quietest centrifugal inline fans

[the gnome]

I had a chance to etst drive a can 12" maxfan
the sucker moves the air but sounds like a 5 gallon wet/dry vac on steroids!
so I'm looking to get an 12" centr. inline
can makes one but its double the cost of others like a vortex, active air etc etc.
but I'm looking for quiet.

what's you guys hands on experience with them?

 

[Stonefree69]

I really like the C.A.P Valuline centrifugal fans. It CERTAINLY holds it's own in power against the best of 'em. Not sure about dB rating, but you would most likely run them at 80% or lower to reduce noise. They should have the power to spare for their size, reliable as well. Here's a link and a very low price for them: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=AEFCPVL12&eq=&Tp=

 

[187020]

12in vortex isn't very residential friendly...been using them commercially and no complaints homie! Peace

 

[Iron_Lion]

I can hear my little 6" inline outside my house I can only imagine having a 12" going. That's got to sound like a jet engine taking off.

 

[the gnome]

I have a 6" elicent inline and its pretty quiet as things go, but the mixed flo fans are noisy as hell!
i want to oversize the fan with a 12" and as said above run it below full power to keep it quiet and still do its job.

12in vortex isn't very residential friendly...been using them commercially and no complaints homie! Peace

hehe...yeah I'm thinking most 12" fans are @100% cravenmore
I wonder if a squirrel cage would be a better choice....?

 

[Stonefree69]

You could possibly run two 8" 745 cfm C.A.P. Valuline fans coupled (using 8"-8"-12" wye adapter) to just one 12” duct instead of using one 12” fan? That way you'd have 1,490 cfm which is more than a single 12" Valuline (1,060 cfm) and dial that in easier w/more power and options. Not much of a premium price wise I believe.

A 3rd 8” Valuline could possibly deal w/odors hooked up to a carbon filter if you need that too.

 

[skullznroses]

build a muffler box and mount it hanging from bungie cords

 

[eyes]

an insulated box made of mdf lined with studio fireproof foam, a duct silencer, insulated flex duct. locate the fan in an attic or closet/basement. i run a 303 cfm fantek and speed controlled it runs real quiet , if its run wide open its makes the swoosh.

if you dont want to make a box, someone on here wrapped the fan in multiple blankets and stuffed it in a brute 30 gallon can. im not sure how fire safe that is but it worked for him.

http://media.hydroponics.net/images-products/idealair/136287/idealairfantom.thumbnail.jpg

 

[RetroGrow]

Panasonic Whisper Quiet Line.

That one's 8 inches, but is almost silent and moves a lot of air. They make bigger ones...

 

[budderfly]

Panasonic Whisper Quiet Line.

That one's 8 inches, but is almost silent and moves a lot of air. They make bigger ones...

On Panasonic's site it looks like 8" is as big as they come.


I would say hang it from bungee's, use duct mufflers (preferably on both sides of the fan), and wrap it or build a lined box with something to absorb and block sound - like mass-loaded vinyl (MLV) and closed cell foam.

 

[KingSwing]

You could possibly run two 8" 745 cfm C.A.P. Valuline fans coupled (using 8"-8"-12" wye adapter) to just one 12” duct instead of using one 12” fan? That way you'd have 1,490 cfm which is more than a single 12" Valuline (1,060 cfm) and dial that in easier w/more power and options. Not much of a premium price wise I believe.

A 3rd 8” Valuline could possibly deal w/odors hooked up to a carbon filter if you need that too.

Dont do this. HVAC is never done that way for a reason. Two smaller fans just increase the neg static beyond their own efficiency range so its not an additive property with the total cfm, the two fans fight each other so they burn out fast, and if one goes out you begin drawing in through it, possibly without knowing it.

As for the quietest inline without a massive muffler box...Osteburg hands down (plus they pull MUCH higher static pressure than comparable 12" inlines..... lol @ valueline, vortex, elicent et al.. all mentioned in a quietest fan thread

 

[Stonefree69]

Gotcha KingSwing. Don't know what the heck I was thinking! I'd ace physics after getting stoned in 1st period so that can't be an excuse. I couldn't of been thinking separate ducts as I mentioned the wye.

 

[Shafto]

12" max fan is nothing to do with quiet because it's 3400RPM and ramming 1700CFM through 12", what other 12" fan does that? All the centrifugals are around 1000CFM

Size up and lower the RPM for similar airflow with much less noise.

Try the 14" that has 1700RPM. Similar airflow, but it won't hold as much pressure as the 12" with the higher RPM, need to pay attention to your ducting.

If you want lots of airflow and you need it to be quiet, you need a large space for the air to flow to slow the velocity, or a muffler box, or both.

 

[ak-51]

Have you considered running a variac on your fan? On both my Sunleaves 10" and 6" fans, turning the speed down a little bit helps tremendously.

 

[Avinash.miles]

king swing and shafto got it right listen to them its less @ your fan and more about the air its pushing... as far as a quieter fan goes. green hydrofarm are quieter than the grey and blacks out of the cap catalogue.
my 2c

 

[the gnome]

Have you considered running a variac on your fan? On both my Sunleaves 10" and 6" fans, turning the speed down a little bit helps tremendously.

yes, i have a couple and use it on my 6" elicent.
it does help quite a bit with the noise issue,
I wanted to use it on the 12" mixed flow max fan.
I like to use an oversized fan, then turn it down but you can't use standard speed controllers on the type of motor in the max fan.


thanks for the heads up kingswing
i checked out the osteburg inline, they look good and prices are easy on the wallet.
do you use any of them?

 

[snooze]

Get a panasonic whisperline. I can't even hear the thing. I have the 4" 120 cfm, but the 6" 240 cfm is not much louder. I'm sure you can hear the 340cfm 6" and the 8" but it has to be better than almost everything else on the market

 

[Yesca73]

I am looking for a quiet inline fan that will run thru filter and then a hood . looks like the S&p , Panasonic are the to best on the market

 

[Stonefree69]

Panasonic Whisperline 440 CFM 8" duct, that's quiet to begin with no box at all. I have a Cap Valuline 8" 745 cfm dialed down to 80% max but 60% (about 450 cfm) is definitely quieter still and would be the sweet spot between power and quiet if you really need quiet.

I might get a Cap Valuline 12" and build a 1/4" plywood box and dial it to 60-80% for it to lessen the dB. Acoustic foam should also help a lot. For my room cfm needs I need at least 1,200 cfm that would require 3 of the Panasonic 8" fans.

 

[Bodah]

Elicent from my experience... Compared to the high cfm output fans of the same circumference they push a little less, but if you are trying to tread lightly they are definitely going to register less db's...

B~