[johnnyplant]

Just spent a few hours sorting out my extraction now that my plants are getting into flowering.

I have a rvk 150L fan, in an insulated box, hung from bungee cords from the rafters in my ceiling. Extracted air goes out a chimney vent. I have a 150mm carbon filter all connected with acoustic ducting. I'm now hearing a buzzing sound in my house. Worried the neighbours may hear it, especially in the early hours of the morning. What's causing this buzzing and how can i get rid of it? Thought primairs weren't supposed to buzz?

This post has been edited by johnnyplant: 22 April 2012 - 12:52 PM

[ZedBud]

Does the pitch of the buzz change when you move the dials on the primair? If so, that's your problem

Mine will make both my fans buzz unless it's on at least 80% power. I just keep it on max most of the time.

Have a look into building yourself a variac - lots of good threads in the DIY section

Z.

[johnnyplant]

No, the pitch of the buzz is the same, just seems to get slightly louder and slightly quieter.

[ZedBud]

Still sounds like the Primair to me. You could try the fans without it and see for sure.

AFAIK Primairs are not known for being buzz-free. Variacs are definitely where it's at if buzz is a problem.

They're expensive to buy ready made, but like I said check the threads here for advice on putting one together yourself. I'm planning on doing the same pretty soon TBH.

Best of luck

Z.

[Floyd]

Variacs for no buzz manual speed control.
SMSCOM for no buzz automated speed/temp control.
They step up and down the voltage.

All the rest cause buzz or hum due to the way they reduce the fan speed.
Unless your lucky your controllers calibration suits the fan you have but
99% of the controllers dim the voltage causing strain and buzz.
Even when they clearly state "no buzz"

Getting a fan with built in control is the most cost effective way.

[johnnyplant]

GreenFloyd, on 23 April 2012 - 08:37 AM, said:

Variacs for no buzz manual speed control.
SMSCOM for no buzz automated speed/temp control.

smscom's don't buzz? if they work like a primair without the hum, i may have to see about getting one of them.

[Sawney Bean]

I was a big advocate for the smscom twin fan controller, it's far superior to the primair controller but I found it still made my fans hum. I didnt realize how much it made them hum until I bought a variac which eliminated all fan hum.

The smscom controller was the bees knees for environmental control though, my temps were never so stable

[Floyd]

johnnyplant, on 23 April 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

GreenFloyd, on 23 April 2012 - 08:37 AM, said:

Variacs for no buzz manual speed control.
SMSCOM for no buzz automated speed/temp control.

smscom's don't buzz? if they work like a primair without the hum, i may have to see about getting one of them.

So long as it is the mechanical smscom it will not buzz mate,
it will keep your fan/fans running buzz free.
Set your minimum speed and desired temp and it will do the rest,
only increasing your fan speed as needed.


Floyd

[Sawney Bean]

heres the smscom controller I used

as I said the hum was not as loud as the primair but when you compare it to a variac its still pretty noisy. Saying that I know people who have the same unit as sms as me and they get no hum, it seems to vary from fan to fan

[Floyd]

Sawney Bean, on 23 April 2012 - 10:39 AM, said:

heres the smscom controller I used

fan.jpg as I said the hum was not as loud as the primair but when you compare it to a variac its still pretty noisy. Saying that I know people who have the same unit as sms as me and they get no hum, it seems to vary from fan to fan

That's the one that reduces the power like a dimmer, I had for a couple days before sending it back, I was using a Ruck at the time and had terrible buzz.

Stepped voltage controllers are the only way to guarantee no buzz.

[Frank Lopez]

Sawney Bean, on 23 April 2012 - 10:39 AM, said:

heres the smscom controller I used

fan.jpg as I said the hum was not as loud as the primair but when you compare it to a variac its still pretty noisy. Saying that I know people who have the same unit as sms as me and they get no hum, it seems to vary from fan to fan

Guy in the hydro shop told me exactly the same thing. Some sms units buzz and some don't. Pot luck apparently!

[Floyd]

Frank Lopez, on 23 April 2012 - 11:27 AM, said:

Sawney Bean, on 23 April 2012 - 10:39 AM, said:

heres the smscom controller I used

fan.jpg as I said the hum was not as loud as the primair but when you compare it to a variac its still pretty noisy. Saying that I know people who have the same unit as sms as me and they get no hum, it seems to vary from fan to fan

Guy in the hydro shop told me exactly the same thing. Some sms units buzz and some don't. Pot luck apparently!

It is down to how the are calabirated and it is a hit or a miss.
The mechanical smscom is like a veriac, stepping the voltage up and down.
The difference is the sms does it all automatic to keep your fan speed as low as it can,
keeping the whole extraction noise to a minimum, while maintaining neg pressure.

[johnnyplant]

Just done a bit more investigation and it seems that it is not the primair unit itself that is humming, it is the rvk fan. It's already in a leepy box. Is there anything else i can do to stop the buzzing? It's so annoying as the fan set at idle speed is whisper quiet - the only thing causing an noise is this damn buzzing.

[Sawney Bean]

If you cant afford to stump out for a variac just now try having a play about with the idle speed. I found when using a primair controller that if I played about with the idle speeds there would be an optimum speed for very little hum, obviously when the kick in full bore the hum will return but at least when they settled down the hum was as quiet as I could get it. you can always try wrapping the Leepy'd boy in a duvet for extra noise absorption

I would never recommend a primair to anyone these days, definitely had their place in their day but there are far better alternatives out there.

e2a: if your shite with electrics like me, you can pick up a variac STR 1.5amp controller for £65 or a 2.2amp for £80, just wire in a twin socket extension lead and control both the intake and exhaust from the one controller, just make sure that you exhaust fan is a higher airflow rating than the intake

This post has been edited by Sawney Bean: 23 April 2012 - 12:53 PM