Ecoplus inline fans, are you f'in kidding me?

I have an EcoPlus 6in "Supreme" inline fan, and my dear god, a 747 ain't got SHIT on this thing.

So I said, ok, no worries, build a box, after reading several reports here of "built a box, now it's super quiet" and....well...not so much.

Even after putting it up into the ceiling, it's STILL too loud.

I hope this works out....I just said "frak it" and sprayed a couple of bottles of "Great Stuff" expanding foam into the box, to hopefully deaden the noise a little.

I'm also trying to make some silicone rubber feet for the thing after reading a tidbit on that on here as well (though he didn't warn that the smell of it will make you yak, CURE IT OUTDOORS YO!), but I don't know how well all that is going to work out.

Unfortunately, the crawl space is simply too small to hang the damn thing by bungies, and now I'm thinking that I'm completely hosed.

I did order a Variac which will hopefully get here in the next two or three days, so I can slow the fan down, but geebus...this is soooo much louder than I expected.

And no, it's not the "whoosh of the air", it's the fan. How I WISH I could hear the whoosh of the air.

/sigh

Sorry, no real purpose to this, venting more than anything, after fucking around with the box this weekend caused me to fall and nearly die....well, broke my toe....well, it's not broken, but I sure thought it was for a couple of days.

If it's the fan rather than the air, I don't know what else you can do besides removal and sound box other than replace with a Vortex or Elicent. I gave up on my Elicent because of air noise but, fan noise was manageable. I feel your pain.

Is the difference between the noise from the Vortex and the cheaper brands that drastic?

Unfortunately, these Ecoplus fans were the only line that my local shop carried. Should have ordered.

So, on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being "just as safe as running the fan stand-alone" and 10 being "this will catch your house on fire within a week if run 24/7), how safe is this?

after a little further investigation, if I place it in the center of the roof, I have a few inches clearing, and I think...THINK, that I can manage to set some hooks and try hanging it from bungies.

I think I have to. The only thing I know for sure is that I need to get my friggen flower chamber up and running.

edit: Variac will be here Thursday.

edit2: fudgit, I'll probably get another can or two of foam and finish the job I started.

Try some acustical sound proofing in the box... Its foam looks like egg crates... Used in sound/music studios..... Line the box with it...

BorkBorkBork said:

Is the difference between the noise from the Vortex and the cheaper brands that drastic?

Click to expand...

The overwhelming complaint against inlines is the air noise. I don't recall Vortex or Elicent owners being unable to handle fan sounds. I can only say that my problem with the Elicent was the air but, even that was too much. I could keep it inside the garage but, I then had to lock everyone out rather than hide in plain sight.

To some extent, we're all like the murderer in Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. Convinced that everyone can both hear and recognize the hideous beating of the old man's heart.

Expanding foam such as the type produced by Great Stuff (polyurethane) is only flammable in its curing stage. Fire safety aside, I would worry about fan longevity if the motor cannot be cooled by air to air transfer. It may be both cheaper and easier to purchase a Soler & Palau mixvent fan rather than try to make your current noisy fan quiet.

The s&p fans are the way to go IMO.

The S&P's simply do not move enough air for my environment, and need for solid carbon filtering. I think I recall the 6" S&P rated at HALF the CFM's of this fan.

I'm definately past the point of no return with the foam. Thanks for the safety info niacinamide. For what it's worth, I'll also be slowing the fan down a bit with a Variac come Thursday.

i'm curious about the variac you got. i've read so much contradictinig stuff about the use of them with inline fans. i have a speedster that hums. i'm curious about this variac i found for 45 bucks and if it's worth another shot and quieting the hum.

Three words: liquid sound deadener. Cover the whole exterior of the fan, inside and outside of the box, and the ducting. I've ordered this product before: http://www.edaudio.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=42

I'd drop the wood...that's what musical instruments use for soundboards...it really resonates
foamboard would probably work...