Sound Dampening An Appliance Cabinet

[jyl]

I have an “appliance garage” in the new pantry cabinets, and am thinking of adding some sound damping material to the sides, top, and door insides, so the blender can scream away in there without making people in the kitchen wince. It’s not a big deal, so something cheap, easy, reversible, and not hideous would be good. What might work - eggcrate “acoustic foam”? Perforated acoustic panels? Hang mass loaded vinyl? Wife is going to object to gluing down Dynamat.

[masraum]

What sort of "appliance garage"? Its' part of one of the cabinets? Or it's a small drywall enclosed space? I assume the blender would be working behind a door of some sort?

My understanding of how sound suppression works is that it depends upon the frequency of the sound for what's best, but what's best is often multiple layers of dissimilar stuff (layer of heavy/dense stuff, layer of light stuff, etc... Can you make the walls and door heavy and thick (double or triple up wood thickness and density)? If you can double layer wood, maybe a thin layer of MLV in between? And in addition to that, I think you'd also want something like the egg crate to help break up the sound so it wasn't "reflected" by a large flat surface.

Got a pic of the "garage" that you're talking about?

[908/930]

Good quality fibreglass acoustic tile fitted in there would help with the reflected noise, could double up or add Dow 703 behind.

EDIT, if you are only trying to keep the noise from going through density of material should do that, two layers of MDF soft adhesive in between. guessing most of the noise is in the 500hz range rock wool or fibreglass should absorb that easy enough.

[Arizona_928]

Sonicator cabinet

[masraum]

3" of concrete lined with 1" of lead should do the trick! Don't forget the air-tight seal for the full 4" of the door.

[jyl]

It’s just a wood pantry cabinet. 3/4” ply sides, 1/2” ply back, face frame, inset door. I know I can’t “silence” the Vitamix, but just a little more sound reduction more than merely closing the door.

[908/930]

Check your electrical code, up here we can not have an appliance garage that the power can stay on when the door is closed.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by jyl

It’s just a wood pantry cabinet. 3/4” ply sides, 1/2” ply back, face frame, inset door. I know I can’t “silence” the Vitamix, but just a little more sound reduction more than merely closing the door.

Got it, so the inside of a cabinet.

Will you be running the blender with the door closed? I assume not. If that's the case, then MLV and some foam that would dampen reflected sound.

If you are going to close the door, then I think a layer of MLV and another layer of 3/4" wood, and the door will have to be sealed with weather stripping (any air gap will allow sound to propagate). But I suspect the missus wouldn't be amenable to any "ugly" mods. I know mine wouldn't.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 908/930

Check your electrical code, up here we can not have an appliance garage that the power can stay on when the door is closed.

Interesting and weird, but I guess I get it. I guess there's got to be some sort of switch on the door that kills the power?

[908/930]

Originally Posted by masraum

Interesting and weird, but I guess I get it. I guess there's got to be some sort of switch on the door that kills the power?

Yes, pretty sure you have the same code down there. Really intended as protection from heated devices.

[look 171]

How long do you run that Vitamix? I don't cook or make anything so the only time I run that thing is for less then 30 second for some blended drinks for the kids during the summer. By the time I go and hit the on button, shove it back inside the appliance door, and close the doors, I may have 5 second left on the blender. Plus, I have to sometimes force the food into it to the bottom of the blender to have it mixed thoroughly.

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by 908/930

Yes, pretty sure you have the same code down there. Really intended as protection from heated devices.

You can have in cabinet water coolers. So no.

[jyl]

I don’t think there is any general prohibition on receptacles inside cabinets in the US, though maybe local codes could have something. The NEC has some requirements for receptacle location in the cabinet, type of conductor, etc.

Jeff, true, I don’t in any way “need” the sound dampening. Not like you NEED the Aeron chair! It’s just a fun idea.

The appliances in there are going to be things like mixer, blender, food processor. Things that don’t generate much heat or moisture.

It might be handy to run other stuff in there - e.g. to sous vide a pot of ribs for 14 hours without cluttering up my counters - but I didn’t design the cabinets with that in mind, there is no airflow. I suppose it’s not impossible to add forced airflow after the fact but we’ll see if there’s a need.

[jyl]

Pics.

I STILL don’t know if I am painting (the original plan) or stain/tone or what.

There will be some lights in there too.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

How long do you run that Vitamix? I don't cook or make anything so the only time I run that thing is for less then 30 second for some blended drinks for the kids during the summer. By the time I go and hit the on button, shove it back inside the appliance door, and close the doors, I may have 5 second left on the blender. Plus, I have to sometimes force the food into it to the bottom of the blender to have it mixed thoroughly.

You can do A LOT with a vitamix. The missus has dabbled with smooth, hot soups with it. You throw all of the ingredients in and hit "go" and it'll run for several minutes. When you pour the soup out, it's 120-140º just from the blender blending it.

Obviously, for a smoothie or margarita, you wouldn't want to blend it that long.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by jyl

I don’t think there is any general prohibition on receptacles inside cabinets in the US, though maybe local codes could have something. The NEC has some requirements for receptacle location in the cabinet, type of conductor, etc.

Jeff, true, I don’t in any way “need” the sound dampening. Not like you NEED the Aeron chair! It’s just a fun idea.

The appliances in there are going to be things like mixer, blender, food processor. Things that don’t generate much heat or moisture.

It might be handy to run other stuff in there - e.g. to sous vide a pot of ribs for 14 hours without cluttering up my counters - but I didn’t design the cabinets with that in mind, there is no airflow. I suppose it’s not impossible to add forced airflow after the fact but we’ll see if there’s a need.

Oh no, I have been using the chair for the past hour and I must say, I need a Aeron that's for sure.

If you have power inside, hole saw out a vent with a small inlet on the other side to vent the heat. A Maple puck size vent can be purchased for next to nothing and use a computer fan on a timer to drive hot air out to keep it cool. This appliance garage sound like its huge with all you mentioned that lives inside.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by masraum

You can do A LOT with a vitamix. The missus has dabbled with smooth, hot soups with it. You throw all of the ingredients in and hit "go" and it'll run for several minutes. When you pour the soup out, it's 120-140º just from the blender blending it.

Obviously, for a smoothie or margarita, you wouldn't want to blend it that long.

I have used it to heat soup with it while I add a few of my secrete ingredients onto the mix. I love how to clean this thing. No washing necessary. Add a couple drop of dish soap and hit the button. All clean in a couple min.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by jyl

Pics.

I STILL don’t know if I am painting (the original plan) or stain/tone or what.

There will be some lights in there too.

Nice. I'd experiment with something like the stuff below, maybe on the back, and top, and possibly on the back of the door. I don't know that it'll make much difference, but if it's cheap enough, it's worth a shot.


We had something similar done where we have a zojirushi hot water kettle that we use to make coffee and tea. In that case, we get steam when we add water. We keep the door open 99.99% of the time. Our doors are "pocked doors" so they aren't in the way when they are open.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by jyl

Pics.

I STILL don’t know if I am painting (the original plan) or stain/tone or what.

There will be some lights in there too.

I see, put in some type of soft padding on the floor of the pullout, I bet the noise will be reduced.

[herr_oberst]

That's what I told him!!!