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FAN FAQ TOPICS:
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.)
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.
