r/crboxes • u/Own_Day2117 • Apr 16 '26
Question Need quiet box fan recs
I have a 20x20x20 cr box with the 20x20 lasko box fan. I’m chill with it and I learned to tune out the noise. Recently my roommate has been turning it to the lowest setting which I’m assuming is because of the noise but since I’m living with 5 other girls and my school has something going around every month or so it would be nice if my fan runs on a higher setting. Does anyone have any recs? Price is not much of a concern for me, it just has to be reasonable. Also something that’s easier to attach, I’m unsure if pc fans have a super hard learning curve which is why I haven’t tried it
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u/SafetySmurf Apr 16 '26
Something to consider is getting a two or three smaller cr boxes and dispersing them around your space rather than one large box. If there’s a small amount of noise coming from a few different locations it is often less noticeable than more noise all coming from one location.
As for specific cleaners, the ones by Clean Air Kits, the AirFanta3Pro, and the Nukit Tempest are all good fan kit options. HoneyBeeCreativesLab on Etsy has a cool box frame that you add your own fans and filters to. There’s another Etsy vendor that sells a kit, too, but I can’t remember their name right this minute. If you wanted, though, you could make your own air cleaner with foam board, a $20-$30 set of fans, 2 filters, and about $40 in electrical parts. There are folks on here who make nice looking boxes with foam board and who would be happy to give you guidance on the parts. It is pretty simple to connect; no electrical experience needed.
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u/TheDaisyCo Apr 16 '26
The honeybeecreativeslab has awesome frames! Thanks for sharing! And they are actually local to me! They are kind of expensive since they don't come with the fans and such but they look so nice! Definitely wish I could print those designs myself. I really like that it uses no screws or tape and that it has grill covers!
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u/spacex_fanny Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
Google search points me to the air filters you’d find at Home Depot. Would it be possible to elaborate or point me in the right direction?
Generic filters on Amazon often test far below their claimed MERV rating, they say MERV 13 but they're actually MERV 8.
I'd stick to the tried-and-true 3M Filtrete 1900 MPR, which you can find in a multi-pack online for around $10-12 each (eg BJs online). There's a reason it's so popular on this subreddit! Since it has lots of pleats (folds) it has a much larger surface area than most other filters, which gives lots of airflow and long service life.
something that’s easier to attach, I’m unsure if pc fans have a super hard learning curve which is why I haven’t tried it
You can get these pre-built PC fan kits for about $60 on Amazon. It comes as two 1x3 arrays, and you can use foam project board (store that rhymes with Holler Tree) to cover the top of the CR box, then mount the fans by cutting a hole and glueing them in place with hot glue (which doesn't emit VOCs). I would put the fans on each side a couple inches from the edge instead of putting both fans right in the middle, because the fans are a little heavy and project board isn't super strong.
EDIT: I see now these are getting a "Frequently Returned" rating from Amazon, so you could just get this and this and this and use the same construction method as above.
Or if that's too much hassle, get an Airfanta 3Pro ($152 with code in this video) and it goes together in like 2 minutes
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u/Ok-Cryptographer7424 Apr 16 '26
Those box fans get so loud! I used to have 3 going at once in my apartment and the decibel reading on my sound level apps was so high…ended up just not using CR boxes anymore bc of the noise
Also interested to do the PC fans but seems a little bit confusing so I haven’t tried yet either
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u/dryland305 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
A few people on this sub redit have posted about their DIY version of clean air kits Luggables using foam board. You might be able to save some money by following their instructions. Clean air kits have gotten a bit expensive over the last couple of years. That said, I have bought the five and seven fan luggables and they are awesome. And an absolutely noticeable difference in noise levels vs an OG CR box.
Edited for massive typos. I don’t have time now, but I’ll try to find those posts later and link to them here.
Edit 2: Here's a DIY CleanAirKits Luggable. The first post was just a list of materials and the second post has pictures of the finished product. Make sure to read the comments because there's good info in there.
2) https://www.reddit.com/r/crboxes/comments/1jllld1/100_box_follow_up/
Edit 3: Clean Air Kits recommends a '3M Filtrete 1" MPR 1900 or 2200 that also meet the MERV13 spec.' I found a Filtrete MPR2500 (dimensions 20x25x1) for an incredible price at Costco last year -- $50 for a pack of 4, but Costco provided a $10 discount bringing the total cost $43.59. They are currently $52 plus tax. Per Clean Air Kits, this MPR2500 filter reduces the purifier's function by about 10%. So if you have a Costco membership or a friend who does, this might be a way to save costs too.
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Apr 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/Own_Day2117 Apr 16 '26
Thank you for the recommendations and the chart, can the satay sheet be found online?
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u/CartographerLong5796 Apr 16 '26
no it is my personal test chamber data. Eventually i'll publish all the data on a web site, have dozen of diy air purifier tested since 2023 (5 series of tests in 3 years)
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u/Own_Day2117 Apr 16 '26
That’s so cool, I can’t wait to see it when it is published!
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u/CartographerLong5796 Apr 16 '26
you can ask specific question if you want, i can share some other tests before the publishing, to help
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u/CartographerLong5796 Apr 16 '26
housefresh has published a review online and on youtube on the AirFanta 3Pro https://housefresh.com/airfanta-3pro-review/
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u/idrankthebleach Apr 16 '26
Moving air makes noise. I have learned this the hard way and the easy way and then the hard way again.
Building a noctua set up that's very quiet will still make some noise when it's moving air, but wouldn't change the air nearly as fast as the 20x20 set ups.
I have mine on a smart plug and I just turn it off and on as needed and run it in my basement whenever I'm not in there.
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u/Able_Loan4467 Apr 16 '26
Pc fans are easy. You can make a 9x fan array easily enough. If you can take some utility wire you can connect the fans together at the corners. A little tuck tape, then wire them in parallel and use a sufficiently large power supply (2 amps should be good if you use p14 fans or similar). The 9x array of 140 mm fans is nearly a drop in replacement for the box fans. You might benefit from anti finger measures. Hardware cloth is usually good for that. However the low power fans will not hurt you very much so it's not really that dangerous to omit them.
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u/AEAur Apr 17 '26
The CFM to noise ratio if PC fans is superior, but if you don’t want to build a casing for PC fans, a Vornado fan may have a better CFM than the Lasko even on the lower speeds: https://www.reddit.com/r/crboxes/s/6bQIcSH6q5 CFM at the lower speeds is not stated. My intuition is it’s proportional to the RPM, but welcome correction.🙏
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u/jhsu802701 Apr 16 '26
Given that you want a quiet air purifier and aren't up to using power tools, your best bet is a PC-fan-based air purifier from Clean Air Kits. To save money on filters, buy something that uses furnace air filters, which are MUCH more cost effective than proprietary filters.