DarkNoonBrewer
Steve Trott
I've had this guy built and in use for over a year now, and I figured I should share. Like most indoor systems, part of the challenge is getting the heat and steam out. There are some cool ways to do this with industrial fans and high capacity bathroom exhaust fans. Well, I chose the Vortex fan for its praise from indoor growers and other hunches of reputability. I ordered the 10" because space wasn't a concern and I was blown away (pun intended) by the power and frightened by the roar of this beast. Ive seen a muffler this one guy has made with a concrete tube and I planned on doing that, but a friend of mine ridiculed me for the layout I had in mind and said just to put the damn fan outside. Fine. I'll put it outside, but I still want to dampen the noise a little. If you've ever heard one of these, the 3600 RPM blower friggen howls! Its like a hair dryer but 10" in diameter.
So I chose to use treated lumber for the construction and stumbled upon a louver from Loyd Industries out of Florida. They have a clearance, or customer return section so I was able to get a 16" louver for $60. Its a nice unit. It has rubber weather seals and pretty smooth operation. I haven't seen an animal nest in it yet, and the wire screen fit just nice. As far as flow is concerned, the louvers don't even open all the way during operation, most likely meaning its a little over-sized for the flow I have.
I had no clue how to do barn siding when I showed up to Menards, but the guy walked me through and I ended up using a 10' sheet, one corner post, and 2 pieces of J channel.
The box is secured to two 80# concrete blocks that I leveled in stone for a secure footing. It has weathered some pretty high winds and hasn't budged a bit or gotten wet inside. The duct to the house is an adjustable 90 degree bit that I positioned into an offset. It is wrapped in Gorilla outdoor tape to make sure its dry inside. During heavy rain, the duct doesn't get wet because of how close it sits to the house anyhow! Power to the fan is 14-2 romex that goes to a light switch inside the brewery.
I was lucky there was a window frame outside of the egress window. I attached the bulkhead to that and have plans for hood. The BK sits directly below the window.
OPERATION: It works very well. It would be better during colder months with a hood, however. If its really friggen cold outside, the basement is cold and the incoming air is even colder, so the walls sweat. I measured 2" of vacuum with a water manometer directly in front of the inlet compared to the brewery. Basically, there isnt much restriction at all through the duct and the sound dampening tunnel. Also, I brew 10 gal batches, but have brewed 20 at a time. Those rare occasions tax the power of the fan, but its ok once a year.
NO MOLD GROWTH: The insulation gets moist after a brewday, but drys out very quickly. I let it run for an hour or so during whirlpool and cleanup and have checked for moisture and turn up dry. For the first six to twelve months, it smelled like fresh cut wood inside the box every time I opened it.
ITS QUITTER THAN A MARCH PUMP: I could not believe how well this dampens the sound! The pump and the fan are different frequencies, but the fan sounds very muffled during operation. This makes the brewday very relaxing and I don't have to talk over the friggen fan with other people.
I totally recommend the vortex fans. They run so smooth and loud.... well, maybe I really recommend a silencer of some sort. Mine mount the box outside in a rather un-sightly way, and it dampened the sound tremendously. It also didnt take up any of the 7'x14' area I have for brewing!
Hopefully this was useful. Cheers!
So I chose to use treated lumber for the construction and stumbled upon a louver from Loyd Industries out of Florida. They have a clearance, or customer return section so I was able to get a 16" louver for $60. Its a nice unit. It has rubber weather seals and pretty smooth operation. I haven't seen an animal nest in it yet, and the wire screen fit just nice. As far as flow is concerned, the louvers don't even open all the way during operation, most likely meaning its a little over-sized for the flow I have.
I had no clue how to do barn siding when I showed up to Menards, but the guy walked me through and I ended up using a 10' sheet, one corner post, and 2 pieces of J channel.
The box is secured to two 80# concrete blocks that I leveled in stone for a secure footing. It has weathered some pretty high winds and hasn't budged a bit or gotten wet inside. The duct to the house is an adjustable 90 degree bit that I positioned into an offset. It is wrapped in Gorilla outdoor tape to make sure its dry inside. During heavy rain, the duct doesn't get wet because of how close it sits to the house anyhow! Power to the fan is 14-2 romex that goes to a light switch inside the brewery.
I was lucky there was a window frame outside of the egress window. I attached the bulkhead to that and have plans for hood. The BK sits directly below the window.
OPERATION: It works very well. It would be better during colder months with a hood, however. If its really friggen cold outside, the basement is cold and the incoming air is even colder, so the walls sweat. I measured 2" of vacuum with a water manometer directly in front of the inlet compared to the brewery. Basically, there isnt much restriction at all through the duct and the sound dampening tunnel. Also, I brew 10 gal batches, but have brewed 20 at a time. Those rare occasions tax the power of the fan, but its ok once a year.
NO MOLD GROWTH: The insulation gets moist after a brewday, but drys out very quickly. I let it run for an hour or so during whirlpool and cleanup and have checked for moisture and turn up dry. For the first six to twelve months, it smelled like fresh cut wood inside the box every time I opened it.
ITS QUITTER THAN A MARCH PUMP: I could not believe how well this dampens the sound! The pump and the fan are different frequencies, but the fan sounds very muffled during operation. This makes the brewday very relaxing and I don't have to talk over the friggen fan with other people.
I totally recommend the vortex fans. They run so smooth and loud.... well, maybe I really recommend a silencer of some sort. Mine mount the box outside in a rather un-sightly way, and it dampened the sound tremendously. It also didnt take up any of the 7'x14' area I have for brewing!
Hopefully this was useful. Cheers!
