Noise Reduction

wheelerwbrian

wheelerwbrian

Member III
I've become tired of vacuuming up the deteriorating noice insulation in my engine compartment of my E38-200 1988 -- it goes everywhere each time I open it. Has anyone replaced this and what did they use? I seem to recall reading something somewhere about a sound deadening coating that can be used but preparing the surface for something that can be painted on seems pretty onerous. Any thoughts?
 
E

Emerald

Moderator
Hi,

You might do best to get out of the marine world and go to the speed shop world. A quick look at Jegs shows some items that might work. Here's a direct link to a material that might fit the bill:

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stor...goryId=20801&parentCategoryId=10261&langId=-1

and here's the page with a whole host of different items:

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stor...goryId=10261&parentCategoryId=10245&langId=-1

Of note, I've had good luck using the Thermo-Tec Header Wrap they sell on marine exhaust.


-David
Independence 31
Emerald
 
E

Emerald

Moderator
Hi,


I was focused on heat, not sound. Sorry for the goof. What might work is using comething like Celotex (thin insulating material used in building) with one of these heat barriers over it.


-David
Independence 31
Emerald
 
T

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
I used Sound Down 1.5" on my 38. Had same problem of crumbly crap. OEM stuff was a joke to begin with too. 1" open cell foam with some shiny stuff, harldy a barrier for anything. Sound Down is the premier product for this application but it is not cheap, it has a ruberized leadlike barrier that really drops the noise. I spent I think about $300 on the foam, seam tape, and fasteners. It was a PITA to install with the engine in the way too. Getting the fasteners installed in some places was tough even with a right angle drill. I did not bother trying to get all the old adhesive off as I figured you will never see that stuff. I did not use any spray adhesive on the new stuff just the fasteners, it is not going anywhere. I made templates out of cardboard first. The Sounddown was tough to cut. Best bet is to use a jigsaw or sawzall. Read up on it here:

http://www.glacierbay.com/insulation_ultradb.asp

http://www.glacierbay.com/insulation_ultradb_sound.asp

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|311|302333&id=95982

Defender Industries sells this stuff but it is heavy as hell so it will be costly to ship. I bought 6 feet which was enough at 54 inches wide, at Fawcetts in annapolis. I already had 1" on the engine hatch. I dont think 1.5" would clear the water pump pully as the 1" had once rubbed there.
 
Chris Miller

Chris Miller

Sustaining Member
couple of options...

Hi Brian,
I used Sound Down on my engine cover and I'm dreading using it on the rest of the engine compartment due to the tight confines.
I looked up an old thread here as I had bookmarked a product someone suggested there.
http://www.sailorssolutions.com/index.asp?page=ProductDetails&Item=SPM06
I'm still thinking about using this instead of the sound-down for the rest of the engine compt. I have never used it, but it seems pretty ingenious.
Chris
 
C

CaptnNero

Accelerant
Murphy's Oil Soap Versus That nasty black foam stuff

Here's a tip for cleaning that nasty black foam off of the teak in the engine compartment and on the cabin soul as you track it all over the place when you service the engine. Try Murphy's Oil Soap. First, scrape as much of the foam off as run can with a putty knife. Then put Murphy's on full strength, let it soak for several seconds, then rub it off with wet paper towels. It works great. I even used the Dollar Store generic version.

We're currently rehabing some of the sound deadening material also. On the last boat I used the West Marine product at about $10/square foot. Last year the Sailors Solutions guys at the Annapolis Sailboat Show gave us (free) one of their one square foot panels. It also costs about $10 per square foot.

The West Marine stuff had a shiny reflective coating (for heat), a high density foam layer, a thin heavy layer of something, thin foam layer again, and finally a peel off sticky backing to hold it to the walls. In addition there were a few special washers and fasteners.

The Sailors Solutions product has a shiny reflective coating, a thin heavy layer of something, a high density foam layer, and a peel off sticky backing.

We're going to use the one square foot of the Sailors Solutions stuff and see how it does for durability compared to the West Marine product. At first look it appears that it isn't as likely to shed the shiny coating since it is attached to the thin heavy layer of something instead of the porous foam. I also like that it comes in one foot squares instead of a big bulky sheet. The engine compartment on small boats doesn't have many contiguous large areas, so one foot squares seem more appropriate. You can then order just enough for the job.

Sound-wise I don't know the difference. The Sailors Solutions product has the mystery heavy layer on the inside closer to the sound, so who knows what that does to sound absorption.

We probably won't know anything for a few years on our durability comparison so don't hold your breath. We have enough of the West Marine product left over to fix ours now, so I won't be buying anything this time. However, if I needed to buy some this time, I would get the Sailors Solution product based on the 1 square foot size and the shiny layer on the heavy layer.

-- neal
 
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