How to make refrigerators quiet

[iskandam]

My HT is in the living room, which shares an open space with the kitchen. The fridge is an old GE model located 15 ft away from the couch. Problem: it's loud.

I tried to measure exactly how loud it is from the sweet spot, but the RS SPL meter only goes down to 60 dB. So definitely less than 60 dB but loud enough to be a problem when listening to music/movies. I've been racking my brain on ways to reduce the noise this thing's been making. And no, I will not consider buying a new one. It has been running perfectly for 16 years and I will keep it until it dies. That money would be better spent getting a bigger HDTV :)

An idea that I've been toying around with is to install a couple of layers of roofing felt on the recessed area that the fridge is in. It has good dampening properties and it's cheap.

Another idea is to isolate it from the floor with something like Herbie's Little Fat Glider (http://herbiesaudiolab.home.att.net/spkrfeet.htm).

Any thoughts on which method is better, or if there are more effective ways of doing this?

[NJPOLKER]

Just unplug it :cool:

[jimsvm]

post some pics of the back of that energy sucker.might help

[dane_peterson]

Is your refrigerator running?












Better go catch it!

[Lasareath]

I bought a new fridge when I bought my house and it makes no noise whatsoever, I've never heard it do anything. It's a GE

[GV#27]

How's about a vocal booth.:) http://www.vocalbooth.com/products/vocal_booth.html

[NJPOLKER]

A lot of great ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[iskandam]

I should add that I typically listen in the 65-70 dB range for both music and movies. When a lot of stuff is happening in action movies (85-95 dB peaks) of course the fridge is a non-issue, but during regular dialog scenes the hum is really annoying.

The DIY acoustic treatment thread has motivated me to start my own DIY project. I'm currently doing research on it and hope to get started next month. Before that happens I'd like to fix this loud fridge problem first.

That vocal booth idea is pure genius, although unfortunately there's not enough room in the recess to accommodate it :D I will post pictures of the recess area and back of the fridge later today

[madmax]

Just unplug it +2

[lukewayne]

Try to figure out what component of the fridge is so loud. Maybe it's two parts hitting each other or a loose screw.

Maybe you can just replace the offending part? Or dampen it. Becareful not to trap excess heat around the heat exchange coils or you'll end up with a very inefficient fridge.

My guess is the sound is coming from the compressor. Which unfortunately is probably the most expensive part.

Good luck

[iskandam]

By far, unplugging it has been the most effective solution, but the food needs to stay cold so that can't happen for too long :D

This is what the fridge + recess area looks like:
44383

The noise is coming from the bottom, which is where the fan and compressor are located:
44384

44385

Compressor
Stock dampening material


Is there a special dampening material for refrigerators or am I good just replacing it with something like dynamat? I'm thinking of doing this for both the compressor and the fan. If that's still not enough, I may cover the wall behind the fridge in the recess area with a couple of layers of #30 roofing felt.

[disneyjoe7]

Clean it.

[jimmydep]

Time for a refridgerator upgrade if you ask me.

[kcoc321]

Here are some isolators designed just for appliances, made of Sorbothane.
http://www.vibrationsolution.com/onlinestore.html

+100 on unplugging it....hehe but I get that is only short term.

How about some Black Hole Isolation sheets only the back wall?
Also add some better isolators on the compressor.

[ben62670]

See if you can find a timer that will turn it back on in an hour. The temp drops very slowly in a full fridge;)

[beardog03]

sounds like the compressor is making the noise..

make sure everything including all lines are strapped down and tight

freon may be low, that would make the pump work harder

Instead of putting a bunch of coin into fixing it, spend 25-50 bucks a month and get a new silent one

[nooshinjohn]

would it make a difference if he put spikes on it and perhaps used Mortite to seal it? It might just help with the bottom end and bring a bit better definition to the ice maker.

[ben62670]

would it make a differnce if he put spikes on it and perhaps used Mortite to seal it? It might just help with the bottom end and bring a bit better definition to the ice maker.

Well you finally made me laugh with you:D

[zarrdoss]

Its 16 years old, its getting louder because it is going out, maybe tomorrow or 10 years down the road but it will keep on getting worse unless something is done. 16 years is allot to ask on an electrical motor and compressor unit, I would replace it so you don't come home to a frig of food gone bad because it died IMO. Newer ones will save you money on electricity in the long run anyway.

But you might try looking and listening to it when its running and see if something is rattling and try and isolate it with some silicone or bungee cord, be careful not to shock yourself and good luck, I hate noisy refrigerators

[comfortablycurt]

Move the fridge outside.

Better yet, sell the fridge and put it towards that new HDTV you mentioned.;)

[NotaSuv]

Just unplug it +2

LOL had this very same annoying problem, and it was in a rental so had to keep it...I used one of those "clappers" to turn it off during extanded TV watching, worked great,,clap it on, clap it off :), ours was just an older noisy unit...

[BIZILL]

my fridge is quite quiet. that is, until the automatic ice maker breaks the ice. man, when i first got it on a quiet night when not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse the thing made this tremendously loud CRACK sound that scared the pee outta me. i did the whole flinch thing where you turn around to check the noise with your heart racing and a natural fist flying in the air. LOL.

[HHStuart]

Refrigerator noise bothers me too but in this case I would replace the refrigerator.
New refrigerators are so much more efficient than 16 year old ones, that it would pay for itself in a couple of years. The new one would be a lot quieter. Just my 2 cents.

[Libertyc]

A new energy star refrigerator would be much quieter and you will save you money.

[iskandam]

Well, i'm not ready to give up on it yet so I'm going to give that Silent Feet thing a shot

[LessisNevermore]

Apples to oranges comparison here, but it might be food for thought:

I installed 2 large computer-type cooling fans on the back of my entertainment center. They ended up being quite loud, and the cabinet itself acts as a resonator, and amplifies this a bit. When I built my diy acoustic panels, I put a 2'x4' panel mounted horizontal behind the tv. I was surprised how well it absorbs the fan noise! I will be looking for some quieter fans, but for now, it's completely tolerable.

If you have enough clearance behind your fridge, I'd order a panel,(or make one) and give it a shot.

[iskandam]

It's pretty tight back there so a 2" thick panel is not a realistic solution for me. But if the Silent Feet is not good enough by itself I may stick several layers of Fat Mat/roofing felt/B-Quiet/eDead/etc. on the wall directly behind the compressor and fan to absorb the noise.

That having been said, I'm also planning on putting a DIY acoustic panel behind the TV/rack/center channel to cover the first reflection from the center channel!

[treitz3]

Could you please describe the sounds that are coming from the lower area? Also, how long / how often do these sounds happen and are they the same as any noise that may be constant?

You can start by taking the hottest water you can stand, a good cleaner [I use vinegar for this], an absorbent towel and clean both sides of the seal for both doors. Make sure to dry them thoroughly. When the doors are shut again, check to make sure that they are completely sealed. An hour or so later, unplug the fridge.

Next, you will need to vacuum out all of the dust around the bottom of the fridge. Wipe up anything you can get too after you vacuum. If you have one, take a coil cleaning brush and clean the coils as best you can. While you are down there, check for anything that vibrates or is the source of noise. Tighten down anything that appears to be loose.

Reassemble the fridge and plug it back in. It should at the very least run more efficiently after this, lowering the noise level and lowering the cycles of cooling.

[iskandam]

The fridge runs on a cycle. It goes on for several minutes then off, then on again. Of course it's dead quiet when it's off, but when it's on the fan and, or, compressor, creates this loud, constant humming sound. No rattling. Doesn't sound like anything is loose at all.

I did vacuum most of the crap that's been collecting in there for the past decade or so when I took those pictures. Actually my PC tower also makes that same humming sound.

I just picked up a roll of PEEL & SEAL from Lowe's. Tomorrow I'm going to line the inside of the PC case with this stuff first to see if it'll get the job done.

[ben62670]

I have used peel and seal for deadening with decent success.

[jimsvm]

You can add more sound damping matteral to where it is now. Do not block off condenser fan air inlet.(bottem right from the back).For all reading this thread, dust bunnies on condensers=money out the window,and premature death to compressors.Long live the dust bunny the refrig guy says$$$$.

[iskandam]

I just finished lining the inside of my PC case with PEEL & SEAL and... it made absolutely no improvement at all :( I mean I used up 2/3 of the roll and even double, triple, and quadruple layered on the sides. It sure added mass but did nothing to decrease the humming even a bit.

I'm not going to bother wasting more money on this crap material. Silent Feet ordered.

[treitz3]

Have you located the source of the hum? Shims can work wonders, you know.

[iskandam]

Are we talking about the PC or the fridge now? And what are shims?

[treitz3]

Fridge. Shims are.....

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:BitK5wOGK4tlwM:http://www.make-my-own-house.com/images/shims.jpg

or

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:LXZsicu_-mVxJM:http://www.alljeep.com/oscommerce/images/degree%2520shims.jpg

[disneyjoe7]

How about an "New" used Frig?


CL anyone?

[Kex]

From the look of the back of that thing, I'm convinced it's new refrigerator time, and as others have mentioned, it will pay for itself over time. You're likely to be running around like a cat chasing it's tail if you try to just "fix" this, with not much chance of succes.

When we moved in last year, we bought a used refrigerator on craigslist.org, which worked fine for a year until we bought a new one in July. Some friends are still using the craigslist refrigerator. Just stay away from the cheapest ones available (they're probably in the same shape as your own, or worse), and take the back off to check for cockroaches before bringing it into the house (use the opportunity to thoroughly clean it too).

JMO. YMMV. Good luck!

[thsmith]

Dynamat extreme, just saying.....

[devani]

I would get a new one as well unless you intend to sell the place soon....make a rolling curtain so that curtain covers frig and roll it up when you want access...

[Lasareath]

Here's the back of my Fridge, It's all sealed up, I guess that's one of the reasons I don't hear it. But it must be the engineering as well.

[iskandam]

that looks really solid. Fridge design has come a long way in 16 years...

[louhamilton]

It's pretty tight back there so a 2" thick panel is not a realistic solution for me. But if the Silent Feet is not good enough by itself I may stick several layers of Fat Mat/roofing felt/B-Quiet/eDead/etc. on the wall directly behind the compressor and fan to absorb the noise.

That having been said, I'm also planning on putting a DIY acoustic panel behind the TV/rack/center channel to cover the first reflection from the center channel!


I have used peel and seal for deadening with decent success.

I would also consider some acoustical dampening ceiling tiles. You could even paint them the same color as the wall. Plus, they are less than 2" thick, too.

[timw902834]

Refrigerator noise bothers me too but in this case I would replace the refrigerator.
New refrigerators are so much more efficient than 16 year old ones, that it would pay for itself in a couple of years. The new one would be a lot quieter. Just my 2 cents.

New refrigerators are not that much more efficient than 15 y/o ones. Unless you meant (say) 20+ years for a $1000 fridge when you said "it would pay for itself in a couple of years", you're way off base. :p

As for the noise level, new refrigerators have horrible whiny "high efficiency" compressors that run more often compared to my 15 y/o KitchenAid that I replaced last year. At least that was true for the $1300 LG (SxS), $1800 Samsung (french door), and $1600 GE (SxS) models I tried. I do not believe there is any such thing as a "silent refrigerator", or even one that comes remotely close to a poor approximation of silence. In fact, if I could have gotten a new one as quiet as my old KitchenAid, I'd have been delighted. Apparently, even that is not possible these days.

[iskandam]

After considering all the options, there is a high possibility that we might replace the old timer next month... so hopefully the replacement will be more quiet

[jdwmap]

I am leaning towards improper magnet placement, you might try moving them to the sides instead of all loaded up on the front like that.

[yohoexpo]

You can buy a new one. it works better,we use a lot of fridges when expo opens.normally,the plug does not cater,or line gets wrong,when a fridge worked for a long time,it muight get sucked time from time.
www.yohoexpo.net

[iskandam]

so I got the Silent Feet several months ago but they didn't help at all. Then I tried sticking one of my DIY acoustic panels right behind the fridge. No dice.

Replaced the old fridge with a newer GE model... it turned out to be just as loud as the old one. I might move it to the garage as soon as I clear out some space for it. I have so much crap in there I'm gonna have to set aside some time to do it.

[dorokusai]

The compressor resonates the entire frame, even with rubber feet and if you want to dampen it, you're going to have to remove it, or really get some solid underneath access and do so. It won't make it silent but Sorbothane type isolators on the legs and a body blanket will help with some db levels. I've used the old style Audioquest feet(modified) and a Dynamat wrap to quell the noise issues in a couple installs.

[skrol]

Time for Plinth my 'frig.

Peel and seal works great for washer and dryer cabinets too or even duct work to quiet the HVAC.

[Polkitup2]

My apartment sized fridge in my man cave drives me nuts. It a newer Avanti, nice fridge and uses very lttle energy, but the compressor is loud. I had it replaced and the replacement was just as loud. I put it on a programmable timer to run only when I know I won't be around and that has worked pretty good so far.

[doctorcilantro]

This is what I was going to suggest, some absorbers. You have that cavity behind the fridge and it is a very undamped, live space. You could try some Fatmat somewhere down there if you have some flat pieces of metal on that compressor housing you could apply it to.


Apples to oranges comparison here, but it might be food for thought:

I installed 2 large computer-type cooling fans on the back of my entertainment center. They ended up being quite loud, and the cabinet itself acts as a resonator, and amplifies this a bit. When I built my diy acoustic panels, I put a 2'x4' panel mounted horizontal behind the tv. I was surprised how well it absorbs the fan noise! I will be looking for some quieter fans, but for now, it's completely tolerable.

If you have enough clearance behind your fridge, I'd order a panel,(or make one) and give it a shot.

[doctorcilantro]

QFT. New fridge at our house last year, and I could hear the fridge from the living room, which granted, wasn't very far away. Thing cost over 1K new and they just don't design them to be ultra-quiet imo.


New refrigerators are not that much more efficient than 15 y/o ones. Unless you meant (say) 20+ years for a $1000 fridge when you said "it would pay for itself in a couple of years", you're way off base. :p

As for the noise level, new refrigerators have horrible whiny "high efficiency" compressors that run more often compared to my 15 y/o KitchenAid that I replaced last year. At least that was true for the $1300 LG (SxS), $1800 Samsung (french door), and $1600 GE (SxS) models I tried. I do not believe there is any such thing as a "silent refrigerator", or even one that comes remotely close to a poor approximation of silence. In fact, if I could have gotten a new one as quiet as my old KitchenAid, I'd have been delighted. Apparently, even that is not possible these days.

[anhchungdoan]

Time for a refridgerator upgrade if you ask me.

+1. Go for the Side by Side with E-star. The top and bottom mount fridge is not very energy effiency . Ask Barrack, he will agree with me and so is Pelosi.

Think wood isolation feet from Mapleshades if you do not want upgrading the ice box.