My kitchen and a refrigerator are above the basement, where my listening room is, and the noise from the fridge's motor is transmitted through the walls and the ceiling. Any ideas, how to isolate the fridge from the floor?
I'm confused. If you were to use an Isolation Transformer on a refrigerator wouldn't you just be purifying the power used by it? Wouldn't the fridge still be on the same power grid it is plugged into? I thought power re generators were the ones that took a piece of equipment off of the grid?
The distance between A/C units in a split system will not affect the efficiency of the unit unless the length is over 100 feet. Copper line sizes are compensated for distance. Split A/C systems are designed and factory charged for up to 50' of copper lines between units. When the copper line sizes are increased for a run over a 50' Freon would need to be added. If the line size was not increased for a distance over 50' then efficiency would suffer.
Ductless splits are the exception, 35 feet max, anything over that distance would affect efficiency.
Moving the A/C unit could solve the problem but the longer the lines the less efficient the A/C is. But a small trade off for the solution you seek. If you do have it mived have a extra thick concrete platform poured. That will help in vibration. One thing to answer your question is, yes the a/c unit needs to be level, and isolating the tranfer lines from the wall pass thru will help too.
Why don't you just have the condencing unit moved to a new location? All they have to do is: 1. Pump the system down, close off the service ports and cut the lines. 1a. All freon is pumped into condencer so you do not lose any. 2. Extend the refigeration lines. 3. Move the electrical disconnect or extend the whip from the electrical disconnect if the unit is not moved too far. 3a. Extend thermostat wire. 4. Evacuate the lines to air handler. 5. Open condencers lines. 6. Add freon maybe, could need a half pound if it is moved further than a few feet or if you were low. I know this sounds like a lot of work but it can be done in about 4 hours, easy.
You could also have a tech come out with the types of pads that WE use to see if it helps. We use differant types and amounts of isolators depending on the load.
This could also be the line set from the condencer to the air handler vibrating. They may not be supported correctly. If that is the case, isolators will not help. Try having someone hold the lines outside, lightly pulling up and or pushing down to see if that minimizes or changes the noise, I do mean lightly. you do not want to crimp the lines. Email me so we may talk if you are interested. I do this work for a living. hvac/e = hevac1
PTM, The noise is strictly mechanical in nature and is coming from the AC unit, located outside of the house, close to the basement wall, where my speakers are
Electrically I would suggest putting an Audio Prism Quiet Line filter on the fridge outlet. That does help keep the grunge from the fridge off the house line.
As for mechanical isolation I would suggest looking at the same things that you use in an audio system ... sorbothane pucks and such under the culprit, additional bracing in the floorboards and support struts, etc.
Theo, thanks for the info. I'm certain now it's the AC unit, that's causing the problem. The noise in the basement is VERY loud. I can put my hand on the wall and feel the vibration. I tried rubber and cork pads under the AC unit- no difference, noise is still there. One thing though- it doesn't seem to be level. Could that exacerbate the problem? I was thinking of putting the unit in a sand box, sitting on the top of the concrete platfom, it's sitting on now. The other thing is the lines going from AC into the house. The hole in the wall, the lines go through, is filled with some kind of elastic material, which seems to be dried out. Do you think the lines can transmit significant amount of vibration?
Maril555 that A/C unit is most likely sitting on a concrete covered foam platform that HVAC companies use when doing installs. They dig down about 2-3" and through some sand down to work this foam platform down into it and level it. There really should be no transmission of vibration from mthe unit to the house except through the refridgerant lines. It really is de-coupled from the house. As far as the refidgerator. I would try to have a freind tip the "empty" appliance forward and use one of those "grabbers" you see in some hardware stores for people to reach items on upper shelves, and place the pads under each rear corner. Then lift the front and slide the pads under each front corner. Just a suggestion.
Upon further investigation, it appears, that vibration noise is coming from the AC unit located outside of the house, next to the wall, where my system is. Initially I thought, that it couldn't be the culprit, since the AC unit sits on the concrete platform, that is simingly is not connected to the basement wall, but maybe I just cannot see the whole platform, since it covered with soil, and it is somehow is transmitting to the house. I will try pads under the AC and see what happens. The fridge is a little tricky- it is squeezed in b/w the kitchen cabinets, so it's unclear, how I should put pads under it? I will have to wheel it out of that space, then put pads inder it, and then what? How do I move it back into the space? Engineers here- need ideas. I'm clueless. I only have one idea sofar, actually two- one, is to put sliders under the pads, two is to put pads on the floor, then put a sheet of peg board, ot plywood on the top, and then wheel the fridge on the top of the plywood/peg board.
We had a gas fridge on our boat a long time ago. It ran on bottled alcohol and needed a flame. I house unit could probably be plugged in for the heat source. Our boat unit? give it 24 hours untouched and it'd freeze stuff solid. I didn't appear to have a 'speed' control
No fan is nice, but no compressor would be better.
I checked out the Liebherr 'fridges when we were looking for a new one. They are very nice German products, but a bit unconventional in that they are very tall and don't fit in the average American space allocation for refrigerators. They have no fan motors, so they are quiet. Performance comes at a price though, starting a $5,000 for the least expensive unit at the retailer I consulted.
my <1year old fridge is LOTS quieter than the 20 year old GE it replaced...and has cut my electric bill by about 50kwh per month while being about 10% more capacity.
IF your current fridge is more than about 10 years old, and IF the sound deadening ideas don't cut it, you may consider a new box.
On my brothers boat, he sometimes will put a small (2kw) generator on the upper deck. Adding a 2thick of those large foam floor tiles made it work and cut genset noise drastically. Tiles available at any 'home despot' type store.
it's true that you can spend megabucks on super-quiet (always European) fridges, but recent vintage, energy-efficient domestic ones can be quiet enough (+ cheap) to fix your problem.
in terms of upgrades, if you can't fix the problem with isolation (like feet or cork), buying a quieter fridge is pretty cheap - you might even find one for free on Craigslist. I have a 7 or 8 y.o. kenmore that's extremely quiet - the neighbors gave it away when they remodeled their kitchen - and it's much quieter than my previous one.
I did a search on the most quiet Fridge around and this name continually pops up every time. Might be the best upgrade you ever made...
Liebherr is the worldwide leader in premium refrigeration.
With over 50 years of experience in cooling, the German manufacturer sets the pace with continuous product innovation and a proactive approach to responsible manufacturing.
Liebherr brings fresh, European design to the North American marketplace, providing outstanding built-in, freestanding, and fully integrated refrigeration and an extensive selection of wine storage units.
Depending on the age of the fridge, you may have some compressor mounts that need replaced and that could reduced the transmission of sound. Also try foam insulation in the ceiling below the fridge if accessable. If not accessable try drilling a hole in the floor in the middle of the fridge footprint area and blow in insulation either foam or dry type. That patch for the hold won't be visible unless the fridge is out.
Here's what I do. I have my fridge plugged into a light timer (Home Depot)with a on/off switch. When I do critical listening I hit the switch. So for about an hour no fridge. When turned on it only losses 2-3 degrees. At 2 hrs it losses 5-7 degrees. Which is not alot. Just remember to turn it back on.
at lowes they have some rubber blocks that people put under washing machines to keep them from walking across the room due to vibration. they are about 30 bucks for 4. at the aircondtioning contractor supply they have the cork and rubber pads in sheets. maybe these would accomplish something. or just put the volume knob up to high[er].. i have a similar problem with room air conditioners and fans. i love to listen with no noise from anything but the stereo. good luck
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