$10 PC fan almost as good as a $130 Panasonic Whisper Fan?

Hi everyone. I've been doing a lot of reading on here but this is my first post so here goes.
I've been looking at ventilation for a stealth grow with ZERO sound and ZERO smell. I read about the Panasonic Whisper series ceiling vent fans and I thought I had my answer. I don't really want to use this fan because it's kind of big for my small box. I would prefer a fan the size of a pc fan. I started comparing specs between two units, Here's what each manufacturer's website says:

Panasonic FV-08VQ5 $130
WhisperCeiling™ 80 CFM Ceiling Mounted Fan
80 CFM at 0.1" static pressure
<0.3 Sones @ 80 CFM
5.8 watts energy usage
10.83'' x 14.17'' x 16.73''

COOLER MASTER R4-C2R-20AC-GP 120mm Case Fan $10
69 CFM at 2.94MMH20
19db
4.2 watts energy usage
120x120x25mm


Ok, so that's hard to compare. Here are some conversions.
Wikipedia says: 1 sone = 40db so 19/40= 0.475 Sones
Google says: 1 millimeter = 0.0393700787 inches so 2.94 x 0.0393700787 = 0.11574... call it 0.11"
Here's the tale of the tape again with the conversions:


Panasonic FV-08VQ5 $130
WhisperCeiling™ 80 CFM Ceiling Mounted Fan
80 CFM at 0.1" static pressure
<0.3 Sones @ 80 CFM
5.8 watts energy usage
10.83'' x 14.17'' x 16.73''

COOLER MASTER R4-C2R-20AC-GP 120mm Case Fan $10
69 CFM at 0.11" static pressure
<0.5 Sones @ 69 CFM
4.2 watts energy usage
120x120x25mm

So you tell me, am I crazy or just high?

Sounds like the Cooler Master wins, i currently use 120mm case fans and they work great. I can run 3 drawing under 1 amp, for $10 bucks you cant go wrong.

For sound the PC fan works. You'll have issues with smell though

The numbers might look similar, but your missing one important piece of information.

The panasonic whisper fan is designated for exhaust. Im sure, as you know, it is more imporant to suck air out of a grow room rather then blow air into it. Computer fans are not designed to suck air out and can be difficult to maintain low temps (though it has been successfully done before with numerous micro pc grows posted on here).

Im actually growing 1 small plant right now and stealth is really important to me as well. I'm using a panasonic FV-05VF2. Its smaller in size, pulls less air, and a bit higher in sones (.4) but works great for my needs. (believe me, this fan pulls so much air out I dont need any intake fans..) I have objects obstructing the fan, but I can have people in the same room without them noticing anything suspicious. Then again, I live in front of traffic so the sound is muffled by the cars..


feel free to ask me anymore questions! I was exactly in the same position as you

Thanks everyone. Hey end, what lights are you using? I'm want to go 150 HPS, my cab is about the size of a 2 drawer filing cabinet.

I have 5 42 Watts of CFL.... which can get pretty hot. (without the panasonic fan running, temps can exceed over 110 degrees but when its running, the temper is always the same as room temp or a few degrees higher 74-76)

what are you doing for smell? I was going to do a DIY Panasonic carbon scrubber I've seen somewhere else. I'm mostly curious to see if the 50 CFM Panasonic can still keep up with a 150 HPS (probably about as hot as your CFLs) with a good size scrubber attached or if I should go with the 80 CFM, I think I have a way to use the 80 if I have to.

I'm a big Chomsky fan BTW, read all his books and listened to all his lectures.

might I ask what the cubic feet of your grow area is? Been considering a 80 cfm for a cfl setup of 14.0 cubic feet

People have had bad experiences with attaching carbon filters to their panasonic whisper. The sound increases greatly and it forces it the work harder which will lead to a shorter life for the fan.

This is actually the problem I have no with my grow. I'm trying an ONA type gel that absorbs smell, but its not working too well...

endofwed said:

TComputer fans are not designed to suck air out

Click to expand...

No offense.. but PC Fans are designed for exactly that purpose. They don't suck air into your PC, they blow the hot air out...

mblue23 said:

No offense.. but PC Fans are designed for exactly that purpose. They don't suck air into your PC, they blow the hot air out...

Click to expand...

That what I thought, that and isn't a fan only designed to blow or suck and that only depends on the angling of the blades right?

hi, i currently have a self made extractor with 2 120mm cpu fans leading to 1 exaust, and 4 seperate 80mm cpu fans, 1 in each corner (bottom) for air intake and my plants do fine

they area is pretty small, about 6 ft3. I want to use a 150 watt HPS with 2 of those pc fans as exhaust, passive intake

thats what i use the 4 for i call them draft intruders