DIY How to: Silence a fan for cheap!

[alex10]

Well... not silent, but works well.

You will need:
- A box big enough to put your fan inside of, use the box your fan came in if you still have it. or make a wooden/metal case if your feeling ambitious.
- Expanding foam insulation/filler, this stuff

- Electrical/Duct(duck?) tape

- Get your fan and seal all joins and holes with tape
- Place fan in box so it closes flush
- Cut holes so you can run ducting in and out of the box
- Close one end of the box (a side with a ducting hole) with tape
- Take the fan out and attach the ducting firmly on each end, this is the only chance you have to do it so do it well! I used ducting clips and tape
- Run the ducting through the closed up side and place the fan back
- Add a little of the foam round the base of the box and around the fan, it will expand about 3-5 times, let dry and spray a tiny bit of water on top of the foam you just sprayed, this helps bind the layers of foam together.
- Add some more foam slowly, stop just before the foam reaches half way
- You may need to poke some holes in the box to let the foam escape, rather than ripping the box.
- Close the box up
- Fill the rest of the box by poking lots of holes and spraying the foam through there
- Tape the box up to stop it expanding
- Wait an hour for it to set hard
- Repeat in another box if you want it almost silent

Done!



Hope you enjoy and find this useful, made a big difference to my fan (365cfm 5" R.A.M)

*** Work over an old sheet or outside as this stuff is a bitch if you try and get it out of carpet, if you do, wait for it to dry and most of it will peel off, don't try and wipe it off

 

[beavergoods]

This sounds like a good idea if it doesnt wreck my fan. :thumbs:

 

[HomieHogleg]

I use an old "Egg crate foam bedroll, I rolled it up, eggshell in, and taped it around the exhaust of my fan like a muffler. That gets it pretty quiet.

HomieHogleg

 

[Hunted by the CIA]

Thanks man, that may prove quite useful to me as my fan sounds like a Guns 'n Roses wind machine.

 

[alex10]

I was pretty worried too, if you tape the gaps in the fan well it will be fine, my fan has been like this for about a month and it's all good.

 

[beavergoods]

I was pretty worried too, if you tape the gaps in the fan well it will be fine, my fan has been like this for about a month and it's all good.

i was thinking about that it is pretty airtight, think ill wrap it in saran wrap first though so i can dissamble it in case i need to and get rid of the foam easy.

 

[Bushdocter]

awesome tip thats kinda what I did except I spent some money and got 2 reducers and a length of oversized pipe to hold the foam

 

[komach]

Thanks for your foundings,
I used your idea and created something like yours but with other components. Will poste my how to soon. Really cheep solution :thumbs: