OK, need some advice here. Recent install of WhisperKool 6000 has produced some undesirable side effects. The unit is mounted in the wall separating the wine cellar from a mechanicals room in the basement. The wall is 2×4, 16″oc, non-bearing and insulated with sprayed-on closed cell foam. Vibration/resonance is at an unacceptable level as it can be heard on the living level above. My thought is to somehow isolate the unit from the wall, rubber isolators, mounting pads, or ?. I’m up for ideas.
Thanks,
HV
Replies
Greetings harry,
This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again which will increase it's viewing.
Perhaps it will catch someone's attention that can help you with advice.
Cheers
I'm going to watch this thread - I have a beach house with a 5 ton Amana condensing unit on a raised deck (above high water) with one side's ledger bolted to the house. I'm really surprised at how much vibration comes into the house. I'm also thinking about putting some kind of rubber pad underneath it. I've got 2x6 walls 16" OC.
Jamie
I'm going to watch this thread
well hey, let's bump 'er thru again then since you both have come back to check the post and are frequent visitors.
bump
Isolate is you best bet. To be more specific, you need to decouple it from the wall structure. That could be a simple as building a seperate frame for the unit and the sealing the opening in the wall with accuostical foam.
Rubber pads, don't decouple, they reduce vibration transmission by energy absorbtion. That may be all you need to reach an acceptable level.
Dave
Thanks Dave. I dug out my prints and investigated further, and realized that this is also a two story plywood shearwall. Our plans are to pull the unit, enlarge the opening, and isolate it using rubber padding. Framing a separate wall to hold/isolate the unit isn't an option. It woundn't protrude through the wall enough. Thanks for the reply.
you can do a search on isolators... which is more than rubber pads... weight is a factor... and as you know you are looking to decouple something that needs to rest on or be mounted on/to something...
properly rated springs are good... which is all a rubber pad is... (a spring)... I've had better luck with springs in .... rubber cups.... i've also done well hanging AHU's with straps & springs... sometimes the straps are enough... i've used poly, nylon, and steel...
many times with some care and time you can rebuild the AHU so that you have knocked out alot of the vibration... just by use of caulk, foam, rubber and bettter and tighter screws on anything that is joined... one tube of vulkem on every joint and seam in a unit will do ALOT.... that and balance anything that rotates...ie fan blades...
p
First thing I'd do is hang the unit on a steel frame (eg, Unistrut), separate from the wall. At the mounting points for the frame use some sort of resiliant mount, and also between the frame and the unit.