Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Exhaust Fan Recommendations

This is topic Exhaust Fan Recommendations in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Don Furr (Member # 1469) on 04-06-2018, 02:43 PM:

Problem: Super LumeX lamp with a 1600 watt bulb. Dayton Axel fan mounted on top of the lamp stack moving 240 CFM. Lamphouse stays cool but the noise from the fan is TOO loud. It's got that high pitch racket that in a quiet scene I can hear the fan from the screening room.
I purchased a nice 6" exhaust fan from HD moving over 500 CFM. The problem with it was the noise level. I need a adequate fan than can be mounted on the outer wall of my booth that won't keep the neighbors awake!!
Any brand name recommendations for a quiet fan motor. I've already got a 4" pipe going through the wall that I can use a 6" to 4" adapter. This fan is under cover on the lanai so with the low humidity here in SoCal I'm not concerned with the elements getting in the motor.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-07-2018, 01:36 PM:

Dayton blowers are just awful things! The motors they supply now are Chinese and not even ball bearing. I stopped using all other fans and switched to Fantech about ten years ago. An FG-8XL would work well and if you get their isolation mount, then that will help lower any noise level and even minor vibrations, although the fans are very, very quiet and extremely smooth running and well balanced as they come. You could also remotely locate the fan somewhere out of the projection room. I have used alumnium tape and taped them directly to the top of digital projectors and lamphouses in emergency's. You could also get an adapter 8" to 6" at Home Despot or Lowe's that will get it up off the projector about 8".

Mark

Fantech Specifications

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 04-07-2018, 03:17 PM:

I second the Fantech type inline blower. Very quiet, low vibration. There are many other suppliers, you can get them at any HVAC supplier... or hydroponics shops sell them.

Posted by Gary A. Hoselton (Member # 3447) on 04-11-2018, 01:24 PM:

Don, I had same problem, invited an acoustic engineer to give advice. Result is Flexmaster 6B acoustical insulated flexible duct (my projectors on rails to slide sideways, Super LumeX with 2000w bulbs and 3-blade shutters) to 300cfm wall-mount fans mounted on outside of exterior wall. Fan was German as I recall, can look for info if you want. Then, changed booth ceiling tile to Armstrong Optima 1" thick fiberglass with noise coefficient 0.95, and hung Simplex vinyl strip door on stairway from booth to auditorium. Things really quieted down, and engineer only charged $175 and one screening, a real blessing.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 04-11-2018, 02:09 PM:

I've used Flexaust Polyester Hose on the output of Fantech fans and/or from the lamp to fan and had dramatic improvement in noise. This is a heavy duty Polyestar hose that feels like canvas and bit difficult to use but it has quite a muffling effect. I used it for a DLP Barco in a blimp in a Planetarium with no access to exhaust the air (green building) so ran 50 feet around the back of the screen, hung off the sprinkler pipes. It effectively spread or diffused the air noise to the point where it was not noticeable.

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 04-11-2018, 03:32 PM:

x4 on fantech. The fans themselves are nearly silent, and the air noise can be muffled with duct mufflers if it's vented into the booth or otherwise through a short run of duct. The longer the duct, the quieter the exhaust air is.