I’ve got an 8" inline fan I need to hang as close to the ceiling as I can get it, and need ideas of how to go about it. The idea is to minimize vibration noise traveling up through the house. I’ve considered (briefly) using bungee cords but in my mind that would just be a disaster waiting to happen.
Have any of you MacGyvor types got any slick mounting methods that aren’t going to break the bank?
Bungee cords with a loose chain backup.
Never thought of using a safety chain. Bungee cords it is. Thanks Pedro.
Doesn’t fully take the vibrations away but it works very well.
There are mounting systems that attach to the exterior of the tent. I’ll see if I can find a link.
Yep bungee with a backup. Insulated ducting helps quite a lot too…with inlines most of the noise is actually the air movement itself rather than the fan motor.
Give this man a cookie! 
I’ll have to keep that one in mind. I’ve had a spring of some sort stuck in mind. Hadn’t even considered a universal exhaust hanger for auto use. They could work well and less concern over deterioration and breaking, if I can figure a way to use them.
what I did when I was using them(I’ve downsized so don’t use the same gear) slot them over your top tent poles and hang my fan off those soft plant ties. I have even seen these exhaust rings used to hold a 10” box fan up on the ceiling. They work pretty well.
Bungee cords do also work really well though but sometimes you can’t get a tight wrap because some are stretchier than others.
I’m not using a tent. It’s a drywalled room in the basement with 7-1/2’ ceiling. The tricky part is having the room to fasten it up there while keeping it as tight to the ceiling as possible. I really like the idea of using a commercial vibration isolator but at $100 a pop (or more), they’re an expensive way to eliminate an annoyance.
Being honest, I’d really rather not use bungee cords. I’ve seen them deteriorate, and as you point out the stretch can be an issue even when trying to get the fan up there. I will be walking under this thing from time to time and knowing my luck that’d be just the time one would break.
Didn’t find the link, but…
Crazy as it may sound 99, I’ve just got this thing about vibration noise. The noise from the fan itself won’t bother me that much, but laying in bed 2 floors above and hearing a vibration coming through the house will drive me bonkers. Putting the fan inside an enclosure of some sort is probably the most effective for dealing with fan noise and I may end up doing so one day.
For now, a quick n’ dirty solution that gets the fan as close to the ceiling as possible without concern of it coming down on something (or me) will have to suffice.
I put my scrubber in my room as close to the ceiling as possible, then ran duct out of the room to the fan which hangs a couple feet from the ceiling. Best of both worlds!
If you went that way you wouldn’t even need to hang the fan, it could sit on a box or whatever and have no contact with the joists whatsoever…
I’m going to be running a couple fans. One is for light cooling, and the other will be for a scrubber. The idea is to exhaust unwanted heat from lighting outdoors during warmer months when central a/c is required, and exhaust the heat from lighting inside the house during the colder months to help offset heating costs.
At the moment the plan is to have the carbon scrubber exhaust indoors exclusively and only run when CO2 is off. I may end up using a 2 speed fan on the scrubber to keep the grow room(s) under a slight negative pressure even when the CO2 is being used.
Hi Schmokey.
Try using bicycle inner tubes and a “hammock” approach.
Lower profile than cords.
Screws and washers into the joists. I don’t trust staples.
Though most times bungees fail is they are cheap and you get what you pay for.
Great handle btw, we may be related.
When we were kids my big bro and I used to go by Mo and Schmo.
Good luck!
I can’t get up between the joists unless I want to tear down a drywall ceiling. As much as I hate that damned ceiling for the way it prevents access to the area above, even if I did tear it out the joists run in the wrong direction for what I’m doing. I’ll keep the idea of using an inner tube in mind though as I could see it’s advantages for where I have to pass metal duct through an interior wall.
As it is, I have the handiest little bungee cords (maybe 3" long) with a plastic hook on one end that will keep the fan fairly tight to the ceiling. I figure with two of those on either side of the fan and a chunk of jack chain for back up it should be a solid setup.
Sounds like you have an option to box it in. Boxing it in opens the door for an excellent solution to add sound absorbing insulation.
Unless you’re really tall, you could take a foot off that 7.5 ft ceiling and still have good head clearance.
Any way post some pics up when you figure it out, most of us potheads get pretty creative in regards to overcoming the impediments to our glorious goal.
I am going to have to try one of these ideas myself. Have mine screwed with metal strapping and need to tone down the noise a bit. Have a bigger fan in another room but not mounted to the ceiling at all and not noisy so I know it’s a problem. Maybe try some rubber tubing.
