on 5/21/2007 7:15 PM EXT said the following:
The noise is produced by the blower/motor system. Yes, a heavier case and
better mounts would help reduce the noise but if the blower/motor system
were balanced there would be no vibrations to rattle the case. You can beef
up the mounting and it may help but it still comes down to the quality of
the moving parts.

A sidebar into fan design. Have you noticed how many holes and gaps even the
better fans have in their cases. They certainly don't provide a good vapour
barrier and prevent air leakage the way they are shipped. I always cover
them up with aluminum foil duct tape sealing both inside and outside, even
the holes that I will eventually drive a screw through.


Not only that, but most motors are bolted to a thin steel case which
only acts like a resonator for the noise.
"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

Has anyone come up with a better way to mount a bathroom fan so as to
minimize the vibration they produce? Seems like the traditional 2 screw
mount of the normal NuTone bathroom fans would absolutely magnify any

sounds

and vibrations produced by the unit.

Would it help to put a stringer on either side of the fan so that

vibrations

are transmitted to the framing?

I don't want to turn this into a physics exercise so much as learn about
better methods used.


The better quality fans such as the Nutone QT series or my favorite,
Panasonic, don't have a noise problem. Look at the sone rating for each
fan. Less sones is better. I think a Panasonic 80 CFM fan is .4 sones
whereas the cheap fans that builders usually install are 6 or 7 sones.


Sure I know there are better units available, but that's not really what
I'm asking.

What about quieting down the one that already exists?






--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
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