from the Comments: Damping

Posted by Ace on May 5th, 2010 filed in from the Comments, letters from Ace

From Neuro, regarding Moving IV:  Epic Fail

As you know, I’m Mr. Annoyed By Noise, particularly low frequency noise, so I would do all I could to fix that low hum (I had that once in a house from the electric hum from the furnace’s electric parts, and simply freely suspending the solenoid instead of having it mounted to the side saved me six months of a constant hum).

It sounds like the key here is vibration damping with soft material. If the closet being open matters, you could wedge a rag between the door and its jamb, so it is still closed but it can’t vibrate as easily (maybe the door itself is serving as a resonator). You could also buy foam from a hardware store and cushion where the AC meets the window frame with it.

That is all very good advice.  Whether any of it will make any difference, I’m not sure yet;  it’s going to take some experimentation.  I have determined, for instance, through a bit of direct observation that in addition to the Resonant Hum Occurring From No Known Source Except the Operation, there is also the Thermally-Conditional Intermittent Rattle of the Front Plastic Air Vents, and the Vibration-Induced Overhead Rattle of the Plastic Venetian Blind Mechanism.  And a noticeable lack of Noises Created by Direct Contact Between the Unit and the Window Frame, which one would expect to be a pretty large, inclusive classification on the Great Classification List of Air Conditioner Noises.

Instead of the sheet, consider installing a real door if you’re going to be there a year or more. Maybe the landlord would knock the price off your rent if you do the labor. Home Depot sells slab doors for $21, and then there’s some hardware, so maybe under $50. (How hard could it be to install it?)

How hard can it be?!  Oh, my friend…   let me just take a moment at this juncture to refer you to Ace’s Axiom #2, which is:  In a world where absolute moral values are hard to come by, Cheese is Good.

No, wait–  that’s Ace’s Axiom #1.   Let me just take a moment at this juncture to refer you to Ace’s Axiom #2, which is:  If it seems obvious to you that something should be done, and yet it hasn’t already been done, there’s probably a reason why. Which is closely related to Ace’s Axiom #3:  Nothing is ever simple or easy.  Anything that seems simple or easy will turn out to be ineffectual or have to be changed later on. The doorway may not be square.  Or the places where the hinges have to go may be totally rotted out and patched with spit and tape.  Or the opening may be a totally irregular, non-standard size that will require a custom door to be made at high expense.  Or there might be nowhere for a door to effectively open to when it is hung (which there isn’t, the way my furniture and the hallway are arranged.)  And I’m not even trying hard here.

That having been said, yes, I have to put a door up.  One of those split-type closet doors that runs on a track and bends in the middle.

Also, at the risk of seeming sarcastic:  if you’d like to jump in the car and roar over here and give me the benefit of your expertise and ATP, feel free.  I got all kinds of people who are willing to give me advice on what they think I oughta do.  I’m a little short on people who are willing to actually help me DO it…


2 Responses to “from the Comments: Damping”

  1. Neuro Says:

    Noted, but have you heard of Neuro’s Counteraxiom #2? That thing that you have been putting off for months or years because of being daunted by it will turn out to be fairly easy and would have made your life so much better all this time had you just done it when you should have. I’ve been stung by that one so many times with finances, health, comfort, aesthetics, etc. I’m trying to get better about it.

    Regarding this:

    I got all kinds of people who are willing to give me advice on what they think I oughta do. I’m a little short on people who are willing to actually help me DO it…

    Well, then you’re officially a blogger! :D

  2. Ace Says:

    Fair enough. Duly noted in return.

    I’m pretty sure I officially became a blogger on February 29, 2004, when I wrote that entry that made me a pariah at work, and got me asked semi-officially by the management to stop writing things about my job in the journal, on account of how it was creating havoc in the workplace.

    I still hate the word “blog”, though.