HVAC - How to Make a Return Air Grille "Shut Up"

[patkake77]

Safety is always first place.

[ErickWheeler]

Insulate the box, paint the inside black, and put an elbow on the flex. Then you can talk about how great you are.

[Atrain12200530]

Where is the air filter? Where is your insulation on the R/A box? Oh yeah, wiss tools SUCK!

[3kainos]

Your drill is so narcissistic - seriously!

[abeegailgee]

How to install a window air unit

[duffaukid]

Great work and it is defiitely quieter. Mic is 6' away on first and next to grill in end.

[dslgunner1977]

Very nice job with cutting the hole free-hand!

[hvacdude81]

Dude it still sounds the same... Hit rewind and watch.

[50target50]

I would have painted the inside of he plenum flat black.Now that would be a perfect install...

[MrLastyme]

WOW VERY NICE FREE HANDED CUT I LIKE THOSE STICKY BACK COLLERS

[djmk3d]

Awesome!

[nickfkd76]

nice job cuttin that hole free handed.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@nickfkd76 My first boss was a sheet metal craftsman. I'm nowhere near as good as he was but I learned that cutting a neat hole reduced my risk of getting cut.

[MentalE100]

@nickfkd76 he didn't cut the hole 'free handed', he used a pair of dividers that he showed you to scribe a hole in the metal that is very hard to see on camera

[paydapiper]

u old fags should do something better than winning i work for a hvac co and hate u fags

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@paydapiper "Winning"? Really? Nice Charlie Sheen reference. Did you mean to write 'whining'? Congratulations on having a job with an HVAC contractor. Maybe you'll post a few videos and show us 'old fags' how it's done. Thanks for commenting and have a nice day.

[theone70529]

@paydapiper I would rather listen to an old fag who might know what he is talking about rather than listening to a snot nose filled little punk turning tricks to make a living like yourself.

[themaddrummer6996]

nice work but what about using an accoustic liner or at least insulating the box in the attic?

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@themaddrummer6996 I insulated the outside of the new box in the attic. I didn't video it because it looked horrible! The acoustic lining is a waste of time if you're trying to cut down on air noise. Duct liner is good for damping the sounds of sheet metal expanding/contracting ('popping'). The only thing I regret is not having black spray paint to take the shine off the new box.

[Nutintoitbut2doit]

Hay 5tank, like that sheet metal work, Wiss rocks. You made it look easy my friend.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@Nutintoitbut2doit I've used Wiss for 25 years. Sheet metal isn't difficult when you have a plan!

[Nutintoitbut2doit]

@PutSome5tankOnIt My plans never work for me lol. I would never run my finger on my sheet metal cuts lol.

[fritzhvac]

5:30 Attention Hor !!! ROFL ... I love it Makita Impact RULES !!!

Great Video 5tank !!!

[MrJohanasBilderberg]

Duct board is a wonderful thing.

I do not miss sheet metal at all.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@MrJohanasBilderberg I love duct board as much as sheet metal. Both have a well-deserved place in the industry.

[ThePohto]

@PutSome5tankOnIt duct board should be outlawed its nasty shit to breath in it has no place in the industry..

[unicursalhex]

God I do nice work haha

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@unicursalhex Yes, I do.

[jasonisunavailable]

good video, enjoyed.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@jasonisunavailable Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!

[worlddemize]

that wasn't bad but it took you long enough . complaining about the heat in So Cal please try doing that in Vietnam / Florida . but anyways great job Supertech. whats next from your HVAC catalog .? can you show the viewers how to make 45's and 90 's ? I'll be posting some video's soon on how we BUTCHER things down South . And what to do when those pesky customers dont wanna PAY UP QUICK ! I'll also show you how to make BUDWEISER BOX plenums for when you run outta board or metal . Stay Tuned !

[worlddemize]

why are you posting this who cares ? jeez man everybody is a SUPERTECH these days aye ?

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@worlddemize SUPERTECH? Really?

[erazman]

instead of doing shit the hard way, did you ever stop to think that you just need to balance your system? noisy returns are usually a pretty big symptom

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@erazman You're absolutely right. One central return for this system. Redistributing supply air would've made this return quieter. Thanks for the advice.

[tstatech]

I prefer Malco snips and other sheet metal tools. I also like my left and rights with the handles that stand up instead of the standard handles that are in line with the jaws. Great for cutting holes in joist spaces.

Agree with the sharpie. I scribe almost everything. I hate having ink on my tools and hands.

Been a while since I have seen a spin in. All the supply houses here only carry tab in collars.

The grille needs to be larger. Under 300 fpm and you won't hear it.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@tstatech I've purchased and used Malco tools. Nothing wrong with them. I happen to prefer Wiss. I agree with needing a larger grille. But I was told to fix it on the cheap. I was taught how to install spin collars from Day One. I made them myself in the shop and we rolled our own spin elbows, too. Quality sheet metal work has gone the way of the dinosaur in the residential sector. I need to buy my own Pexto.

[TreyLutrash]

Boy I'd love to watch this guy jab his snips into some duct on a commercial job. He won't find any of that tinfoil 28 gauge crap

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@TreyLutrash I don't do industrial HVAC, but I have no problem piercing the 22 gauge jacket on a furnace with snips. I'll cut the hole almost as fast as a guy with power shears and twice as neat.

[TreyLutrash]

@PutSome5tankOnIt Try a hole cutter. I can zip through a hole faster and it's much more accurate for spin in's

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@TreyLutrash I don't like the burrs left behind by the bit of a holecutter. Nothing is more accurate than a pair of dividers for scribing a round hole. Cutting and flanging a neat square (or rectangular) opening still has to be done by hand. Every sheet metal mechanic needs to learn the proper techniques for cutting metal.

[powdernate]

yes you ran your finger around the cut hole now run it the other direction and see how brave you are. other then that great video, that is how every HVAC installer should do it.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

@powdernate I ran my finger along the edge in the same direction I was cutting. Think about it... a fish tail woulda snagged my finger. Regardless, glad you liked my display of sheet metal skill. I don't know many guys who would run a finger around a hole they cut. Even fewer know how to work with spin collars.

[ShyBoy13]

@PutSome5tankOnIt

weak... spin in collars are horrible... only time a spin in collar is used is when connects spiral to an FSD... other than that... any UNION SHEET METAL WORKER knows how to install spin in collars... we are taught that when we enter the apprenticeship program

[ShyBoy13]

i mean connecting***

[twittyk78]

umm . they make high velocity returun grills so you dont need to do that crap . go get one from your local johnstone

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I was told to quiet that return down and don't spend a lot of money doing it. Less than $20 worth of sheet metal and I fabricated it myself.

[leshoffman1]

Hey Put have you ever tried aviation offset snips the best part about them is you don't have to bend the metal to cut. Also Steadman hand tongs were the best on the market but were bought out by Fairmont junk. If you ever owned a pair you wouldn't want anything else. I come from the commercial world you could never cut a whlole like that using 16 gauge metal. Adding the plenum for this repair was defintely the only way togo. I agree with Stinky increasing the duct by one size = no call back

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I've always used the same style of aviation snips. Same brand: Wiss. Twenty-five years is too long to hope to teach this old dog a new trick.

[birdwing98]

I am a cheap bastard engineer and homeowner. In my home I quieted noisy return louver by placing two X's on it using adhesive tape. The tape acts as damper and stops the resonance. Have any of you guys in the A/C trade ever used a silicone caulk applied in lines across the back of the louver? Lay down a bead perpendicular to the louvers, or on a diagonal. Give it a try. PutSome sure is a cocky fellow to rub his finger on that cut sheet metal. I watched video again, didn't see the edit.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I applaud the dos equis solution. I wouldn't get away with that, though. My sheet metal cuts are smooth as silk. It's all in the technique.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

You'll also notice that I ran my finger along the cut in the same direction that I cut with my aviation snips. No fish tails or fish hooks. Not alot of sheet metal guys would dare do that on their own work.

[birdwing98]

I'm a handy homeowner passing along information to cheap bastards like me. I've had trouble sleeping in a friends guest room because of buzzing or humming return air louvers. I went to the medicine cabinet and found J&Johnson "first-aid" tape. Placed tape on the grill in the form of two X's and it got quiet. (continued)

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

The louvers in the video were 'fixed' at 45 degrees. A stamped face grille can be quieted by bending the louvers to within 10 degrees of perpendicular to the grille face.

[StinkyBammerHater]

I would have increased the air duct size and added link so that it would have silenced it without affecting velocity. I have done it before and it worked great. Most guys would have just increased the length of the duct and not the size. Black spray paint would have been great on the inside of that plenum. I use my duct knife to start the holes on a collar :() I like how you take pride in your work. We need more like you.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I was hoping no one would notice that I didn't black-out the inside of that return. Everything about that return should have been bigger: filter grille, duct length and diameter, height of return air plenum.

[StinkyBammerHater]

Of course it doesn't help that the air handler is two feet away from the RA grille. LOL

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I was told to fix the problem as quickly and inexpensively, as possible.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I love my job and I take great pride in my work. I'm also the cockiest son-of-a-bitch that ever posted as video on YouTube.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I hate to have to add tedium, but: link = length. Increasing return air duct diameter would invariably reduce velocity/air speed. Air VOLUME would not be affected, but air speed (feet per second) would be slowed.

[mikenorris76]

God I do nice work!  Gotta love some pride in your work.

[Refrigeratetheworld]

Nice, I have seen some real "engineered" return boxes. I wouldn't mind seeing more of your kind of work out there.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

Thanks for that. I started out in the trade doing custom homes. Rectangular duct... slip and drive connections... two-way change-shape transitions and offsets... radius throated flat and vertical elbows. We even made our own spin collars. Coolest thing I ever made was the stainless steel (backing and covers) housings for the hot water baseboard heating system of an Elk's Lodge kitchen remodel.

[mechanicwarrior20]

nice job

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

Thanks for the compliment.

People appreciate a professional-looking product and most customers don't mind paying a little more for an installation that doesn't look like an abortion. Pride in craftsmanship is a dying sentiment. But... "God... I do nice work!".

[xctome]

LOL at 2:03 when u hit it!

5 stars for the funny part!

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

The plenum was made of 28 gauge sheet metal, so using snips to start the hole was not an issue. It wasn't showmanship. That's how I cut all holes in metal duct.