Dynamatting the Fridge and Rebuilding the Wall - Page 5

jage · 04-29-2009, 08:03 PM

Further off topic...

I actually have reflectix under the carpet. A single sheet cut and installed under the carpet. It's always been there so I don't know what it would be like without it.

**daveb** · 04-29-2009, 09:24 PM

No massive sliding around? I would hate to loose my micro brew if the carpet moved.

Hard to stand straight on a slipery surface, but if everything stays put, anything that stops heat would be nice.

DUKCSUN · 05-06-2009, 10:47 AM

Jage,

Went back and read this and discovered that I didn't "report" on the success or failure of my insulation project. On a side note, you had mentioned trying to silicone the counter/cabinet screws in place so they don't back out. What would you use for that? Just regular silicone caulk?

Anyway, I've now had an "insulated" fridge for some time. I have to be honest, my general impression is that its not worth it. Considering how expensive Dynamat products are (and I used 2 layers) I can't say that I feel the money was well spent from a noise perspective and a duty-cycle perspective. That's just my "gut feel" reaction.

Its possible that its a bit quieter (more of a low rumble vs. a rattle) but I suspect that Jage's comments around making sure the screws are tight in the counters and cabinets will garner more results than spending a bunch of money on insulation. I also don't think it runs much less often.

I do plan to go back and tighten everything up and see if that gives some help.

Anyone that wants info around specifics on how to do the install feel free to contact me.

jage · 05-06-2009, 11:14 AM

My noise level didn't change, but the pitch did. Apart from that I'm not sure I see much value, although I'm glad I did it because the noise was the big issue for me. I've never re-visited the project to tighten those counter screws.

I would use silicone because you could take the screws out if needed (unlike something like gorilla glue). It doesn't take much, just enough to keep them from moving that tiny bit when they vibrate. Also I feel like silicone would always tend to hold them, were as glue might wind up being no better than the board over the years and let them back out again.

DUKCSUN · 05-06-2009, 03:54 PM

I actually when out and had a little "tighten" party during my lunch break. There were some screws loose under the counters and inside the drawer cavities but not as much as I thought. What I was really surprised about was how loose the the little "upper side tray" was. This is the little shelf that pretty much runs the whole length of the driver's side just below the penthouse top rail in the 50 plan. We don't keep anything heavy in there (headlamps, a deck of cards and a pepper shaker) but that whole thing was loose. I had to take out the TrippLite gauge so that I could access the L-bracket that holds it up but there was a noticeable difference in the solidity of the shelf after I did that. I'm hoping I will hear the difference when going down washboard. Later tonight I'm going to pull the fridge (much easier than yours) and get in there too. I'm also going to see if I can put some little felt "furniture sliders" under the fridge contact points because I am convinced that the low rumbing that we hear is the resonation of the fridge to the floor. We'll see.

deminimis · 05-06-2009, 04:12 PM

Couple things. Based on experience, I'd recommend using Titebond on screws if screwed into wood products or similar. If holes are stripped out, toss a toothpick in the hole with glue and problem solved.

**daveb** · 05-06-2009, 07:37 PM

I added the reflectix stuff to the fridge and it made a difference in noise. The thing used to hum loudly and is now a bit quieter. The main problem was one screw vibrating against the cabinet. At certain angles it sounded like orbital sander running and drove me nutz. As far as heat the cycle rates dropped at lower temps but when its hot (100+) it still runs quite a bit. Maybe I expected more and was biased. I never really did a test to see before and after results. I still think it's worth adding it. Deminimis, didn't you find the door might be poorly insulated? BTW done the tooth pic thing and it is a good trick.

vwteleman · 05-06-2009, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bryanlaws

What I was really surprised about was how loose the the little "upper side tray" was. This is the little shelf that pretty much runs the whole length of the driver's side just below the penthouse top rail in the 50 plan. We don't keep anything heavy in there (headlamps, a deck of cards and a pepper shaker) but that whole thing was loose.

Insert Jage's "Quality Control" poster here ...

Brent

cellularSTEVE · 05-06-2009, 10:40 PM

I put Reflectix around my fridge on Sunday because I thought it worked well for some of you. I used Super77 Spray Mount to affix it. I liked how easy it was to cut the Reflectix and easily attach it. I hope the adhesive stays tight.

I will be heading to Utah for a week so I will see how the fridge cycles compared to before. It was so loud coming on every few minutes. I will report back.

steve

Yubariver · 06-01-2009, 06:24 PM

Thanks to everybody for the posts on this subject. I am a new SMB owner (bought used in January) and new to the forum. After reading about the cost and dubious value of the Dynamat, I also just used Reflectix on my fridge. I have a 2006 EB50 with the 2.7 CF fridge. Once I pulled the fridge, I noticed that the fridge already had 1/2" of closed-cell foam insulation already taped to the top, bottom and rear, but not the sides. I added an additional layer of the Reflectix all around (except for the bottom, for air movement) using adhesive-backed foil tape which can be bought at Home Depot for HVAC applications, and it fit like a glove back into the enclosure (I hope that I haven't closed-off necessary air movement at the sides). There was still plenty of air-movement room at the top. It was easy and the total cost of materials is probably less than $20. It took about 1 1/2 hours total. The fridge came out easily: there are four drywall screws that you must remove on the front face of the fridge; on a black steel flange on the RH and LHS of the fridge face (with door open). Also, there is one screw on either side of the fridge where the heads are accessed inside the adjacent cabinets. These side-screws were a bit tricky to get lined-up to go back into the holes once I re-installed the fridge, but all-in-all, it was easy.
I also noticed that like Jage's case, there was evidence of a contact between the enclosure L-bracket bolt/nut and the bottom of the fridge. I can see this causing quite a rattle. It appears that the SMB installers had already ground-down the nut-head to reduce this, but apparently not enough. I ground it down about another 1/8" using an angle-grinder, and wedged a thin slice of firm foam between the two to reduce contact further.
I am a light sleeper and any noise from the fridge in the enclosed space of the van can wake me up so I am quite eager to reduce the fridge noise (as it is, we either turn the fridge off, or keep it at 1 at night). After some experimenting, I found that the majority of the noise was coming from not the fridge body/compressor, but rattling of the internal shelves. There is a plastic-coated steel shelf that has a folding tray that you can swing-up to allow for tall bottles, etc; this rattled quite a bit; I secured it using two strips of that double-sided Velcro tape (used to secure a roll of extension-cord, for example, found at HD). Also, the two flimsy clear-plastic door-shelves are loose in their slots and rattled. I affixed a couple of those fuzzy Velcro-dots (in many Velcro kits, they will have pre-cut, adhesive-backed circles of both the fuzzy (loop) and hook sides) to the back of each tray on each side. That let them slide firmly into the slots with no rattle. In the past I have also noticed that various hard food-items in these trays will rattle (like beer bottles, mustard bottles, etc.). I cut-out some of that cross-hatch pattern foam kitchen shelf-liner for the bottom of each tray to help mute this rattling, yet the cross-hatching still allows air movement through the tray slots.
The net of all this is that the fridge is much, much quieter now. I can't say objectively that the Reflectix actually quieted the rattling or reduces the cycling, but it probably does somewhat, and probably can't hurt either. I think it was well worth the overall ~2 hrs of time invested. For those that don't want to mess with the Reflectix and removing the fridge, the 10-minute fix which eliminates 80% of the noise is Velcroing that swing-up tray and securing the door-trays. If you don't want to bother with the shelf-liner, you could use a few sheets of folded-up paper-towel in the trays, which convey the added benefit of absorbing spills as well.