Controller for hydrofarm fan?

So I have a 6 inch hydro farm active air fan and it picked up a ideal air fan controller from the shop. So as I'm sitting listen to the setup I can hear the famous hum....so I play with the control a bit and realize I don't hear it on high. So now I know the control is no good for my fan... Anyone have found a controller for this fan that doesn't hum...I read the reviews for the hydrofarm controller and everyone says it's crap. Then some say it works....oh and would the carbon filter make it a bit more quite once installed

This is a good one.
http://www.amazon.com/Variac-Variable-Transformer-300va-Output/dp/B006NGI8VS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426900678&sr=8-1&keywords=variac#Ask

EDIT: I have the same fan and controller that you show above. I switched to the Variac and no more hum. I found out about it from numerous recommendations on this forum.

Dang more money...so none of the controllers they sell at the hydro store work...I'd called the hydro store and they told me the one I got might be defective and they will test it...so I'll try that MondayMonday

Yea, I have the same one... It hums. It's an annoying hum. I can only hear it when I turn my head a certain way. I must look like a dog that thinks he may have heard a squirrel off in the distance Variac is better. It slows the fan by a different method..

Here is what I did. I moved the fan outside my tent and left the filter inside. I took a large tuperware bin/plastic tub. I put a pillow in the bottom. I drilled 4 inch holes in the sides to allow for the venting. I put the lid on the tub and no more noise.. Is there a fire risk? I'm not sure. It sort of air cools itself.

Another way to quiet the fan is to add longer venting on the output. This doesn't change the hum though...

Yeah for now I'm running full blast I can't deal with the hum....

Ok so I used some sound deadened stuff I had left over form my sub install

Now I have the sound of the ballast fan damn

Man I don't even hear the fan anymore or the hum. Do the hum mean I'm messing my fan up. It don't matter as much since I got a $100 fan for 15 bucks...

black jesus said:

Do the hum mean I'm messing my fan up.

Click to expand...

It's reducing power to the fan by chopping the AC sine wave. It's like 60 on/off pulses per second. The offs get longer the slower the speed. I've read this isn't good for the type of motor (shaded pole?) these fans use.

There are fans that can be slowed this way. For example the Phresh Hyper comes with a dimmer-like controller built in. My next fan may be one of those. (I have your fan and a variac.).

I wonder how long before it burns it out. The fan is cheap so I'm not too worried. For $15 I don't mind just would love to know so I can pick up another one

az2000 said:

It's reducing power to the fan by chopping the AC sine wave. It's like 60 on/off pulses per second. The offs get longer the slower the speed. I've read this isn't good for the type of motor (shaded pole?) these fans use.

Click to expand...

You say your fan was cheap and you don't care, but he's right. The humming is the motor being under driven, like a car engine lugging. Those controllers are cheap as shit, i have one that was sold as a router speed regulator, it's really nothing more than a wall dimmer switch. I ended up getting a titan Mercury 4 controller, winch has a few different options liked, right now I have it set to idle at appx 50%, but if the room goes over 85F, it kicks up too 100%, It also has a photo sensor because it has a couple day/night settings. It also eliminated the hum at 50%, which i had with the cheap controller.

The generic speed controller I have..this was for a router, bought through Harbor Freight, and it's exactly the same as the one you listed, i think i paid $10 a few years ago. It works fine for my router, not my fan.

This is the one I run now..I think it was like $75..
http://www.titancontrols.net/products/ventilation/mercury-4.aspx

Wow $75. For that price I can get a fan that can be controlled or that vortex that comes with the controller. I can also just go back to my hydro store and pick up another used cheap fan as I did before...

It's your choice. I've been dealing with tools and equipment for 20 yrs now. I 'd rather spend a little more to buy a quality product once then inexpensive crap over and over. Especially elec. equipment. I like using my elec drill as an example..I used to buy $25 dollar no name elec drills when i was younger, burn it out, buy another..I probably spent over $100 in 6 months one year..I broke down and bought a Milwaukee drill for like $250 and it's been worked hard for at least 10 yrs now, and with just a change of the brushes, I'll get another ten out of it. Just my opinion, I know cheap now is easier then expensive now, but it will end up costing more in the long run, that's experience talking.

I run 3x8" 720 hydrofarm fans and about 8 of the speed controllers.

NO hum here