Inline Fan Noise Reduction: The Best Guide so Far

Fan noises are undoubtedly annoying. Since you can not either turn them off or live with the humming noise, it is even more annoying when it is from the inline fans of your grow room.

Luckily, growers have found ways to make noise reduction genuinely easy and straightforward. And as a result, inline fan noise decreases from 85dB down to 60dB is only a couple of steps from you. You must simply find the ways and pick your way of doing so. 

Hence, in this post, we will be helping you in ways to reduce the noise from grow space.

How Loud Is Very Loud?- Checking the Sound dB 

Inline fans are an incredible asset in your grow room. However, they are too noisy even to consider keeping in an indoor setup like a grow tent. 

However, how loud is too loud as long as inline fans are concerned? 

Indeed, the appropriate answer may differ depending on the area, kind of fans, the length of filters, and a lot more other factors. Be that as it may, for the time being, how about we find a generalised solution for it?

Usually, when the noise level crosses 75 dB, we consider it too loud even to think. 

To check the specific noise level your fan is creating, use a dB meter and place it in front of the airflow once the inline fan is on.

Ways to Reduce Inline Fan Noise

Alright, here comes the central part of the post, a few fool-proof ways on the best way to make grow room fans quiet. Let us begin!

Use Ducts With Holes in Them 

The heading of this part might lead you to raise an eyebrow. Yet, trust us, it works. Let us amplify.

Ducts, regardless of whether it is insulated or not, carry on the very noise that is delivered at the opening of inline fans. 

In any case, if it is replaced with ducts with small openings in it, the sound levels tumble down to 15-20 dB. The openings on the duct let the sound waves escape, and in this way, it goes about as a muffler. It is most certainly a speedy and viable solution to the issue we are dealing with as of now. 

One thing that may spring up in your head is, the holes may slow the airflow (cfm) down. Indeed, hypothetically such small holes should not get any chance to remain in transit of the airflow, yet by and by, it influences a little bit. In any case, the effect is very insignificant to the point that you can nearly overlook it.

Soundproof The Room 

In the event that it is hard to manage loud inline fans, you can try to soundproof the whole room. It might sound complex, yet you can do that without a lot of structural revamping by any means. 

Hanging up a few vinyl curtains is an extraordinary way to do the work. Assuming you need it to be much more sound and vibration proof, you can more be grounded in sound-damping materials like rubber. 

By and by, this is definitely not an immediate solution to reducing the noise in your grow room. 

Use Duct Silencers 

You might hear many times that duct silencers are the most ideal sort of tool that helps you reduce inline or grow room extractor fan noise. All things considered, that is pretty much right. Aside from a couple of disadvantages, this is the ideal approach to reduce inline fan noise.

Get A Duct/Vent Muffler 

As you might know, a well-insulated ducting system helps in reducing the noise of inline fans. However, using a whole ‘inline fan duct muffler’ is a high-level variant of that, which is highly effective in doing the job.

A duct muffler can decrease the noise up to 25 dB. On the off chance that you add aluminium ducting with it, the reduction is even more, especially in the twisting spaces of the duct. 

Presently, you can either purchase an instant duct muffler from stores or can make it yourself at home. We have jotted down the proper instructions to make a DIY duct muffler.

Steps to Make A DIY Garbage Can Muffler 

Pat yourself on the back cause you will make a complete DIY fan silencer for your inline fans with the steps mentioned below. Before that, gather these couple of things.

Things You Will Need: 

  • Insulation media (quilt or fibreglass). 
  • Silicon gun and duct tape.
  • A trash bin of approx. 200+L. 
  • Chicken wire or hex netting. 

When you have the things close by, we should start with the steps. 

Stage 1: Measure Your Duct Tube 

Measure the diameter of the intake/exhaust tube of the duct tube connected with inline fans. 

Stage 2: Make A Wire Mesh 

Now, you need to make a wire mesh tube that is the exact size of your exhaust tube, and the length is slightly bigger than the trash bin.

Stage 3: Cut The Trash bin and Feed the Mesh Into It 

Make sure that the trash bin is empty to take care of the mesh into it, make two holes on the top and on the bottom. Once done, feed the mesh into the can. In case there are any sharp edges around the can holes, you can go through the tape to smoothen them. 

Stage 4: Fix The Wire Mesh Into The Can 

Now, adjust the position of the wire tube inside the can by applying silica or duct tape.

Stage 5: Fill In The Mesh Blanks with Insulations 

You need to have had either fibreglass or quilt batting as an insulation media. At this stage, stuff the insulation media between the wirework and can and top off the spaced underneath the cross-section. The stuffing should not be too close nor excessively apart. 

Stage 6: Air Tight The Muffler 

Seal the insulation opening at the two sides of the suppressor with silicon and duct tape. Ensure that the entire muffler is water and airproof. 

Stage 7: Place the Duct and Connect The Inline Fan Exhaust 

We are practically done. Now, assume the duct and position it between the muffler carefully. Furthermore, once done, connect the exhaust of the inline fan with the duct.

Do Insulating Ducting 

In the event that you have a grow space running on, you should have a duct system installed. In any case, on the off chance that it is a metal duct and the inline fans are engaged in it, that is an actual reason for the noise. But, what is the solution? 

Indeed, insulated ducting like fibreglass insulation is a great substitution. The noise can be minimal, and it will act as a significant ‘secrecy factor’ to the grow room. 

Added Reward: An insulated ducting will also make it more incredible. Consequently, both the intake and exhaust fan will not be influenced by the hot temperature within the grow room.

Use Neoprene Duct Clamps to Join The Fan and Filter/Silencer 

We know that the high rpm fan indoors is the biggest reason behind the irritating noise. Be that as it may, there are different sources of it as well. One such example is the joint between the inline fan and the adjacent filter or duct silencer. The vibration of the fan enhances much more at this sort of joint. 

To overcome the issue, here is the thing that you need to do:

Neoprene Duct Clamps 8 inches 

Use a Neoprene Clamp as a joint media in the middle of the fan and filter/silencers. The neoprene concealment inside these products will stifle the vibration and make sure that the fit is tight. Whenever done correctly, that will bring down the grow room fan noise by a couple of decibels. 

There are different sizes of them available, for example, 4 inches, 8 inches, etc.

Get Your Fan A Speed Controller 

Speed controllers are a boon to humankind! What it does is it gives you the ability to dim down the fan and have control over the noise also, particularly when you need to get rid of the screeching noises when the fans run at full speed.

Yet, there are two or three cases that you need to keep an eye out for. 

In the first place, on the off chance that you buy a wrong grow room fan speed regulator that is not compatible with your fan. You might see the regulator in action for some time. In any case, that won’t work within the safe scope of volts. Conclusion? The sudden death of your grow room fan. 

Second, when you will dial your fan back, you probably will not have the capacity to meet the ventilation prerequisite of the growing system. Also, the temperature might rise high. In this way, you ought to either purchase extra inline fans and use a speed regulator. Or then again, you can switch some different ways for noise reduction in this rundown.

Disengage The Fans with Cardboard/Wooden Box 

One of the easiest, however, most effective techniques to let the noise of fans down is to wall them in with a noise-absorbing surface. We are discussing DIY boxes made of cardboard, wood, or any hard and unbending surface that can absorb sound. 

In any case, many can make a misstep of keeping the containers in direct contact with the fan. Yet, that is not simply an intelligent method to do that. We propose you suspend the DIY fan silencer box from the roof and walls.

Although this process will cost you some extra effort, yet the outcome will be epic. You can use bungee cords to suspend the containers, and the vibrations and noises will not emerge from the box. 

Also, there is instant inline fan silencer confine available in stores and the internet.  

In all, noise-retaining boxes suspended from the rooftop will ingest a nice amount of noise and forestall vibrations to go through walls. Draping stuff from the roof might be convenient, and you might have to install a joist in such a manner.

Well, that all being said, we hope this article helps you get rid of the excessively annoying noise from the inline fans in your grow room.

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