Fan silencers. do they work well?

[Silica]

Living in a small apartment i need a silencer. id like my setup to be as quiet as possible.
I have bushman technique ideas like a carpet tube or something to make instead but perhaps one of these silencers will do the trick better.

Anyone got one do they work well?
Fan noise is my main concern.
have two osc fans, two 150mm inline fans ducting air out.
I might change it to 1x 250mm fan with carbon filter which ive never used.
Im poor who spends all his money on travelling 6 months a year. So cheapness is a priority too.

 

[LBH]

You can build and insulate a box around it yourself, cheap. Most don't realize that the majority of the "noise" is coming from the air moving through the duct work, not the actual fan.

Insulated ducting is key. Costs more but is worth it. It also helps with heat. :)

 

[devious d]

ive had acoustic fans ,silencers, without it all insulated like a PRO AIR CON SET UP THERES ALWAYS NOISE, im a diamond driller and all those bits seem to be perks of the job ?, and LBH is right insulated ducting

 

[theherbalizor]

I use silencers (solid and flexi) BRILLIANT. I also use normal Combi dec ducting, the plastic coated stuff and then lag that with the outer, insulated layer from accoustic ducting. Reason I do this is I find the quality of the internal duct work in MOST insulated ductings to be very poor. I also use solid duct bends where poss.

I also use TD Silent fans. The new range not the normal TD range. Without the osc running, with all gear in my the tent on full whack I am running at 22 db. This is 30 db lower than a 6inch RVK.

But then the OSC run really loud, bumping it up to near 40 db. Still reasonable levels that should not travel through walls.

Also, hang all fans, carbons etc, with Bungee cords, totally eliminating vibration noises.

 

[LBH]

herbal, are/were you into car audio? I didn't even think to test the closet with the db meter!!!

 

[theherbalizor]

Yeah LBH, I used to be into ICE. But due to my health I can not drive anymore.

But the reason I have a db meter is that I used to be a professional DJ and club promoter and always had to ensure venues were not breaking local sound levels else we would get fines.

 

[TrichromeFan]

Silica,
try this one

 

[kashinc]

silica,

I live in an apartment and use a muffler, it works pretty well doesn't silence the fan so you don't hear it but it does enough so you can sleep and it not bother you cause its so loud.

 

[mountainman21]

I think that the best way to silence ducts is to send them out the roof

 

[gudkarma]

since i never offer advice on something not tried & tested by myself...

i had a ton of "whooshing" noise on the outside of my garage from my fresh air intake.

very noticable.
added a fan speed controller to make some adjustments... still tons of noise.

made a duct muffler from an 18gal tote and 4" starter collars and about 20 minutes.

set up like this > 4 1/2 dryer vent as fresh air intake : some dryer tube : duct muffler : vent tube : 200 cfm fan : fresh air inside room

full bore fan = ZERO sound.
none. nada. zip.

in some respects, it works like a plenum does for an intake manifold (cars). i love & build drag cars by the way :mysterymachine: !!!

i didn't even use insulation or anything inside the tote... though you could fab up a filter pretty easily.

one collar on the lid & one one the long side of the (rectangular) tote, some 4 1/2 holes, razor trim, collars from duct work section at home store, and tediously taped with aluminum duct tape several times.

fuctions fabulously & size can be scaled up or down.

cost me less than $10 ...i did have the metal duct tape though.

if you need a pic let me know.
it is a simple as it sounds!

for the fans or air pumps (mine is hella loud, piston type) imo you'll have to build boxes.

use dynomat on the outside to stifle noise.
also works good.

 

[Silica]

Thanks for that. Gud karma i have no idea what a tote is. is it a box with several intake holes leading into the ducting intake? A photo would be great thanks.

 

[Surfr]

Thanks for that. Gud karma i have no idea what a tote is. is it a box with several intake holes leading into the ducting intake? A photo would be great thanks.

I'm thinking a plastic storage bin from Wally world or the like..

 

[gudkarma]

a tote is one of those plastic storage boxes you buy at walmart or home depot.

i'll snatch a pic later.

 

[j wizzle]

a tote is the 18 gal plastic rubbermade box that come in all different colors. if youve ever cut open a muffler, thats basically what he is making.

 

[Silica]

Ah ok...sounds good. heres a clip
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/howstuffworks/4660-how-mufflers-work-video.htm

 

[Geronimo]

Building a small easy box for the fan and using insulated ducting is the way to go!

 

[gudkarma]

i was busy the last few days... i'll have a pic by the afternoon.

 

[gudkarma]

picture.

as you can see the "duct muffler" i made is super simple... yet works bomb diggity.

in the pic, you can see the 4.25" fresh air intake with flexible duct going to the top corner of the 18 gallon tote.

what you dont see is another 4.25" collar at the bottom of the tote & about 8' of flexible ducting which continues the fresh air intake to my gorw room.

simple box with an in & out.

it cuts down on the "wooshing" noise of air being pulled into the intake 100% .

you can buy everything at your local home depot or lowes or whatever.

 

[Silica]

ok thanks..i must spread some karma around haha.

I might make one of those on both sides, intake and out take

 

[Nobodynobody]

You know how you use to use the old school ball mouse for PC. Well i had one of those around. Cut it into 1/3 and fold it in half. place the rubber mat from the PC under the brackets and wall. Also sleeping bags and buggies cords.

That is your cheap fix.

I dont belive in those things to make noise silent. It will drop your CFM! If you want to make it little more silent, Go with insulated ducting.