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.

on 5/21/2007 4:59 PM Eigenvector said the following:
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.

There are bathroom exhaust units where the fan is further up in the
exhaust ducting so you don't even hear them.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

"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.

"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?

In article , m44
says...

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?

One thing to look at, if it's an older fan -- are the fan blades clean?
My last home's bath fan got much quieter when I cleaned off an
accumulation of cobwebs and dirt so the blades were clean, smooth, and
balanced again.


--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Updated Infrared Photography Gallery:
http://www.phred.org/~josh/photo/ir.html

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.

"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?

On Mon, 21 May 2007 17:18:37 -0400, willshak
wrote:

on 5/21/2007 4:59 PM Eigenvector said the following:
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.

There are bathroom exhaust units where the fan is further up in the
exhaust ducting so you don't even hear them.

That's a great idea. The bathroom off my bedroom came with a separate
switch, and I put a switch in the other one so it doesn't have to be
on just because the light is on. I only use that one to get rid of
semi-maybe-poisonous fumes from some cleaner I might use every year or
two.

The one in the powder room I just unplugged. I can't stand that
noise.

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
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

"Eigenvector" wrote in message

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?

Other than using rubber washers between screws & unit to isolate the noise,
probably not much. If the designers didn't design it to be quiet, then
you'll have a heck of a time making it so.

"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?


You could try using some rubber mounts or put a rubber block between the fan
and joist, but I doubt that will do anything significant. The small cheapo
fans operate at higher RPMs than the larger more expensive quiet fans.

Save your efforts for some other project. If you want a quiet fan, then buy
a quiet fan. When you go to sell the house potential buyers will notice the
difference as their current dwelling will most likely have a noisy fan.

On Mon, 21 May 2007 16:07:22 -0700, wrote:

In article , m44
says...

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?

One thing to look at, if it's an older fan -- are the fan blades clean?
My last home's bath fan got much quieter when I cleaned off an
accumulation of cobwebs and dirt so the blades were clean, smooth, and
balanced again.

I think you're right on. I note that the cheapest of motors make no
noise when running alone. Until the bearings are bad, which takes a
long time, It has to be the blade, and if it was once quiet and wasn't
bent, it has to be the dirt.

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"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?


You could try using some rubber mounts or put a rubber block between the
fan
and joist, but I doubt that will do anything significant. The small
cheapo
fans operate at higher RPMs than the larger more expensive quiet fans.

Save your efforts for some other project. If you want a quiet fan, then
buy
a quiet fan. When you go to sell the house potential buyers will notice
the
difference as their current dwelling will most likely have a noisy fan.


Well if I had a 100 bucks for a decent fan I'd spend the money on paying
down my debt and stick with the noisy sucker I have. I have a feeling
you're ultimately correct but that don't mean I won't try.

"mm" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 May 2007 16:07:22 -0700, wrote:

In article , m44
says...

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?

One thing to look at, if it's an older fan -- are the fan blades clean?
My last home's bath fan got much quieter when I cleaned off an
accumulation of cobwebs and dirt so the blades were clean, smooth, and
balanced again.

I think you're right on. I note that the cheapest of motors make no
noise when running alone. Until the bearings are bad, which takes a
long time, It has to be the blade, and if it was once quiet and wasn't
bent, it has to be the dirt.

Well that's not a bad idea, probably would cut down on mildew and dust in
the bathroom too.

"Bob M." wrote in message
. ..

"Eigenvector" wrote in message

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?

Other than using rubber washers between screws & unit to isolate the
noise, probably not much. If the designers didn't design it to be quiet,
then you'll have a heck of a time making it so.


Sounds like this idea isn't panning out. Maybe I should go find some other
turnip to squeeze blood from.

"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"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?


You could try using some rubber mounts or put a rubber block between the
fan
and joist, but I doubt that will do anything significant. The small
cheapo
fans operate at higher RPMs than the larger more expensive quiet fans.

Save your efforts for some other project. If you want a quiet fan, then
buy
a quiet fan. When you go to sell the house potential buyers will notice
the
difference as their current dwelling will most likely have a noisy fan.


Well if I had a 100 bucks for a decent fan I'd spend the money on paying
down my debt and stick with the noisy sucker I have. I have a feeling
you're ultimately correct but that don't mean I won't try.


You could try a fan speed control such as one used for ceiling fans. Maybe
the lower RPMs would make it quieter. Of course there is the risk that the
motor may make noise from the use of the fan speed control. That would also
mean an additional fifteen or twenty bucks that you could have used to buy a
better fan or pay down your debt.