Are cheap fan controllers worth the bother?

On my basic tent set-up I've got 2 x 4" inch fans (one in, one out) but I think I need to slow them down a bit to ease the noise.... its not overly noisy, but the concern I have is that next door keep shotguns in their loft and its checked once a year by the police........ they didn't notice last time (the copper must've been 10ft from my grow!), but better safe than sorry!!!

I've been looking at the SMSCOM 4.5amp jobbie for about £90 off fleabay, but I've seen this and wondered if it would do the job jsut as well:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INLET-EXTRACT-FAN-SPEED-CONTROLLER-250W-EACH-/330641806408?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item4cfbc99448

I know it doesn't have a thermostat, but I think just being able to control the speed of my fans will be enough to quieten them down a bit.

Any thoughts??

i was going to comment before reading ur post and just clicking ur link saying that unit would only be good for stealth purposes, then i read ur post and was like, OH, lol....so, for what ur asking it to do the my answer is "yes"...that unit would slow down ur fan and create less noise.

Cheers for the quick reply mate!

Yeah, I just need to keep the noise down a bit... might get some acoustic ducting at the same time too.

I'm currently reading up about 'variac' controllers which might be the way to go..... my old man is a sparky, so I think I might ask him whats the best way to go. Obviously safety is a concern too - I don't to cause unneccesary heat and that cheap ebay jobbie looks a bit homemade!

just make sure to get somthing that works for you, i hate seeing people spend to much money when they dont need to.... im from the U.S ...so stealth is somthing i know...not like u lucky UK boys, are cops have guns and shit lol jp, good luck

The cops go to your neighbors property to check their guns once a year?

Just asking cause I didn't know they did that (not that I'm from the UK, lol).

any grow store should have a fan speed controller for $25

Hahah - obviously we're not big fans of the Police over here, but I know they're pretty good compared to police in the US!

The only guns anyone can really own over here are shotguns and even then you have to have a proper licence and they're checked annually (I think). They have to be hidden away under lock & key too, hence my neighbour (top bloke - scored me some amazing weed one time!) having his gun stashed away in the loft..... only 10ft from my grow op! I only found this out when my carbon filter wasn't doing such a good job and my neighbours wife came around and asked if I was growing.... not that she was bothered (they loved my hashcakes!) but she obviously didn't want me to get found out when they checked her husbands guns in the loft.............. needless to say I got my filter working properly again after that!

Anyway, I'm gonna invest in a cheap controller.... not that one, but something cheap that will do the job!

use a big cardboard box full of old clothes or rags,fan in middle lots off padding around fan,close top.holes in each side for ducting.
also fan controllers work great. cheap do work but the good ones are safer.

ive used these before i could afford good ones and they work fine,just dont slow down too much.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ELECTRIC-FAN-SPEED-CONTROLLER-HYDROPONICS-/140729952928?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item20c428aaa0#ht_666wt_952

Cheers Kev - I'm gonna find something cheap I reckon... the fans are very low power so I dont need to spend a massive amount.