help with soundproofing materials

Kipn

Kipn

Well-Known Member
hi people

so i am building a new stealth grow cupboard setup and i intent to line it with some sort of soundproof materials

i intend on having my extraction fans, carbon filter and electronics contained in one cupboard and a second cupboard for my plants and light both right next to each other with ducting concreting them together

i only want to soundproof the cupboard with the fans and electronics in it. yes i know i wont be able to 100% soundproof it because i need it to ventilate the hot air out but if i can reduce it by 50% im happy.

what sort of cheaper materials would work. i dont need it to be reflective or anything and its ok if the product i like thick foam which i am thinking of trying but im not sure if ill do much to reduce sound.

any suggestions are welcome thanks
 
fragileassassin

fragileassassin

Well-Known Member
A quality fan with good insulated ducting, make sure its on both sides of the fan.
Foam board for your walls.

sounds like your space is going to be fairly small, you wont need a big fan. look at decibel ratings of the fans and pick the quietest one for your budget.
 
Kipn

Kipn

Well-Known Member
fragileassassin said:
A quality fan with good insulated ducting, make sure its on both sides of the fan.
Foam board for your walls.

sounds like your space is going to be fairly small, you wont need a big fan. look at decibel ratings of the fans and pick the quietest one for your budget.
Click to expand...
it will only be 2x3x5 and i have 2 6 inch extraction fans with a appropriate sized carbon filter one will be intake one will be outtake. i will be using insulated ducting but i wont need allot of it. probably only a foot. my last grows have been in a tent with the same equipment. it wasn't all the loud in the tent. i could easily sleep in the same room. now i am looking for a more stealthy grow.
id expect the wooden cupboards to eco more and make more noise then my tent did.
do you have any tips on attaching Foam board to wooden walls. im thinking a good double sided tape but i can also see that falling off. i am then thinking some sort of glue but then id imagine that melting the foam
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
You want a mixture of mass to block sound and softer materials to absorb sounds.
Ideally isolation and air cavities.
MDF, concrete board, layers of plaster board. Sand.
Foams, curtains, carpets, rockwool.
Sound will escape from the weakest points but you can still make a big difference.
Fan speed controllers work great. Oversized filters, ducting and fans.
Acoustic ducting works great for air woosh. You can even double it up.
The hardest noise to stop is the 50-60hz range made my fans, especially when a cheap speed controller is used.
 
Kipn

Kipn

Well-Known Member
coreywebster said:
You want a mixture of mass to block sound and softer materials to absorb sounds.
Ideally isolation and air cavities.
MDF, concrete board, layers of plaster board. Sand.
Foams, curtains, carpets, rockwool.
Sound will escape from the weakest points but you can still make a big difference.
Fan speed controllers work great. Oversized filters, ducting and fans.
Acoustic ducting works great for air woosh. You can even double it up.
The hardest noise to stop is the 50-60hz range made my fans, especially when a cheap speed controller is used.
Click to expand...
i so cant stand that buzzing sound from cheap speed controllers. ive been their and will never use one again also they are a fire hazard. that car/van dampening stuff will do my needs id imagine well i will find out.
 
Z

zooolcsi

Well-Known Member
Kipn said:
i so cant stand that buzzing sound from cheap speed controllers. ive been their and will never use one again also they are a fire hazard. that car/van dampening stuff will do my needs id imagine well i will find out.
Click to expand...
You need to get a variac. It works with a different method to decrease your fan speed. No buzzing noise at all.
 
Chris Edward

Chris Edward

Well-Known Member
@Kipn,
Use a muffler on the exhaust end of your extraction fan, it will cut the sound drastically!
I built a cheap one from 1/4" hardware cloth, a 2 foot square piece of 1.5" egg-crate foam and some zip ties and it cost me less than $20. It's not the prettiest girl at the dance but she works!
If you look up the Phresh filter muffler, that's basically what it is, just inside a Phresh filter housing ($80).
https://sunlightsupply.s3.amazonaws.com/imageMedia/family/medium/pg01_000007.jpg

With the door closed on my grow room, you can just barely hear the fan in the house, but you can't hear anything from outside the house.
The fan I use is a cheap blower fan from Harbor Freight and WITHOUT the muffler, even on "low" the fan is so loud you can't have a normal conversation in the room.
But WITH the muffler, you can.

Also you can use rockwool as a cheap(ish) sound proofer (about $1 per square foot).
https://www.homedepot.com/p/ROCKWOOL-Safe-n-Sound-3-in-x-15-1-4-in-x-47-in-Soundproofing-Stone-Wool-Insulation-12-Bags-RXSS31525/205972532
If you get the insulation stuff from Home Depot, you can just tack it up on the walls of your cabinet and it will cut at least 50% of the sound.
Here's a video that shows how good Rockwool is as a sound proofer.
Fast forward to 1:20 for a demo on how much it will cut the sound.

Good luck with your sound proofing.
 
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