Proper grill for an intake fan....?

[PoweredBySoy]

Hola,

I recently installed a 120mm intake fan on my side panel. Before doing this I purchased a Radgrillz cover for the guard - not really it's intended purpose, but after redrilling the holes to fit fan screws, it looked the part.

Once the build was complete is when I noticed the problem. With the fan on high speed (1200rpm), it creates this howling turbulence from the rush over air over the grill. It's not vibration, it's not the fan itself - it's just the.... air, and it sounds akin to a tornado siren. Although, you know, not quite as loud.

Experimenting, I took a piece of black garden mesh and stretched it across the inside of the grill and reinstalled everything. The howling was completely gone, even with the fan on high. Unfortunately so was about 50% of my air flow. The garden mesh just stifled the intake too much.

Is there a proper material to use to break up this turbulence, yet still allowing the fan to breathe? Should I give up on the Radgrillz and choose a more proper grill? I'd rather keep it though, as I have a matching one I'm using for a blowhole fan (which using the same type of fan does not howl).

Thoughts?

 

[JohnleMVP]

Have you experimented with spacing? Like add some distance between the fan and the grill to see how it changes the noise?

 

[PoweredBySoy]

Have you experimented with spacing? Like add some distance between the fan and the grill to see how it changes the noise?

After posting I did just that - and yeah, if I just get about a 1/4" away from the grill the howling goes away. Now I just need to figure out how to get that spacing. I guess the first thing to do is order some 1" fan screws.