that make a decent amount of noise. These are normal and on all the time without question. One is a 12" table fan, the other is basically the same size but in a side by side fashion. like this >> [[O][O]] I guess I'm asking... would the inline/blower sound just like these? (steady woosh and small motor noise) or would it vibrate and rattle and hum and keep me awake at night? ha ha

someone asked why it would be a problem... well I have company over sometimes and I really don't want people, let's say work associates or clients, to wonder "what the hell is in this room here??" That would be baaaaaaaaaaaad. It's not that I'm worried about growing, I'm worried about idiots who kick doors in and steal your hard work. Happened quite recently at another location, so i'm on edge like a razor....

Also,

I'm not exhausting for temperatures. I'm set with my temps. I have to get an odor control built soon(i'm in week 3.5 of flower) so I just thought... what about a 4" inline w/ scrubber?

Does anyone know another, quieter way to filter the stank out?

Thanks again for the multitude of replies. liking this community more n more... haha
peace

-Dolla$ out


edit:
@ FreezerBoy: Hey man, yeah It's locked up already. I'm worried about vibrations headed to the floor and hums from motors. Whooshing isn't too big of a problem (A/C system whooshes 24/7) I've looked at the whisper fans. Not sure if I wanna drop the dough to fabricate one of those into my set-up.

@jnugg i know the difference. i'm trying to decide on which type to apply. thanks for the tips.

 

[aceofspades]

regarding fan noise, I haven't tried it yet but, If the fan is on the inside of the box, how much does the noise get cut down? I plan on doing this tomorrow, as well as trying it with my new flowering room.

Ace

 

[FrostyGreen]

For what its worth....I use a 4" vortex inline with insulated ducting. I orginally used 4" dryer duct and the wooshing took any stealthiness away. After switching ducting it was a day and night difference. I used wall insulation inside large trash bags and wrapped that around the fan housing with bungee cords and then hung it using bungee cords too. My exaust set up is in this order: cool tube>vortex fan>carbon scrubber (Can90) thru a total of 5' of ducting. My fan is in my grow area and the scrubber is outside. Being stealth is a top priority for me. I think the fan in a cooler or rubbermaid filled with insulation is a great idea if the fan has to be outside the grow area. Also going with 6" insulation moves almost 3 times the amount of air of a 4" duct which would only make it more quite. I personally will be changing my ducting too from 4" to 6" duct because I'm moving the scrubber farther. Last thing, buy ducting from a HVAC store instead of home depot or lowes, it a lot cheaper. Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[NOKUY]

get a fan twice as powerful as u need and get a speed controller as mentioned.....my 6" vortex at half speed is VERY quiet

 

[habeeb]

think jet engine, maybe I'm just sensitive to noise. they are loud though. if your worried about noise you def need to make it as sound proof as possible.

I got 2 silencers, and the fan in a box with soundproof material, i'ts quiet now

 

[DollarsAndSense]

Frosty thanks for the info. Got some research to do now...

nokuy gotcha. thanks for the input

Habeeb I agree. My buddy has a vortex and he turned it on.. first thing i said was... "you really have that in here!?" its 450+ CFM though.. double what I need.

Looks like some necessities are:

-big, insulated ducting
-insulated fan box
-carbon scrubber on the end
-possible silencer?
-bungee cords to hang the ducting
-good luck. ha ha

thanks everybody

- D$

 

[ItsAllOver]

I'm a big fan of insulated ducting nowadays. Get some of that if they make it in 4". Actually man, my 6" 410cfm Sunleaves Windtunnel inline fan is quieter than my 4" 150cfm CanFan. I would say get one of these Windtunnels and use insulated ducting. You will be in pretty damn good shape.
I'm thinking about building a muffler for my fan right now.
Go to the hydro store and have them plug some in for you.