Explaining the sound of a grow

[d42zero]

What ideas do you have for explaining the sound of fans and pumps? I'm in an apartment with an upstairs neighbour, the floor is 6" concrete slab and when my dryer is running in my laundry (in a similar same position below my flat with the same floor) at 56dB I can just hear it through the floor... my whole setup runs around 46-47dB which is A LOT less (3dB = double the perceived volume so 56dB is roughly eight times louder than 46dB) so I'm fairly sure that it wouldn't be audible to the guys upstairs, but I thought it might be worth coming up with a plausible explanation.

I thought of saying I have fish or something, it could explain the sounds of water as well; it could also prompt a response like "I love fish, can I have a look?" and I'd have to think fast. Tonight I thought of saying something like I brew beer or am distilling spirits (which ironically is exactly the same as what I'm doing but is socially acceptable and almost certainly wouldn't result in a call to the cops) but I don't think those processes involve a steady buzzing noise 24/7 for three to six months..

What have you guys used to explain the sounds you make?

 

[Oldbear]

Noisy fridge?

 

[d42zero]

Noisy fridge?

I'm sure that'd work for a lot of places, but for me it'd probably end up with me being asked why I have a fridge in the spare bedroom lol. "Chest freezer" might be less likely to elicit a follow up question though.. or could easily be explained with "I buy my food in bulk...."

 

[Jackalope]

Explaining it in your situation is a little tricky. Lots of little things you could blame the noise on. I used the circulating fan to distribute heat excuse. I live in a house though. Not only do you have to thing of a good answer for the noise. You need to consider what to say about it starting and stopping at the same time everyday.

Sorry. Not only did I not help with the problem I probably made it worse.

 

[d42zero]

Explaining it in your situation is a little tricky. Lots of little things you could blame the noise on. I used the circulating fan to distribute heat excuse. I live in a house though. Not only do you have to thing of a good answer for the noise. You need to consider what to say about it starting and stopping at the same time everyday.

Sorry. Not only did I not help with the problem I probably made it worse.

That's ok; my fan runs 24/7 so any noise would be a constant hum, and I'm running coco so no pump noise (I just lumped them together for the thread).

I'm 99.9% sure they can't hear the fans through a concrete floor, but it's probably still smart to have an explanation locked and loaded lol

 

[Vegan4life]

Tell them you have allergies and it's a "Hepa filtration system". Or a dehumidifier if its humid in your area.

 

[Barney86]

I convinced one of my mates to get some grow gear. He got it on the premise that it wouldn't be loud enough for anyone to hear from the attic. I said well there's a very small hum but nobody will be able to hear it from downstairs.
There's only bedrooms upstairs so why in god's name would anyone be up there anyway?
A month in and I had to kill it for a fortnight cos he went on holiday and his mother in law decided to move in while I was meant to be looking after them.
He went mental at me cos I said nobody would hear it but it's not like in a month of Sundays id be worrying about your mother in law sleeping in your bed.
What a dick

 

[Jackalope]

Concrete can carry vibration which is noise or will be somewhere.

One thing to remember. Low noise can easily go unnoticed if it is constant. The only time it is noticed is when it goes away. When fans are run constant the noise level doesn't change so isn't noticed.

So many variables to consider. Being aware is the key. At least your are thinking now. Better than when you need the excuse lol.

 

[Barney86]

Concrete can carry vibration which is noise or will be somewhere.

One thing to remember. Low noise can easily go unnoticed if it is constant. The only time it is noticed is when it goes away. When fans are run constant the noise level doesn't change so isn't noticed.

So many variables to consider. Being aware is the key. At least your are thinking now. Better than when you need the excuse lol.

Totally agree mate. My lights wake me up every morning at 05.30... when they turn off! Drives me absolutely mental.

 

[Jackalope]

I am the same way. Lack of noise will wake me up.

Oh Hell everything wakes me up that's why I do edibles LMAO.

 

[onewarmguy]

All reasonable explanations but you can also try reducing the vibration of the fans by putting some rubber gasket isolators between the fan and its mounts or hanging it with a bungee or two. Concrete is an excellent conductor of vibration when the source is in direct contact with it, remove the contact and reduce the sound. Also not that it matters but your floor slab is much more likely to be 8" thick not 6.

 

[bluter]

i did the rubber mount thing for the fans in my rooms. made a significant difference, especially one i have that is mounted sideways on a vertical board.

if concrete is transmitting sound :
you can insulate the floor with foam rubber type mats. they are used for things like yoga or for kids to play on.
i have done this before and it works pretty good..

other approaches / excuses :

don't worry about it. it's a large building with all sorts of hvac and other noises going on. the neighbours may not even notice.

get actual fish.

tell them you run a server farm on the side.

 

[Dogwash]

What have you got your air extractors mounted on mate?

To curt down on vibration, I've got my extractors hanging from elastic rope

This really reduces the sound

 

[d42zero]

Hey guys these are all great ideas, thanks! The server farm idea is a good one, I did actually think of saying 'bitcoin mining equipment' but I also thought that like the fish it might encourage additional questions.

I've been going for two months now and nobody has asked anything so I think I'm good, I just worried a little that the guy in the room above might hear it at night.. but he's a shiftworker that does 12hr days in a mine site that's 1.5hr drive away, so I'm pretty sure when he gets home he's too rooted to be worrying about anything!

The rubber mats on the floor is a good idea, I might make some to put under the grow tent. As for my fan, it's mounted to the tent's crossbar using rope ratchets.

Thanks for the ideas

 

[Dogwash]

I'd suggest using elastic rope to hang the extractor fan from your tent frame

This will prevent the majority of the vibration reaching the floor via the tent poles

This is what I do

We're all probably cautious about sound levels and more so when stoned late at night lol

Can you hear the toilet flushing in the next apt?

Your fans are probably quieter than your toilet

 

[d42zero]

I'll give that a go! Elastic ropes + rubber mats under the tent (or even just under the corner pieces) sound like they'll eliminate 99% of vibrations and then it's just the actual sound of the fan which should be ok.

Can you hear the toilet flushing in the next apt?

I've taken note of this - I can hear the water run through the pipes, but I can't hear the toilet actually flush I don't think. Shower is a good one; I can hear the water from their shower, but if I go into my bathroom I can't hear the actual shower (as in the sound of the water splashing around). Their pipes run behind wooden panels in my bathroom/toilet, so I'm just hearing the water drain through the pipes but the actual sounds from their bathroom and toilet don't seem to make it through.

My clothes dryer (below my flat, through the same thickness floor) is audible but not loud, one of those noises you only notice every now and then. The dryer measured 56dB and my grow measures 46dB, and 3dB is perceived as twice as loud, so my dryer is eight times louder than my grow.

I think I'm safe, just not a terrible idea to have an explanation locked and loaded. The fridge/freezer one from the top of the thread is probably the simplest and less likely to draw questions so I'll probably stick to that

 

[Dogwash]

Yeah it's always wise to be a little over cautious for no reason than to not be careful enough and get caught out