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Thread: Return Air Baffle for CV1800

  1. #1

    Return Air Baffle for CV1800

    I’ve been designing a closet for my CV1800 for a few months trying to find a way to make it fit in my little garage and I think I have finally cracked it. My only concern is with the return air baffle I designed.

    Garage is air conditioned so return air is a must. I’ve read so many posts about closets on this forum alone but just want some outside opinions.

    In the attached pics you will see the closet and the air baffle I am currently planning on. Nothing is built yet.

    The interior dimensions for the air baffle are as follows: 26” wide x 3.25” tall. The air path has (4) 90 degree turns. Does this look like it will work for me?

    CDF2B791-0B88-4B75-ACF1-7556B9181D24.jpgC7C62D56-543C-4702-A3D8-0F7566E738C6.jpg70894F52-1128-4A0A-B6CD-2864E2DABC0C.jpg

  2. #2
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    Can you line the interior walls with something soft and fluffy? That will absorb high frequency sounds. For instance https://www.distributioninternationa...glass-blankets

  3. #3
    Oh yeah there’s quite a bit more going on inside the closet than pictured. I’m going to purchase a scratch and dent prehung door. Steel or fiberglass insulated. I’m going with a layer of 5/8” drywall on the two corner walls which already have 5/8” drywall installed and insulated. On the Inside of the same corner I’m thinking of using some mass loaded vinyl possibly or foam. Not sure yet.

    As for the two portions either side of the door frame I’m going with 3” insulation, again haven’t decided yet. I am planning to line the interior with pegboard rough side facing out. A guy named Jim I think did that on his. Also borrowed his air baffle design and tweaked it to work with my setup. Thanks Jim. Exterior portions double layer of 5/8 drywall. Green glue sandwiched in between.

    I’m going up to my existing ceiling that already insulated and has 5/8” drywall. Planning to seal it up good and pray that makes a noticeable difference and if it doesn’t I’ll be back on here hoping for some ideas. I’d like to use some of this stuff but it’s not in my budget. I could afford 1 sheet but no more.

  4. #4
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    Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant for you to line the baffle.

  5. #5
    Oh never thought of that. I was checking out the link you provided see what all they had. If I do line the baffle do you think it will restrict the air flow?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bryan Cleveland View Post
    Oh never thought of that. I was checking out the link you provided see what all they had. If I do line the baffle do you think it will restrict the air flow?
    Yeah, all that other stuff you've mentioned acts upon sound which is already has to be fighting its way through walls and floors and such. In contrast, the return air baffle has unobstructed passage for sound. So treating as best you can is a good thing.

    The lining would be reducing the cross sectional area of the baffle, so that's an issue worth considering. Without any lining the baffle has a cross section of 26x3.25. With, say, 1/2" thick lining, you'd be down to a cross section of 25 x 2.25. The cross section area is then 56 square inches. If your main duct into the closet is 6" diameter, its cross section is 28 square inches. That is, the dominant air resistance in your system would still be the input ducting, not the baffle at the exit.

  7. #7
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    Or maybe you could move the baffle to that wall below the input duct. That would seem to offer a lot more space than the above-door location, so you could make the baffle cross section bigger.

    But I gotta admit I'm concerned about wrestling the cyclone into place. Mine is smaller than yours, and it was quite a fight. Maybe you make the baffle removeable -- that shouldn't be too hard. Then you can install it after the cyclone, and uninstall it if you need to pull the cyclone out.

  8. #8
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    My return air passes thru 2 12 x 24 filters , trying to keep the mini split as clean as I can .

  9. #9
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    I don’t have a return baffle but I do have a filter plenum. I lined that with old shag carpet as recommended to reduce noise. I don’t think it made a ton of difference. But my cyclone is in an upstairs attic so most of the noise is already filtered by the ceiling.
    The Plane Anarchist

  10. #10
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    That's not unlike the solution I did at my old shop and will do something along the same lines for the new shop. One suggestion is for you to put it down low to further reduce any direct noise transfer. Right now it's parked in front of the motor and blower and while the baffle will substantially reduce the sound anyway, you may get a better result with it farther down on the wall or farther up in the ceiling.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #11
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    Nice design on the baffle. For the baffle in our shop, we glued and screwed some wall-to-wall pile carpeting (about 3/8-1/2" thick) to the inside walls. Doesn't take up much interior volume and seems to have worked well in damping the noise a bit further than without it.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    That's not unlike the solution I did at my old shop and will do something along the same lines for the new shop. One suggestion is for you to put it down low to further reduce any direct noise transfer. Right now it's parked in front of the motor and blower and while the baffle will substantially reduce the sound anyway, you may get a better result with it farther down on the wall or farther up in the ceiling.
    Jim it was your design I took from. I will play around with my 3d model and try putting it on either side of door frame. Guess as long as I stay larger than the outlet on the blower housing I should be fine.

    I made the entire shop layout on my iPad using shaper3d. So far everything I’ve designed and built or had built has been right on. Ok y’all get back to you after work.

  13. #13
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    Bryan, the information about sizing I've seen in the Australian Woodworking Forum (lots of information on dust collection) is to shoot for a baffle area that is 2x or greater than the outlet from your blower housing. Also, one advantage to keeping the intake for your baffle up high will be that air inside you closet will be forced up and around the motor to help with cooling the motor.

  14. #14
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    I would find a way to incorporate a cheep dust filter. The clearvue will pick up most dust but the clean air will still move the air in the closet which im sure will be dusty.

  15. #15
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    By the time you line the return air with 1" acoustic duct liner (definitely want to do that) you will not have a lot of cross sectional area. With that many bends, I would want to have at least 2X the area of the inlet, more if possible. My return is 29.5" x 12" (or there about) and has a 90* and 2 45* bends. It works very well. Yours will block even more sound.

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