Fan Facts, FAQs, Q&A for VENTRY Fans

FAN FAQ TOPICS:

Best seller
Fan ID - serial numbers
Carbon Monoxide / CO Levels
Electric fans and GFCI
Exhaust extensions
Honda GC versus GX motors
Negative pressure ventilation (versus PPV)
Fan lifespan and durability
Fan stability and walking
Safety Light option
Noise levels

Propeller composition and blades
Wood versus metal propellers
Wheels - Pneumatic, Solid
Fan placement
Horsepower and size
Confined space ventilation
Shrouds
Troubleshooting
Thrust
Warning

Why are VENTRY Fans so much quieter than other brands?

At full throttle, we have measured the noise level of our fans to be near 94 dB, (measured from four feet behind the fans). In addition to the lower dB measured, we have received many anecdotal reports that VENTRY Fans are much quieter than other PPV Fans, producing a less severe sound than other blowers. There are scientific reasons for this having to do with our propeller blades.

It is a fallacy that more propeller blades mean more air. Multiple blades stir the air rather than push it, wasting energy in the form of noise. This is called “form drag” or “eddy making drag” and is due to multiple tips and greater surface area. The propellers on all fans, even VENTRY, make the vast majority of the noise, not the engines! (Note that different brands of PPV Fans vary significantly in how loud they are even though they use the same Honda engines.)

Beware: Just because a fan is LOUD, does not mean it is blowing more air, more forceful, or working better. The bigger the engine, and the more energy is wasted by the fan blade, the louder a fan will be. This is related to the other common mistake made when shopping for fans: assuming the higher horsepower fan moves more air.

VENTRY Fans are quiet. Click to enlarge.

Above: Fire fighters sit and chat next to a running VENTRY Fan. Click image to view full photo or click here to go to the gallery.

TRUE STORY: We once had a fire department call us and complain that their VENTRY Fan was not working very well. Why did they think that? The VENTRY Fan was not making “enough noise!” They just assumed that to be effective, fans also had to be painfully loud. Not true! Not with VENTRY!

Noise is NOT beneficial!

Arguments have been made that fan noise...

can be comforting to firefighters in a structure, helping them find the exit if they become disoriented and letting interior crews know when ventilation is working
should not be of much concern to communications because IC should not be that close to the incident

Have you ever heard of a firefighter (or anyone else) asking for a tool to make more noise? Due to reverberation within the structure, it can be very difficult to ascertain a noise's direction and can increase the interior crew's disorientation! We recommend turning on the VENTRY Fan Safety Light instead relying on noise. A light at the end of the tunnel guiding you out of the structure is much more comforting than a painful racket.

On the second point, fan noise can definitely interfere with communications and should simply be minimized wherever possible. Crews are often near the fan and must be able to hear.

Reduced noise levels are just one of many benefits of VENTRY Safety Propellers. For more about our props, click here.