Does anyone have any ideas on how to dampen or isolate the noise from a dust collector? I envision something like soundproofing curtains. Thanks, JM
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Soundproofing
- Thread starter John McAlevey
- Start date
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
In my friends shop, they put them in closets.The problem with attempting to enclose them is they have to be able to exhaust as much air as they suck in.
- Joined
- May 16, 2005
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Isolate from ??
Best option going is for the operator to wear ear defenders. With the exception of the lathe or bandsaw, almost any tool you're using will be louder/closer than the DC anyway.
With a ten-foot hose on mine, and a rating of 80 Db @ 3 feet, I can cut the sound by a factor of four by sliding it as far away from the lathe as possible. Behind a panel is even better.
For the folks upstairs, a ceiling with isolation in the form of weatherstripping between the panels and joists, and fiberglass in the gap between them is pretty good. Just the combination of distance and carpeting seems to work well. SWMBO says she doesn't mind the noise, because she knows where I am.
Best option going is for the operator to wear ear defenders. With the exception of the lathe or bandsaw, almost any tool you're using will be louder/closer than the DC anyway.
With a ten-foot hose on mine, and a rating of 80 Db @ 3 feet, I can cut the sound by a factor of four by sliding it as far away from the lathe as possible. Behind a panel is even better.
For the folks upstairs, a ceiling with isolation in the form of weatherstripping between the panels and joists, and fiberglass in the gap between them is pretty good. Just the combination of distance and carpeting seems to work well. SWMBO says she doesn't mind the noise, because she knows where I am.
I built a cabinet around mine with fiberglass insulation and sheet rock for walls. It stops just above the top of the DC. On the top of the cabinet I have two exhaust openings that hold standard 20x20 furnace filters. I stack two regular filters first and then one of those high efficency allergen filters. This not only muffles the noise but also helps add one more layer of filtering of the air returning to the shop. You only have one set of lungs and ears, do anything you can to protect them!
John,
As Steve suggested a closet will work best. Use Homasote for the walls because it absorbs the sound better than sheet rock. You can purchase it at your local home center. Insulate between the Homasote walls with foam insulation if possible. And make certain to have enough air supply and adaquate exhaust.
I have a cyclone in a 4' x 5' closet with an 8" exhaust outlet. I used Homasote inside and outside the closet with fiberglass insulation between the walls. I am quite certain the form insulation would work better. Draw fresh air from outdoors and vent the exhaust outdoors and you will be in good shape. You don't have to vent outdoors but it does reduce the noise even more and keeps the shop cleaner.
Good luck.
Ed
As Steve suggested a closet will work best. Use Homasote for the walls because it absorbs the sound better than sheet rock. You can purchase it at your local home center. Insulate between the Homasote walls with foam insulation if possible. And make certain to have enough air supply and adaquate exhaust.
I have a cyclone in a 4' x 5' closet with an 8" exhaust outlet. I used Homasote inside and outside the closet with fiberglass insulation between the walls. I am quite certain the form insulation would work better. Draw fresh air from outdoors and vent the exhaust outdoors and you will be in good shape. You don't have to vent outdoors but it does reduce the noise even more and keeps the shop cleaner.
Good luck.
Ed
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John,
My basement shop has a partial common wall with the garage. Therefore I located the DC (1200 cfm) out there. Shop is quite, except when a saw or the planer is running. Winter drawback is that it removes a bunch of heat from the house proper. Have a friend who made a moveable box to surround his cyclone DC located in his shop. 3-sided deal that latches to the wall. Used Homesote panels inside a 2x3 frame, and an inside surface of 4" glass wool insulation stapled on. Does a pretty good job of silencing, but he says he has to replace the wool every year because it gets loaded with the extreme fine dust.
M
My basement shop has a partial common wall with the garage. Therefore I located the DC (1200 cfm) out there. Shop is quite, except when a saw or the planer is running. Winter drawback is that it removes a bunch of heat from the house proper. Have a friend who made a moveable box to surround his cyclone DC located in his shop. 3-sided deal that latches to the wall. Used Homesote panels inside a 2x3 frame, and an inside surface of 4" glass wool insulation stapled on. Does a pretty good job of silencing, but he says he has to replace the wool every year because it gets loaded with the extreme fine dust.
M
Thanks for all the good ideas. I have found some expensive soundproofing material $200+ for a 4' x 8' sheet. That would get very expensive fast. I know there must be an acoustic foam made that is used in recording studios. Also these days factories isolate machines from the operators to control noise. I do of course use ear defenders when using jointer, planer, table saw etc. It is when I am sanding on the lathe and wearing a face shield that my dust collector noise bothers me most. Has anyone ever wondered why no one seems to make and sell a full face shield with ear defenders attached? JM
John McAlevey said:
John,
The Airstream powered shield and helmet has hearing protecters.
M
I agree that Homasote would work better, but they no longer sell it anywhere near us. Seems that it doesn't hold up well in the humid south. I am in the video production business and we have fiberglass batts in all of our sound studio walls (behind the echo-producing sheet rock) because it is much better at absorbing sound than foam board. Although since foam is more dense it stops the transmission of sound fairly good it is too dense to actually absorb sound, so it kind of depends on actual application. I recirculate all my air because my 2 hp. DC will suck all the air-conditioned air out of my nice cool shop in a hurry. One real advantage to a sealed closet with air-filters (see my first reply above) is the amount of additional dust it traps. I have a nice Jet canister filter but the additional air filters trap a lot of very fine dust that othewise would be in my lungs.
Today I mentioned this thread to a friend at work that also does a lot of turning and has a noisy DC. He wants to build a closet like mine but has not had the time, so he took some old packing blankets and hung them around the DC. Several layers with some space between them, fastened some 2x4's to the ceiling and stapled the blankets to both sides hanging all the way to the floor. It's far from airtight or anything but it's amazing how much it cuts down the noise. Just a thought until you have time to engineer the perfect enclosure :cool2:
Today I mentioned this thread to a friend at work that also does a lot of turning and has a noisy DC. He wants to build a closet like mine but has not had the time, so he took some old packing blankets and hung them around the DC. Several layers with some space between them, fastened some 2x4's to the ceiling and stapled the blankets to both sides hanging all the way to the floor. It's far from airtight or anything but it's amazing how much it cuts down the noise. Just a thought until you have time to engineer the perfect enclosure :cool2:
In regard to Homasote, made in Trenton, NJ. It is generally not shipped to areas of either high humidity, or high termite activity. It doesn't stand up well to either one. It is made from newspapers. Think of it as thick slabs of paper mache with very minor amounts of fungicide, and insecticide included, but not enough to be toxic to humans.
I remember in scouts working paper drives to collect newspaper to sell to them. It was worthwhile back then to drive the 30 mile round trip from Princeton with a pickup load.
JimQ
I remember in scouts working paper drives to collect newspaper to sell to them. It was worthwhile back then to drive the 30 mile round trip from Princeton with a pickup load.
JimQ