How to quiet down a portable AC unit in the PC room?

[xDiVolatilX]

Hello so my question is should I just stick on stickers of "dynomat" on the AC unit itself? I want it to be quieter during the summer months.

Has anyone experimented with using any sound suppressing or sound deadening sheets or stickers or materials or anything?

I have the normal portable stand-up unit that has a duct and liquid tube routed to the outside of the pc room from custom holes made in the wall. So, it's position is fixed. Just wondering how many different ways

if possible, to actually make it was quiet as I can being that all units make a certain amount of noise during operation.

Thanks in advance.

 

[toast0]

Those guys aren't going to be quiet cause the air handler and the compressor are both in the room. If you can get a split system where cold refrigerant comes in, and not so cold refrigerant goes out, you can move the compressor noise outside; then you just have air movement noise inside. If you make the heat exchanger big enough, you can move air slowly, and it's not too loud.

For a single room, you'ld be looking for a mini split, or one of the new fangled u-shaped window units. Portable units are what they are, but hopefully you got one with both an intake and an exhaust hose... Otherwise it exhausts the heated up room air, and you get make-up air from the rest of the house and outside.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

Those guys aren't going to be quiet cause the air handler and the compressor are both in the room. If you can get a split system where cold refrigerant comes in, and not so cold refrigerant goes out, you can move the compressor noise outside; then you just have air movement noise inside. If you make the heat exchanger big enough, you can move air slowly, and it's not too loud.

For a single room, you'ld be looking for a mini split, or one of the new fangled u-shaped window units. Portable units are what they are, but hopefully you got one with both an intake and an exhaust hose... Otherwise it exhausts the heated up room air, and you get make-up air from the rest of the house and outside.

I'm going to be honest, I actually don't understand what you are trying to tell me.
This is the unit I have

 

[xDiVolatilX]

Those guys aren't going to be quiet cause the air handler and the compressor are both in the room. If you can get a split system where cold refrigerant comes in, and not so cold refrigerant goes out, you can move the compressor noise outside; then you just have air movement noise inside. If you make the heat exchanger big enough, you can move air slowly, and it's not too loud.

For a single room, you'ld be looking for a mini split, or one of the new fangled u-shaped window units. Portable units are what they are, but hopefully you got one with both an intake and an exhaust hose... Otherwise it exhausts the heated up room air, and you get make-up air from the rest of the house and outside.

This is the link
8000 Btu Portable Air Conditioner https://a.co/d/hX00gZx

 

[xDiVolatilX]

Those guys aren't going to be quiet cause the air handler and the compressor are both in the room. If you can get a split system where cold refrigerant comes in, and not so cold refrigerant goes out, you can move the compressor noise outside; then you just have air movement noise inside. If you make the heat exchanger big enough, you can move air slowly, and it's not too loud.

For a single room, you'ld be looking for a mini split, or one of the new fangled u-shaped window units. Portable units are what they are, but hopefully you got one with both an intake and an exhaust hose... Otherwise it exhausts the heated up room air, and you get make-up air from the rest of the house and outside.

The exhaust is routed outside and the liquid drain is routed outside also. So only cold air is being thrown into the room. It's just the sound I want to suppress. Any tips?

 

[sharknice]

The exhaust is routed outside and the liquid drain is routed outside also. So only cold air is being thrown into the room. It's just the sound I want to suppress. Any tips?

A rubber mat or something underneath to reduce the vibrating. Move it as far away from you as you can. That's about the best you can do if it's in the same room.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

A rubber mat or something underneath to reduce the vibrating. Move it as far away from you as you can. That's about the best you can do if it's in the same room.

What do you think about the "dynamat" pads or stickers they use as sound deadaners in custom built cars etc? You know what I'm talking about right?

But I will do the rubber matt underneath good idea!

 

[xDiVolatilX]

A rubber mat or something underneath to reduce the vibrating. Move it as far away from you as you can. That's about the best you can do if it's in the same room.

I was considering this what do you think?

KILMAT 80 mil 36 sqft Car Sound Deadening Mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening https://a.co/d/iHnE28I

 

[sharknice]

I was considering this what do you think?

KILMAT 80 mil 36 sqft Car Sound Deadening Mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening https://a.co/d/iHnE28I

Those are made to stop the noise from coming into a car from the outside the cabin, they wouldn't really help too much in this case because the noise is already in the room. I think something like this would help more https://www.amazon.com/KitchenClouds-Kitchen-Cushioned-Waterproof-Standing/dp/B09CYDRFWQ/
Idk how much that AC vibrates, but if it doesn't vibrate at all it may not make a difference either way.

 

[Carlyle2020]

The mat surely helps to modify the sound to something that can more easily be ignored.

The Bitumen (tar-ish substance) inside does a good job in diluting (less directional) and dampening in general.

The plastic rollers have to be reincforced or removed though. That stuff is heavy.

I talk from experience:

Stopping the sound was never the goal.
One does modify it to be more pleasing!

I´ve ended up with the background humm from fireflys engine room

 

[xDiVolatilX]

The mat surely helps to modify the sound to something that can more easily be ignored.

The Bitumen (tar-ish substance) inside does a good job in diluting (less directional) and dampening in general.

The plastic rollers have to be reincforced or removed though. That stuff is heavy.

I talk from experience:
View attachment 589765

View attachment 589766

View attachment 589767

Stopping the sound was never the goal.
One does modify it to be more pleasing!

I´ve ended up with the background humm from fireflys engine room

View attachment 589769

Wait a minute. I need to understand what I am looking at and what you are suggesting? I'll be honest, I can't figure out what you're saying or what I'm looking at in these pics? Is that an portable air conditioner that you have applied sound deadaning material to? Can you please explain this better so I can fully understand how and what it is you have done please? Don't get me wrong I appreciate the post, I'm just having trouble figuring it out.

 

[Carlyle2020]

I just sent some inspiration about a pc case that was dampened.

My issue was low rattling 180mm fans and high pitched coil whine.
That`s why all the different layers have been used.
To dampen the whole spectrum.

Your issue is the low tones traveling through air and (in a different pitch) traveling through direct contact to the floor.

A mat is good for the "air" traveling part.

Check for hotspots since dampening = insulating and leave them be.

The rest you can dampen with a self adhesive mat.
A 2 mm mat is not bad but nothing special either.
(That is a lot of extra weight !)

The newer ones are thicker and have more than one (hard bitumen) layer.
They use foamed bitumen and an extra rubber layer as to catch a wider frequency of noise.
(More dampening for less weight)

That helps to change the sound to something more easily ingnorable.


Next step would be the bottom contact to the floor through the cheap hardplastic rollers.

The rollers, IF they hold the additional weight, could be put onto rubber or hardfoam dampeners.
The ones they use to put air compressors on it.

i glued two different types together since that stuff is cheap to buy.
That´s what my PC is standing on.


To get rid of more you can buy second hand sound dampening office desk dividers (2-3 inch thick) and cut together 3-4 pieces and "corner" the ac.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

 

[xDiVolatilX]

 

[xDiVolatilX]

 

[kirbyrj]

...you should have listened to toast0 . The only way you're going to be able to really reduce noise to low levels is to move the compressor and fans out of the room you are trying to keep quiet. You don't wrap the unit in sound dampening material. Which is why he suggested a split unit. E.G. your cool air comes out in the room you want, but the parts that make noise are either in another room or outside.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

...you should have listened to toast0 . The only way you're going to be able to really reduce noise to low levels is to move the compressor and fans out of the room you are trying to keep quiet. You don't wrap the unit in sound dampening material. Which is why he suggested a split unit. E.G. your cool air comes out in the room you want, but the parts that make noise are either in another room or outside.

I don't have the option of keeping it outside. What makes you think this is not good? lol It's a nice improvement I would say a 20% reduction in noise pollution and that is being conservative I think it helped reduce it even more.

 

[pendragon1]

lol
put it on some rubber blocks too, its going to be sending all sorts of noise into that flooring.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

lol
put it on some rubber blocks too, its going to be sending all sorts of noise into that flooring.

I did lol. I wrapped a few blocks with the killmat and put it underneath to dampen any vibrations. I am pretty happy with the results. I still have plenty of killmat leftover also. Heck I can even double the layer on the portable AC unit again for even more results.

 

[Verge]

I did lol. I wrapped a few blocks with the killmat and put it underneath to dampen any vibrations. I am pretty happy with the results. I still have plenty of killmat leftover also. Heck I can even double the layer on the portable AC unit again for even more results.

Mini split would be near silent, would also probably pay for itself in efficiency after 2 or 3 years. You can even get them pre-charged on amazon so all you have to do is drill a hole in the wall and plug the tubes in.

 

[freeagentt]

I had mine sitting on about an inch of rubber. I cut up some old bar mats that I had kicking around. And then I cut up my wifes old foam sandals and sat it on the stack. It made a pretty big difference. For me my at the time toddler dropped a pencil down the vent eliminating about a third of the veins on the squirrel cage lol.. it was just a tad unbalanced.

 

[Nobu]

My dual-inverter window unit is near silent -- if you ever want to upgrade, consider looking for something similar. It does make a lot of wind noise on medium or high fan speed, but that goes without saying (the more air you move, the more noise you'll have).

There are some who complain of high frequency noise from the inverter, but I can't hear any inside or outside. If you get a noisy one, it's either defective or was mishandled imo.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

Mini split would be near silent, would also probably pay for itself in efficiency after 2 or 3 years. You can even get them pre-charged on amazon so all you have to do is drill a hole in the wall and plug the tubes in.

Mini split would be so badass. I'm not willing to commit to it but thanks for the suggestion. One day I will revisit the mini split I can see it now & I mean that lol.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

My dual-inverter window unit is near silent -- if you ever want to upgrade, consider looking for something similar. It does make a lot of wind noise on medium or high fan speed, but that goes without saying (the more air you move, the more noise you'll have).

There are some who complain of high frequency noise from the inverter, but I can't hear any inside or outside. If you get a noisy one, it's either defective or was mishandled imo.

Interesting. I learned two different styles of AC today mini split and dual inverer. Very cool options. For the sake of the way this small pc room is I don't want to modify it any further as i already have the custom exhaust hole and water hose holes for this unit.
I'm thinking of applying a few nice big slabs of the "kiltmat" to the large surface areas of the unit. I still have many many sheets left over like half the box It's a good amount.

 

[zandor]

They also make these U-shaped window units if your windows will accommodate one. Compressor goes on the outside. Their selling point is they're a lot quieter than regular window units. Example: https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Invert...locphy=9021738&hvtargid=pla-942644924399&th=1

I agree a mini-split would be awesome. I have central air but still use a window unit in my office. Me + rigs in there all day and it gets warm. Also sometimes I leave the central turned off and just use AC in my office. I bought it during Covid lockdown/WFH and got a cheap one since I didn't know what was going to happen. Now I'm on a hybrid schedule and my employer seems to have fully committed to it by switching the office to a hot desking setup it so I might think about an upgrade to a quieter setup. Mini-split is a lot of $ though, and I just want some sort of setup that allows me to leave the supplemental AC unit on during meetings.

 

[travm]

Mini split would be near silent, would also probably pay for itself in efficiency after 2 or 3 years. You can even get them pre-charged on amazon so all you have to do is drill a hole in the wall and plug the tubes in.

I installed one of these a couple years ago. Best thing ever

The unit cut in the wall in the right had died.

The only halfway challenging part was the electrical.

 

[Carlyle2020]

Any idea will need a sort of heat outlet (water, air, fan,tubing) out of your closed room.

Otherwise a cooling loop connected to a waterdrum in the room can soak and keep heat comoftably if isolated.
During sleep it keeps the room warm and slowly cools down.
So the drums insultaor ought to be removable to help with this.

What is around and above your room and where could you put an outlet into? Any windows that can be modified?

I´m thinking fan and air tubing.

heat: store it for nightly release or get rid of it. Your choice.

ps In theory a properly sized anvil could be used as a heat sinking pc stand (with a few tweaks and heat insulating paint on 95% of the surface)

 

[sharknice]

Hello. During long gaming sessions I find that my room heats up, while this is normally not a problem during the winter I find it to be uncomfortable during the summer.

Obviously I could just crank up the AC but that would increase the electric bill quite a lot as I don't need to cool the entire house just to counteract the heat from my PC.

I think that some sort of portable AC just for my room would do but I would like to come on here to see if anyone else experienced this and solved it before I put down money on something like that.

Portable AC units have terrible efficiency, and they're noisy. If you can do a window unit it would be much better.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

I installed one of these a couple years ago. Best thing ever

The unit cut in the wall in the right had died.


View attachment 610387


View attachment 610388

The only halfway challenging part was the electrical.

This is amazing. Unfortunately behind my PC room outside is a narrow walkway with a 4ft high planter wall that goes up to the garden so this setup is impossible

 

[travm]

This is amazing. Unfortunately behind my PC room outside is a narrow walkway with a 4ft high planter wall that goes up to the garden so this setup is impossible

Theres all kinds of option for tube routing. I've since installed another one of these units with 3 indoor heads, two of which are in rooms on the other side of the house. You just need a sloped drain to get rid of the condensate, and your tubing and electrical can be up to 50 ft long. It can be longer even, but efficiency suffers, and it gets more complicated as refrigerant must be added.

 

[xDiVolatilX]

I have another question.

How could I quiet down a 12 inch exhaust fan mounted in the wall.?

I have this installed in my PC room because obviously it exhausts all the hot air. Although I have a voltage controller plugged into it which allows me to quiet it down considerably.

Even though I have quieted it down by probably over 75%, how can I make it even quieter is there a sound dampening method, or object, or any clever solution to quiet down a 12-inch wall mounted exhaust fan?

These are the high-powered industrial ones that are usually mounted in garages etc. it's something very similar to this one
iLIVING 12" Wall Mounted Shutter Exhaust Fan, Automatic Shutter, with Thermostat and Variable Speed controller, 0.6A, 960 CFM, 1400 SQF Coverage Area Silver (ILG8SF12V-ST) https://a.co/d/dxTn47p

 

[Nobu]

I have another question.

How could I quiet down a 12 inch exhaust fan mounted in the wall.?

I have this installed in my PC room because obviously it exhausts all the hot air. Although I have a voltage controller plugged into it which allows me to quiet it down considerably.

Even though I have quieted it down by probably over 75%, how can I make it even quieter is there a sound dampening method, or object, or any clever solution to quiet down a 12-inch wall mounted exhaust fan?

These are the high-powered industrial ones that are usually mounted in garages etc. it's something very similar to this one
iLIVING 12" Wall Mounted Shutter Exhaust Fan, Automatic Shutter, with Thermostat and Variable Speed controller, 0.6A, 960 CFM, 1400 SQF Coverage Area Silver (ILG8SF12V-ST) https://a.co/d/dxTn47p

Depends on why it's loud. But generally you would:
1: Use high quality bearings in the fan/motor/pulleys (if applicable).
2) Balance the fan, tension the pulley
3) Use a baffle to reduce direct transmission of sounds into the room (would restrict flow)

 

[xDiVolatilX]

Depends on why it's loud. But generally you would:
1: Use high quality bearings in the fan/motor/pulleys (if applicable).
2) Balance the fan, tension the pulley
3) Use a baffle to reduce direct transmission of sounds into the room (would restrict flow)

I was thinking of a baffle, would you happen to know of a baffle that would be able to work on a 12-in exhaust fan like I mentioned? Like something you can specifically link on Amazon or something that you know of by any chance? It would actually be nothing short of a small miracle if I can even quiet it down even further while getting rid of the hot air and not needing to use the portable AC unit which I'm thinking about covering in another layer of sound dampening material as you can see in the pictures above which I already have bought White thick wallpaper to cover up the silver kill mat LOL

 

[Nobu]

I was thinking of a baffle, would you happen to know of a baffle that would be able to work on a 12-in exhaust fan like I mentioned? Like something you can specifically link on Amazon or something that you know of by any chance? It would actually be nothing short of a small miracle if I can even quiet it down even further while getting rid of the hot air and not needing to use the portable AC unit which I'm thinking about covering in another layer of sound dampening material as you can see in the pictures above which I already have bought White thick wallpaper to cover up the silver kill mat LOL

No, doesn't look like ebay has them either. You could probably make your own. Just need a box, line the box with sound absorbant material, and add baffles with absorbant material until the sound is acceptable. Make the inlet on the box 90 deg to the fan inlet for improved performance, the cost being further reduced airflow.

The box does need to be sturdy enough to withstand whatever pressure is induced by the fan, of course. Cardboard probably won't cut it.

 

[Wade88]

This is amazing. Unfortunately behind my PC room outside is a narrow walkway with a 4ft high planter wall that goes up to the garden so this setup is impossible

You can mount the outside unit to walls too, eg more than 4' in the air.

 

[jameswilliam]

The mat surely helps to modify the sound to something that can more easily be ignored.

The Bitumen (tar-ish substance) inside does a good job in diluting (less directional) and dampening in general.

The plastic rollers have to be reincforced or removed though. That stuff is heavy.

I talk from experience:
View attachment 589765

View attachment 589766

View attachment 589767

Stopping the sound was never the goal.
One does modify it to be more pleasing!

I´ve ended up with the background humm from fireflys engine room
New Deck Installation Contractor
View attachment 589769

I've got a room. NO windows. MANY computers (well OK, 8, but hope to go higher, think big BOINC farm). Even with good air cooling on each proc, the whole room gets to hot.

What to do?

I've seen "portable air conditioners" that have dehumidifiers built in, so they generate little or no water to empty. They can be wheeled around a room, BUT, they all want to use an exhause hose to go out a window.

Will I get ANY cooling with one of these devices in my room with no window to vent it out? Or will the air conditioner simply exhaust as much heat as it cools, giving the room no benefit?

Thanks!

 

[pendragon1]

I've got a room. NO windows. MANY computers (well OK, 8, but hope to go higher, think big BOINC farm). Even with good air cooling on each proc, the whole room gets to hot.

What to do?

I've seen "portable air conditioners" that have dehumidifiers built in, so they generate little or no water to empty. They can be wheeled around a room, BUT, they all want to use an exhause hose to go out a window.

Will I get ANY cooling with one of these devices in my room with no window to vent it out? Or will the air conditioner simply exhaust as much heat as it cools, giving the room no benefit?

Thanks!

yes. without venting the hot air outside, the room would stay the same.

 

[travm]

I've got a room. NO windows. MANY computers (well OK, 8, but hope to go higher, think big BOINC farm). Even with good air cooling on each proc, the whole room gets to hot.

What to do?

I've seen "portable air conditioners" that have dehumidifiers built in, so they generate little or no water to empty. They can be wheeled around a room, BUT, they all want to use an exhause hose to go out a window.

Will I get ANY cooling with one of these devices in my room with no window to vent it out? Or will the air conditioner simply exhaust as much heat as it cools, giving the room no benefit?

Thanks!

No, you'll just add more heat to the room due to efficiency losses.

You could drill a hole in the wall and vent it out that way, but those ac units are painfully inefficient. The mini split types are way better, if only a little more complicated to install

yes. without venting the hot air outside, the room would stay the same.

It would actually get hotter.

 

[applegrcoug]

No, you'll just add more heat to the room due to efficiency losses.

You could drill a hole in the wall and vent it out that way, but those ac units are painfully inefficient. The mini split types are way better, if only a little more complicated to install

It would actually get hotter.

Yup...hotter.

This was a question on my 1995 IB physics exam and I answered it as the temp would stay the same. Still not sure how it was graded because efficiency wasn't mentioned in the question. It has only been bugging me for nearly 30 years.

 

[funkydmunky]

AMD CPU
Nvidia GPU ( midrange)