Sound Proofing Extraction

J

johnnyblazeon

Well-Known Member
Im know this topic has been hit a few times but im looking to get everyones opinions in one place along with some up to date information on the newest most effective things out.

I am going to be continuing my small personal grow soon. However to do so my tent must fit in a small room next to my front door so stealth is a must!

I have a small vent i can blow the air through to prevent temperature/moisture build ups but, the level of noise emitted from my extractor is currently too loud along with the airflow noise!

What can i do to most effectively cut down my noise? Along with which equipment is the most effective for my situation?

Just some details on my situation -

1.2x1.2x2m tent. 600-850w.

Thanks - im glad to be back
 
Mount everything using rubber as an isolating material (IOW, cut pieces of rubber to serve as washers, place tent on a thick sheet of it, any other thing you can think of to break a direct connection between your grow and the rest of your house. Be sure not to neglect any DWC reservoirs, air pumps, et cetera.

Keep all fan blades CLEAN! A minor imbalance can produce major noise.

In addition to the above, you might be able to balance fan blades in much the same way that you'd balance a wheel.

Speaking of fans, one that is well-built, has a thick case, metal blades, et cetera will generally be quieter from new than a comparable "cheap Chinese (wherever) plastic POS" model. And it'll almost certainly be quieter after a couple years' worth of use.

Do not "cheap out" on your duct runs. If necessary, use double-wall vent pipe (or, if you've just hit the lottery, "triple-wall" stainless steel pipe for wood stoves and such. If you're dirt poor, you can get insulated flexible duct - and then buy the cheapest single-wall (snap together) vent pipe one size larger and place it around the insulated flexible ducting.

Do a web search for "exhaust fan muffler." That will net you a good bit of information (including one or more How-To articles on going the DIY route).

Slower air is quieter air, lol. After the filter & fan, you can always use a reducer (is called that even if you are, in effect, using it backwards) to go up a size or two in ID. You'll be moving the same amount of air, but its velocity will decrease.

If you're dealing with signifiant noise, consider lining the walls, floor, and ceriling of your grow room's... lobby with sound-deadening material.

If all else fails, pick up a big aquarium from Craigslist or the like, and place it in your living room. The white noise of <bubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubble> will hide a lot of noise.

And if THAT fails, kock up the missus and wait ~10 months. Noise problem solved, LMFAO.
 
That Pretty much hits it on the head TS lol. Well done.
If you don't have room for an inline muffler/silencer increasing the size of your duct opening will help reduce air noise. A turn or two between the fan and duct openings will help with duct noise too albeit at the expense of efficiency.
 
If you have to hide that much, sounds like a recipe for getting caught
Seems like that takes half the fun out it
 
check for a product called sound board. it's a generic term for sound insulation used in the building industry. not as thick as regular insulation, does not hold moisture (breathes), and is quite a bit thinner. can isolate noise from a thundering herd of elephants from the rest of the house if used and installed properly. common in hi-rise condos and hotels. one big drawback is it needs a covering over it. it's a spun glass and rock product so shouldn't be exposed.

have used carpet foam underlay material quite effectively for sound deadening. just put it up on the walls. used for a drum teaching / practice room with two kits playing at the same time. never had trouble with the neighbours complaining after install. and we drummed til 4am a lot lol. trick is to get the thicker underlay. we got ours free from a home reno. it can hold moisture tho if you are kicking a lot up, and is dirty if used - serious vacuuming - yuck !

use isolating brackets for the fan if possible. vibration travels thru any hard mount and will find anything loose to create a buzz or rattle. an isolating bracket is a simple u-type bracket, with rubber washers used to install the bracket to the wall or ceiling, and sandwich's the fan mount with more rubber washers. provides a pile more sound isolation than just adding rubber washers to a hard mount.

on a floor, hard rubber only transfers sound and vibration unless it is thick. the foam stuff works tho. best if there is another material under it like carpet. things to consider for the floor.

all the suggestions about ducting are right on.
 
It's an issue I've been wrestling with for quite a while. I saved too many $$$ and replaced my out-vent fan a year ago with a top of the line version, but then found out that it didn't help much :( The fan is extremely quiet on its own but once hooked to the ducting the sound is greatly amplified.
My veg room out-vent runs all the way through the flowering room and exits next to the flowering room vent. I built a sort of acoustic baffle box on the outside wall where they both vent out. Helps enough so I can live with it, sort of.

I'm using metal ducting. I wonder if that's my problem. It does seem much better to work with than the flexible tinfoil accordion style stuff I've used before.
Next step is to buy/try a different type of ducting- some sort of insulated flexible variety I think.

If that doesn't work I'm going to have to build duct mufflers for both those vents. Shipping costs to here are prohibitive for what seems to be just a large metal tube lined with 'egg carton' foam.

Anyway... following this thread with interest and thanks for the good posts here.
 
Hey weasle as TS mentioned above you can wrap the hard pipe and that will help with any duct vibration. The noise may be from air movement and bumping up a duct size or two as mentioned above will definitely help with that. Most fans are pretty high static pressure which equates to noise. If you unhook the duct and the fan is quiet it's in the duct.
 
Read everyones comments and have looked into a diy muffler. Seems like the best way to move forward. @weasel do you know what model that is? My fans gotten so noisy im in need of a replacement.

@bluter what would i habe too cover the sound board with?

@TorturedSoul Im looking for a big tank for some red bellies so that sounds like a perfect excuse for me to invest now
 
Chris Scorpio said:
If you have to hide that much, sounds like a recipe for getting caught
Seems like that takes half the fun out it
Click to expand...

Pay £200+ for a good quality Oz when I can grow my own at a much cheaper cost - have more diversity, grow what I like and what I want to try and no need to deal with dicks trying to make a drink on everyone.

My friend smoked some of my last crop and said people would pay £45-50 a 3.5. Rediculous prices! The UK is full of this “flavours” hype right now which is just an excuse for people to sell half decent bud at extortion prices. Wack it in a pot and say its imported from Cali.

Sorry for the rant! I understand its a risk - unnessesary at that but in my mind its my right to do what i do in my personal life as long as im not killing myself with some serious drug/alcohol abuse or harming anyone else.
 
Chris Scorpio said:
If you have to hide that much, sounds like a recipe for getting caught
Seems like that takes half the fun out it
Click to expand...

To me... Proper attention to things like noise, odor, and trash (empty nutrient containers, soil bags, stems, et cetera) seems like a recipe for not getting caught, and is probably the second most important thing to remember if wanting to achieve that safety (surpassed only by "don't get stupid and tell someone that you are growing," IMHO).

Weaselcracker said:
I'm using metal ducting. I wonder if that's my problem. It does seem much better to work with than the flexible tinfoil accordion style stuff I've used before.
Click to expand...

My gut says, "No," because it thinks that turbulence in air equates to noise - and that flexible stuff seems to have a lot of "ups and downs" along the surface of the "walls" unless it is completely expanded to its maximum length. Additionally, people who replace the old verticle "clay" pipe runs from their upstairs toilets down to their basements with PVC plastic, the noise of someone flushing a toilet becomes louder to someone standing in the basement. Thinner-walled pipe.

Then again, my gut has been wrong before (and is currently rebelling :rolleyes:) .

Cheap single-walled vent pipe is exactly that, though, CHEAP (and thin). Choice of brand/etc. can make a difference. The cheap stuff that comes in sheets (sort of) that you have to snap together to make a cylinder is likely to transmit much more noise than double-walled exhaust vent approved for gas appliances, for example (although the latter will cost significantly more).
 
A short piece of rubber hose between the fan and rest of vent piping will help isolate the fan's vibration. Three inches or so will do. You can use an inner tube and contact cement to make your own. The ridged flexible ventilation pipe will have lots of turbulence as TS said. That turbulence not only causes noise, but decreases the efficiency of the system.

You can find "Rubber Shock Absorber Anti Vibration Isolator Mounts" on e-Bay. Work from your fan out to eliminate noise.
 
johnnyblazeon said:
@bluter what would i have too cover the sound board with?
Click to expand...

it is usually mounted to the wall studs and covered with drywall. if putting it up on an existing wall, simple plastic or a reflective covering over it will do. i recently used it with just a reflective covering called reflectix. fyi - if FLIR is an issue in your area, reflectix will block heat signature and IR detection completely.
 
Lots of great info here. Thanks so much guys. Hope it also helps other people and the OP.

My thinking re moving to flexible ducting was that the noise issue is more of a hollow 'thrumming' sound run an air whoosh. Like my duct is acting as a drum or soundbox.

Also - the duct reduces from a 10" fan to a 8" duct. I realize that's bad. And maybe that's what's mainly screwing things up. I do hear a big increase in noise when I shut the door,pressure drops, and the demand on the fan rises as it's forced to suck everything through the little intake vent.

However, to change the out-vent duct size means emptying out the grow (not an easy
thing to do) ripping out part of the wall and rebuilding it before I can even start to install new ducting.

Lots to think about while I get ready for this and procrastinate more. Thanks again.
 
johnnyblazeon said:
Read everyones comments and have looked into a diy muffler. Seems like the best way to move forward. @weasel do you know what model that is? My fans gotten so noisy im in need of a replacement.

[
Click to expand...

The one I got was a hurricane Hyper fan -10".
At that time it cost me $500 Canadian including the extreme shipping rates here in Antarctica. Cheapest I could find it. You'll be able to get it cheaper.
The guy I buy from said don't even bother looking at the cheaper stuff like the Chinese knock-off versions.
 

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