need a quiet fan

[blooper]

my living situation demands that i cut down on vibration and i'm looking for input on a quiet fan capable of cooling a 4.5' x 8' tent with 1200w. considering the vortex ultra quiet 6" but i've heard it's actually pretty loud. the problem isn't the noise of airflow, it's that the people in the room above it hear a constant humming and having lived in a grow room, i know it can be unpleasant.

my current plan is to get a newer and hopefully quieter fan that i will then sit in a box with foam to help cut down on vibration.

 

[Hobbyist]

I have a 6" vortex s-line ultra quiet bolted directly to the floor joist above, standing almost on top you can barely here a hum.

 

[Vintage1969]

Do you know what CFM you would like to have? I suggest getting a Panasonic whisperline fan. They sell them for bathroom exhaust. I had to have my electrician wire it to a regular plug To go into the wall. Pretty easy though. I think the 6 inch is 350 CFM. Less powerful, but A lot less noisy than the Vortex. It's bigger and boxier, but I think it's worth it. I actually found it online on a wholesaler, cheaper than a vortex. I can send you the link if you're interested.

 

[blooper]

thanks for the input! around 350 would be fine. the problem i'm having is the vibration carrying upstairs and disturbing my sister who just had a baby. i guess she has become more sensitive to noise because it was never a problem before but whatever.

can't mount on the wall, pretty much have to hang it from the tent with bungee cords or sit it on the floor with some sort of padding.

i've successfully used eggcrate foam to silence a fan before but this house is a lot worse as far as carrying vibration. i'm considering an insulated box as well as putting the entire tent on foam just so there are layers of protection. i really don't want to give up growing but it seems like either i fix the problem or sell all my stuff and invest in outdoor equipment.

 

[omgwt]

you feel/hear vibrations even if its in bungee cords? Perhaps creating an MDF box and insulating it aswell as bungee's would do the trick!

I personally can't hang mine in bungees, but I have my fan (in a cardboard box with insulation) ontop of the tent - put some padding under it and I sleep in the same room without big issues (I am easily annoyed by noise, too), altho my fan is probably not as powerful + speed regulator)

 

[blooper]

you feel/hear vibrations even if its in bungee cords? Perhaps creating an MDF box and insulating it aswell as bungee's would do the trick!

I personally can't hang mine in bungees, but I have my fan (in a cardboard box with insulation) ontop of the tent - put some padding under it and I sleep in the same room without big issues (I am easily annoyed by noise, too), altho my fan is probably not as powerful + speed regulator)

yep, apparently it's still not good enough. i have a feeling nothing i do will be good enough (anal new brother-in-law) but i'm still going to take your advice and build the box as well as hanging it with bungee and putting the whole tent on top of foam. no idea how to silence the air pump for my RDWC system so it looks like i'll have to switch back to soil and potentially cut the grow space in half. 1200w is hard to keep cool in the summertime.

i've begun considering LEDs and a variac speed controller to cut down on the humming from using a cheap controller. figure the real problem is the heat from the lights so if i could cut down on that, the fan won't have to work as hard and noise shouldn't be an issue.

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Go to a tyre shop and get old inner tubes, good quality rubber, roll up into snails and sit things on it etc great insulation.

Fans, centrifugal (squirrel cage) are by far the best and quietest, put it in (or buy with) an acoustic box. Then into acoustic ducting, double walled with rock wool between.

If the room, house is "noisy" the more you have in the room, the more surfaces there are to absorb noise.

More worryingly the biggest problem sounds like your new brother in law. A nice cup of STFU might be good.

 

[al70]

Go to a tyre shop and get old inner tubes, good quality rubber, roll up into snails and sit things on it etc great insulation.

Fans, centrifugal (squirrel cage) are by far the best and quietest, put it in (or buy with) an acoustic box. Then into acoustic ducting, double walled with rock wool between.

If the room, house is "noisy" the more you have in the room, the more surfaces there are to absorb noise.

More worryingly the biggest problem sounds like your new brother in law. A nice cup of STFU might be good.

or hang the fan from the inner tubes,, works for me, goodluck

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

or hang the fan from the inner tubes,, works for me, goodluck

Yes, exactly, what I meant was use the rubber for 101 insulation /isolation uses.

Plenty of other sources too, and DIY shops sell bungee cord by the meter.

 

[al70]

thanks for the input! around 350 would be fine. the problem i'm having is the vibration carrying upstairs and disturbing my sister who just had a baby. i guess she has become more sensitive to noise because it was never a problem before but whatever.

can't mount on the wall, pretty much have to hang it from the tent with bungee cords or sit it on the floor with some sort of padding.

i've successfully used eggcrate foam to silence a fan before but this house is a lot worse as far as carrying vibration. i'm considering an insulated box as well as putting the entire tent on foam just so there are layers of protection. i really don't want to give up growing but it seems like either i fix the problem or sell all my stuff and invest in outdoor equipment.

hi blooper, I live in a old house with neighbours attached, no sound next door but below and above,,so noisy until I got the bungee straps,,completely silent,,don't connect hook to hook,,hook to strap,, silent,,goodluck

 

[heady blunts]

holy shit good timing. i just got a can q-max 10" it's all insulated and has a built in 3 speed timer---SO FUCKING QUIET.

turned all the way up the thing is pushing 1019 CFM and is quieter by far than my 4" vortex. also quieter than the dishwasher upstairs, the AC unit, the house's furnace, etc etc etc.

sometimes when i'm standing next to it i get nervous it's not on and i have to go check the exhaust.

edit: just read you only need 350 CFM. my bad. if you ever get a bigger tent check it out.

 

[al70]

holy shit good timing. i just got a can q-max 10" it's all insulated and has a built in 3 speed timer---SO FUCKING QUIET.

turned all the way up the thing is pushing 1019 CFM and is quieter by far than my 4" vortex. also quieter than the dishwasher upstairs, the AC unit, the house's furnace, etc etc etc.

sometimes when i'm standing next to it i get nervous it's not on and i have to go check the exhaust.

View Image

what did it cost ye heady if ye don't mind me asking??

 

[al70]

Found it, expensive, are you hanging it. ??

 

[heady blunts]

it was pretty pricey msrp is like $500, but noise reduction was a top priority for us so it was worth the expense. we also got a decent discount from the LHS since we were buying a decent amount of equipment.

we hung it horizontally and it runs great so far.

one thing I'll point out is that it's over 24" long, so it takes a bit of space.

also I guess the built in speed controller saves like 50 bucks... lol.

 

[Jibman]

How about the Can Fan 6 inch pro series? Its the yellow and black models. I am currently trying to decide between that and a metal housed vortex. I read that the new fiberglass and plastic is quieter then the old metal housed fans.

Any thoughts?

 

[Granger2]

In theory the plastic fan should be quieter, but I have no experience with them. Good luck. -granger

 

[stoney917]

They make mufflers. .. bungees r ur friend

 

[Jibman]

I use to have elicent fans but they were lost or stolen after i moved some years ago. I always thought they were good fans so i was going to buy more but apparently they discontinued making them or the company went under. So i was left with Vortex or the new fiberglass models as the next best choices. I think i will try out the new pro series fan.