Laguna 3HP p|flux

[mark mcfarlane]

I'm wondering if wrapping the cyclone itself in some sound absorbing/deadening material would help...

Sound insulators like Rockwool and OC 703/705 are also heat insulators. If you mean wapping the body of the cyclone, that is probably safe, but I suspect most of the noise is coming from the motor and impeller, which would probably overheat if tightly wrapped. I'm guessing on this.

[James Gunning]

The barrel of the cyclone and the housing around the impeller don't seem to generate any significant amount of heat, and could be wrapped in sound deadening. The motor needs ventilation to keep cool. At least judging by mine. The bulk of the noise is generated by the aerodynamic flow thought the impeller. In essence, the impeller is an inefficient siren. If it was made to the right proportions and closer internal clearances it could function as an air raid siren. I'm pretty sure that absorbing the sound is the only practical method of quieting a blower. Anything else will lessen the airflow and make it less efficient.

[Todd Hyman]

I have a question about the remote control. I bought the 2hp Cflux and its a great unit but I'm having issues trying to get the remote control to work. The directions on how to program it aren't very good. I too have contacted Laguna Customer Service and Adam has been great with this issue but it still isn't working. They sent me a replacement remote and i just received a replacement motor switch assemble. I haven't swapped this out yet but just curious if anyone else has had an issue with this.

Thanks

[Van Huskey]

Testing the loudness of a device in an anechoic chamber is a fairly standard practice. I suspect that is what the Laguna rep meant when he said 'sound proof room'. The test room eliminates reflected energy, which would make measurements from different vendors incomparable if they all tested in a different kind of room.

I seriously doubt Laguna booked time for anechoic room measurements. As I have said before SPL levels for machines are useless unless all the factors including distance, weighting and space factors are disclosed. Since most of the machines we buy don't have to meet any industry regulations or standards for sound emissions we are somewhat stuck. If any manufacturer touts a SPL 3-4dB lower (or more) than similar competing machines list it is likely not comparable. As far as cyclones go if you want any significant sound reduction they have to be physically isolated from the work area.

Laguna could have worked backwards from the acoustic load that the DC was measured in to produce the 4pi steradians loading of a anechoic chamber but that is just dumb since a DC is never going to be floating in space. The problem for sound is many cyclones or placed in a corner with the motor/blower very close to three intersecting walls thus pi/2 steradians (or eighth space) which really reinforces the sound. I noticed Laguna used egg crate "acoustic" foam, I need to do a spectral analysis of the sound from a cyclone but my guess is the absorption coefficient of the egg crate foam is poor in the portions of the spectrum cyclones create.

[Mark Ekis]

Hello everyone. I am considering purchasing this p|flux unit for my shop. I notice that the three dust inlets and the drum exit to the left of the machine with the control panel facing the operator. This doesn't work well with my shop layout. Is it possible to rotate it 180 and install the control panel on the opposite side so it is still facing the operator? Thanks.

[Mike Konobeck]

Remote: The RF frequencies are sensitive to fluorescent lights. If you have a bunch of them in your shop that could be an issue. Not sure but guessing. Just a thought. If you can roll your machine outside or leave the lights off for a test that may rule that out.

Panel Location: It can't be moved. It is fixed to one side. I have been troubleshooting some dust blow by issues and they asked for me to rotate the inlet back too because somehow that makes a difference. It doesn't make sense how rotating the whole thing can possibly make a difference. But my point is that you will likely be stuck with the configuration that makes the least sense in a shop. Most of us put it against a wall and would want the inlets to face out. If it is tied into a ducting system then if you want to see the panel then it has to be kept to the right of the main trunk. Ideally it would be in a separate room and then it doesn't matter but the features of the p|flux are useless over the c|flux. It would have them to put the lights for restricted airflow and drum full on the remote.

[Rick Swartwood]

Thank You for this information. I was entertaining the idea of a P Flux 2hp. I have a pre-stressed 3 stall garage and it is an echo chamber. This makes me nervous that it would be way to loud in there. hmmmm... I may have to step up and go Oneida V3000 instead. Thank you for this write up and information. it was helpful.

[Jim Andrew]

My cyclone is in my storage room, which really cuts down on the noise, and venting outside sends a lot of the noise outside as well.