I went to Home Depot today to check out their ducting. I saw the regular 4"/25ft flexible ducting and then I saw the insulated 4" ducting. I heard these were good for silencing the noise of the air being pulled from the grow tent/room. I'm using a S&P TD-100X 4" inline fan, which is suppose to be one of the quietest around, with a Phresh 4x12" carbon filter. The 4" insulated ducting they had at Home Depot was very thick in diameter, probably 7-8 inches all around. Also it is "crazy itchy". Feels like I have little irritating hairs all over me. Can anyone recommend something else?
Has anyone here ever used insulated ducting?
- Thread starter ZINO420
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Warlock1369
Well-Known Member
You can get the standard 4 inch. But with all the holes in it. It can pull the smell out with it. Insalated is realy the best way to go.
KT420
Active Member
Insulated is the best to use from the light to the fan, and from the fan to wherever you're exhausting the air too, IF you are struggling to keep temps down and every degree counts, which most people are. The fiberglass itch sucks, take a cold shower after you're done working with it because a hot shower will open your pores up and let the fiberglass work it's way in even deeper. Also it's important to seal the ends of the insulation really well with a zip tie and foil tape. Just push the insulation back, pull the mylar forward and ziptie the mylar to the hose, in front of the insulation. Then foil tape the edge of the mylar to the hose, so no fiberglass can get out, then wipe the whole thing down with wet paper towers to get all the fiberglass off the outside before you start growing underneath it because you don't want that fiberglass shit getting on your plants!
For the possibility-of-fiberglass-getting-on-your-plants reason alone, you could consider non-insulated duct better to use if you're NOT struggling with temps and +2-3 degrees makes no difference, cause then there's no chance of you smoking that fiberglass shit lol but in most cases, and if you do it right and clean it really well after you're done, insulated is the best to use. From carbon filter to light you can use non-insulated as there's no heat in it yet to insulate, although like Warlock mentioned, it is more prone to having holes in it which let the air bypass the carbon filter and let smell out. Depends how important that is to you. Your hood may have some small leaks in it too which will do the same thing, so it's important to cover them with foil tape or duct mastic too. Some people even foil tape the edge of the glass in the hood. That's more important if you're using CO2 and have lights on a separate ventilation system.
For the possibility-of-fiberglass-getting-on-your-plants reason alone, you could consider non-insulated duct better to use if you're NOT struggling with temps and +2-3 degrees makes no difference, cause then there's no chance of you smoking that fiberglass shit lol but in most cases, and if you do it right and clean it really well after you're done, insulated is the best to use. From carbon filter to light you can use non-insulated as there's no heat in it yet to insulate, although like Warlock mentioned, it is more prone to having holes in it which let the air bypass the carbon filter and let smell out. Depends how important that is to you. Your hood may have some small leaks in it too which will do the same thing, so it's important to cover them with foil tape or duct mastic too. Some people even foil tape the edge of the glass in the hood. That's more important if you're using CO2 and have lights on a separate ventilation system.
Any images?
WeeGogs
Active Member
acoustic ducting is its real name. i use it all the time.
if you buy cheap stuff the outer layer is easily torn so spend extra cash and get a tough outer layer.
it is used in noisy air conditioning systems.. where if you want to transport cold air through a warm atmosphere the air will still be cold when it gets to its destination.. it is an excellent noise reducer.
that is why i use it.
it can reduce the actual fan noise and the rush of air through the actual duct giving a nice quiet blow at the other end.
i must stress i have never used it below 8".
the longer the duct the further away the fan noise is.
just make sure you seal the inner duct properly before you seal the outer layer.
if you dont the outside layer will blow up like a balloon and spew minute glass fibre particles in to the air through any minute hole or tear in it.
if you want to quieten a fan in an attic with an outlet to a bedroom or something you can coil about 4 metres of duct in the attic so you have 4 metres between the fan and the room and by the time the air rushes through the coil it is quiet by the time it gets to the room vent.
KT420
Active Member
No, but search "Sealing Flex Duct with Mastic" on youtube (only you won't be using the mastic)
Something like that but for our use you'd want to seal the outer wrapping to the "worm" first, then use spring tension clamps to connect the worm to the hood/fan/filter which make it much easier for disconnecting/reconnecting when you need to. When you're doing it on a building it's more permanent. Do whatever you can to avoid having the fiberglass exposed when you take the duct in your tent/room and certainly don't cut it to length in there. Measure the length you need, cut it outside, seal the outer wrapping outside, wash it down, and then bring it in. Also wash it and the hood and all your walls down after it's installed because you don't want to be smoking ANY fiberglass later!
The insulated duct is good for cutting down noise but it's main purpose is keeping the hot air leaving the light HOT, and preventing the heat from escaping back into your tent/room. They also make fiberglass blankets for reflectors/hoods to keep the heat in them too
http://www.hydrowholesale.com/Reflectives-Components-and-Lighting-Accessories/Sunlight-Supply-Sun-Shield-Reflector-Cover-for-Cool-Sun-6.asp
and I have read about people DIY'ing it with space blankets and cut up car windshield reflectors on their hoods.
This will only happen if you seal the outer jacket right on top of where the inner duct is making the connection, but not if you seal the outer jacket to the inner duct a few inches back first, and then connect the inner duct to the boot/hood/fan etc. You do let some heat escape having the inner duct exposed for those few inches but it's worth it to make the duct easier to unattach and reattach IMO. Especially if you're using it in a tent which is my only experience with it in 4". You use the 8" magnum XXXL hoods or what? 8" is massive! I use an EasyCool6 6" reflector with 6>4" duct reducers, 4" duct, 4" carbon scrubber and 4" 172cfm Vortex fan in 4x4x7 tent.