Best Inline Fans in 2022: How to Choose the Right Fans for Grow Tents

 Growing plants in a tent requires proper ventilation. We’ll show you how to find the best inline fans for grow tent ventilation. Check out the best options for quiet operation, powerful air flow and long-term durability. We’ll also showcase affordable options for growers on a budget.

What is an inline fan

You’ve probably seen growers use fans before — in most displays, growers will have several oscillating clip fans to move the air and mimic the wind. But what is an inline fan and what does it do?

Inline fans are cylindrical fans that are introduced into your grow tent to create healthy airflow and bring fresh air to your plants. They also play a very important role in controlling the temperature and humidity of the grow tent.

Recessed duct fans are usually placed around the ceiling of the tent and connected to the duct. Their main purpose is to remove heat and moisture from outside the tent so that it does not negatively affect the plants. Used in conjunction with a carbon filter, the in-line fan provides your plants with an optimal growing climate while removing all unwanted odors.

Benefits for Grow Tent Fans

Now, let’s take a brief look at the advantages of using grow tent fans in your indoor garden.

Grow tent fans provide fresh air
The main purpose of grow tent fans is to provide fresh air to the canopy.

Indoor plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and other essential functions. Without fresh air, your plants may lose their vitality and grow slowly.

As humans, we strive to breathe fresh air — especially if you live in a crowded city full of smog. Your plant crop needs the same desire — to consume fresh air to reach its full potential.

The main purpose of grow tent fans is to provide fresh air to the canopy.

Grow Tent Fans Reduce Chances of Mold in Gardens
Whether you grow one or a dozen plants, mold or mildew is very likely.

In most cases, mold and mildew occur when plant leaves come into contact with each other. Therefore, you will need to use grow tent fans to constantly blow fresh air throughout the canopy to keep the leaves moving.

Therefore, products such as swing fans or clip fans are the cultivator’s secret weapon against mildew and mildew.

Grow tent fans reduce heat build-up
Whether you grow with HPS or LEDs, your grow tent will experience heat build-up.

Inline and axial booster fans work with ducts to direct hot air out of the grow room. Using a ducted ventilation system will get hot air out before it becomes a problem for the plant crop.

Inline and axial booster fans work with ducts to direct hot air out of the grow room.

Grow tent fans increase stem strength of indoor plants
One of the most overlooked aspects of grow tent fans is that they strengthen indoor plants.

Indoor plants grown without air circulation are often fragile and can easily break once placed outside. However, indoor plants grown in windy environments (either naturally or by fans) produce thicker stems and can easily adapt to harsh weather patterns.

Once harvest time comes, you’ll be glad you used a grow tent fan to strengthen these stems, as they can easily handle a few ounces of top buds.

ECO Farm 6 Inch In-line Fan Exhaust and Intake Fan for Grow Room

Features:

The ECO Farm inline fan has a heavy-hitting blower with a fan speed of 2550 RPM for an airflow of 390 CFM. Moves air through your target location efficiently for optimal ventilation. A powerful fan puts out only 50 dB noise level. Tight, precise construction eliminates rattling and reduces wear and tear to give the element a long life. The aerodynamically designed centrifugal impeller of this unit delivers strong airflow with a disproportionately low sound profile. Ideal for cooling lighting fixtures or controlling hot and humid conditions in grow tents/rooms.

HURRICANE Inline Duct Fan for Grow Room

Features:

The Hurricane Inline fan is undoubtedly the best inline fan for large grow tents and rooms. For an inline fan that has a CFM rating of about 1060, it’s definitely more than enough for most of the large-sized grow tents on the market. Its build quality is appreciable, no doubt, as it is made with a combination of high-quality materials. The fan is made from steel and dons a finish that looks like a powder-coated finish. This fan is available in different sizes ranging from 4-inches all the way to 12-inches. Similarly, the CFM rating of the respective fans increases from 171 all the way to 1060. This Hurricane inline fan lacks controls of its own — you can’t control the speed and the climate.

Can-Fan Max Fan Pro 6" Mixed Flow Inline Fan 420 CFM

Features:

The Max-Fan® Pro Series is even more efficient and stronger than the original Max-Fan® design. The Max-Fan® Pro Series has a much more robust housing due to the fiberglass reinforced plastic compounds that meet all of the UL and CSA requirements. The fans have three control speeds for true performance. These fans run quieter than the Max-Fan®. The fans come with the EZ Mount™ bracket for easy mounting.

How Do You Choose the Best Grow Tent Fan?

Before you buy a grow tent fan — you must answer a few essential questions to ensure you find the perfect product for your needs.

How Much Circulating Power Does Your Grow Room Need?
Whether you need to ventilate or circulate the air in your grow tent — you’ll need to understand CFM.

CFM stands for cubic feet per minute. Overall, CFM is the standard measurement for cultivators because it represents the amount of air that must be exchanged or circulated per minute.

For inline fans that are bringing in fresh air and exhausting hot air out — you need to perform a few equations to get the desired CFM rating.

Measure your grow tent by its length x width x height.

Once done — you’ll have your base CFM requirement. However, inline fans are typically connected to ducting, carbon filters, and other growing equipment, which requires more CFM.

In general, you should multiply your base CFM by 3 to get the ballpark figure of your ideal CFM coverage. In the case of a 4×4 grow tent, you should have at least 210 CFM to ensure adequate air exchange.

Here’s an example CFM calculation. Don’t forget to multiply the final area by 3.

What is Your Preferred Budget Range?

Grow tent fans for gardens typically cost between $20–200.

As you can see — there is a large price gap. However, not all grow tent fans are created equal. Overall, inline fans cost more than small clip-on fans. Alternatively, high-quality oscillating fans may cost more than heavy-duty inline fans.

Do You Require Air Circulation or Overall Air Ventilation?

Another important consideration is determining if you need complete ventilation or air circulation.

Air circulation is accomplished with the help of an oscillating fan, stationary fan, or clip-on fan. Each of these products is meant to blow air across the canopy to guard against mold and stagnant air.

Alternatively, air ventilation is the complete circulating system that brings fresh air in and hot air out. The primary products to create an efficient ventilation system are the inline fan and axial booster fan.

Both the axial booster fan and inline fan are connected to ducting, carbon filters, lighting systems, and other pieces of equipment to work in a seamless and efficient fashion.

Buying a grow tent fan becomes a relatively simple process once you determine the purpose of the product.

Air ventilation is the complete circulating system that brings fresh air in and hot air out.

Considering Your Grow Tent Fan Options

As you can see — there are many types of grow tent fans and even more available products.

Conclusion

The sheer number of fans on the market can make it difficult to make a buying decision. Be careful or you’ll buy a poor quality fan, such as a noisy fan with low airflow. All of the fans we’ve featured are perfect for your houseplants. You can choose one of these for your houseplants.