Mounting an inline fan in a cabinet

[bounty29]

I just got my 4" vortex today, moves a good bit of air. The fan itself doesn't make any noticeable noise, but the moving air makes a lot of noise. I can either use the mounting hardware it came with and mount it directly to the wall of the cabinet, or I can rig up some kind of bungee cradle for it.

I'd like to have it mounted securely to the side of the cabinet so I don't worry about it falling or anything, but I know that by mounting it on the cabinet, any vibrations will carry through to the entire cabinet. Any ideas? What would be the best way to hang it using bungee cords or something?

Edit... Alright, so I was just playing around with it, seeing how effective the speed controller that came with it is. On full power, the fan doesn't vibrate much at all, and like I said before, there is no mechanical noise. When it's on the lowest setting, it doesn't seem to slow down too much but there are definitely less vibrations, so it might not be as bad as I thought to mount it to the cabinet.

 

[bounty29]

Any ideas?

 

[Iluvtomatoes]

Put in 2 or 4 screw hooks, use the mounting bracket on the fan and use 2 small 6inch long bungee cords to each of the 2 screw holes on each side of the mounting bracket like an upside down V.

From there I attach a a thicker heavier duty bungee cord and hang that from the hook in the ceiling...

Sometimes, I'll add a third bungee, and just double them over. By the time it gets to the hook, you should be dampened.

I can do a pic...but i think you know what i mean..?

 

[sugabear_II]

some thick weather stripping between the bracket and the cabinet wall will help to dampen vibrations.

-suga

 

[bounty29]

Those both sound pretty good. I like the bungee setup (obvious as it is I didn't think of doing it that way) but I'm not sure the 4 hook screws I have would make me feel safe with the fan. What's the best way to put those in particle board/mdf stuff? Drill a pilot hole and then screw in, or screw directly?

 

[sugabear_II]

always pre-drill particle board/mdf ... and use wood screws - I even recommend tightening by hand just to be safe so you don't split anything.

-suga

 

[bounty29]

These things good? I got a medium sized one, I didn't see any weight restrictions on it so I don't know what it's rated for.

Do you have a picture of yours? I just adjusted my mounting brackets and tried out the bungee setup. I like it, but it hangs too low. I think I'm just gonna use one bungee per bracket. Put each hook in a fan hole, and then let the cord rest on two cup hooks, if they work. I might try to think of a more secure way to hold them though, I don't want to have any doubts about the fan staying where it's supposed to be during my grow.

 

[Iluvtomatoes]

Those look like hanging planter hooks... a lil narrow IMO, but if they work...

if you want it closer you'll probably have to use 3-4 bungee cords wrapped all around the unit and the brackets.

I usually use the medium duty zinc hooks that come in a pack--believe they are 75lbs? each---mounted into pre-drilled holes in a 2x4 secured to studs in the ceiling.

Although, I have a couple hanging from sheetrock in the ceiling using some medium plastic wall anchors.


---I should also mention that ROPE works fairly well at dampening as well and much easier to control the length...put your ear to the box or wall to hear how much transfer occurs...

 

[bounty29]

Alright, so here's what I came up with. It's very secure, and not attached to the cabinet by anything solid, so vibrations should be minimal. I'm pretty pleased with how it worked out.


It hangs a bit lower than I'd like, but that shouldn't be a problem. I think I might start my clones tonight, I got quite a bit done with the cabinet today.

 

[Iluvtomatoes]

lookin good--I'd add a layer of insulation around the exhaust column for noise reduction.

You've got the right idea...

 

[twowordz]

I've put my fan strait in the attic, just 3 feet over my cab.

It's almost silent.

TW

 

[bounty29]

lookin good--I'd add a layer of insulation around the exhaust column for noise reduction.

You've got the right idea...

Would cotton batting wrapped around the ducting be like what you described? Sounds good.

 

[Doyu]

I had the same problem with my Cab...when I mounted the fan it turned the back wall into a giant vibrating drum and I didnt really have room to hang it (I built my own c-22 style cab to my own specs and stupidly made the top just big enough for the fan. So I just put a couple layers of that refelctive bubble wrap shit under it and it was perfect...like floating on air I was also worried about it not being secured to anything, but the ducting holds it in place just fine and I have moved it around a fair bit.

-Doyu

 

[Iluvtomatoes]

cotton batting sounds like it'd do a pretty good job---I was gonna suggest a beach towel but---you're using a cabinet so i didn't want to potentially cause a fire hazard with that suggestion...

insulated ducting is what i've gone with---on a few exhausts i've got running, I bought the mega long 2 ft muffler (a noticeable improvement, but huge and costs $70).---if you wanna make one of those--add a layer of closed cell foam or any foam ($5 campers blue foam pad) before you wrap the cotton batting around the exhaust for further dampening.

I hung a couple of lights this way to stop vibration as well as several layers of padding to dampen the sound from the pumps in the resevoirs--it's also good to shorten your pump hose so that the pump hangs just above the bottom of the res--that helps immensely on the stealth..

even gone so far as putting up multi layer walls of carpet, closed cell foam, and finally b/w poly to dampen the sound of the air movement in the room..

nice work and keep it goin