Quiet Refrigerator

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CooperKlein

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Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone knew of a good quiet refrigerator (North America). We just moved into a new place and every 45 mins the refrigerator starts its compression cycle and gets up to 50 dbA for 15 mins. It's intolerable. Any models that run under 40dbA? I'd much prefer a constant lower hum than this.
Thanks!
 
You join a forum about home recording to ask about fridge noise? Couldn't find a fridge forum?
 
He's trying to figure out how we're all so cool! :eek:

Welcome, CooperKlein.
 
First of all, why record in the kitchen?
Next, 50dBA (at what D?) seems very loud for a fridge? Mine is at least 30 years old (Indesit) stacked fridge/freezer and I cannot hear it but will put a meter on it forthwith. Yours could be faulty.

But the bottom line is, you don't need a fridge to run all the time. Frozen foods will be quite safe for 24hrs IF you leave the freezer door shut. Stuff in the fridge part will similarly be quite ok for hours if not disturbed. Be a bit careful if the house hits 30C+ of course.

Wireless mains switches are cheap as frozen chips so fit one to the fridge and control it from the STOOOODIO!

Oh! And in case you are in doubt of my bona fides for this information? I was in domestic electronics for 40 years.

Dave.
 
I tried to find the answer on some Kitchen Appliances forum, but they couldn't give me the right answer, since I'm looking for a specific fridge that run under 40dbA. I thought someone might had similar issue over here.
 
CooperKlein said:
I tried to find the answer on some Kitchen Appliances forum, but they couldn't give me the right answer, since I'm looking for a specific fridge that run under 40dbA. I thought someone might had similar issue over here.
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Well you get an E for effort Cooper! I suspect you're SOL as their really isn't a "quiet" refrigerant compressor that I have ever heard of...though obviously somewhere out there is the most quiet and the most loud.... Anyone trying to get quality recordings would never consider having a refer running ( Though the may consider smoking one) while recording tracks...sooo long story short I doubt you're going to get a good answer here or anywhere outs on the internets because as far as I know unlike so many things that get tested and compared loudness of refrigerant compressors is not something I have ever seen analyzed and compared....not saying it hasn't ever happened but I suspect it's unlikely that that data exist in google land... Good luck and let us know if somehow you do find this illusive and obscure info...
 
My el cheapo SLM does not even read the noise of my fridge! 25dBC on OR off! I can however hear it.

As I said, you can turn the thing off for several hours whilst recording. Even if you HAVE to out up with the noise, a fridge motor is a 'periodic' signal and would be easy to reduce greatly with an 'inverting sample' type software noise suppressor. I bet Reaper has a good one? Samplitude Pro X 3 certainly does!

Dave.
 
I seem to remember that we had a fridge when I was young which didn't use a compressor - I think it was a Frigidaire but I could be wrong (as we're talking 40-50 years ago). There were also Kelvinator gas powered fridges.
 
I have two full size refrigerators in my kitchen...it just seemed like a good idea when I first bought the house, and it was. :)
One is for all the cooked foods, meats and vegetables...and the other is for fruits, soft-drinks, breads, cakes, pies etc...'cuz nothing I hate more than when an apple or a piece of pie, smells like onion or last night's leftover roast...etc. :D

Anyway...the hum from them when they are both cycling together is nothing crazy loud...but like so many other house noises (the AC, the furnace, the dishwasher, the laundry washer and drier....etc...it's nothing I pay any attention to. After all these years, it's just background noise, and I'm rarely conscious of it at all.

When I first move here, my bedroom is downstairs, and I could easily hear the furnace kick in. The first night, it woke me up and I thought something was wrong...etc...but now days, it's actually comforting, the normal hum-n-buzz you get in a typical house, and when everything is silent...it actually more bothersome.
I sleep with a room filter on every night...mostly for the sound of it. When it's off, the silence is deafening, and I can't fall asleep. I hate dead-quiet.

So I think you should just not pay attention to it...and I bet after a few weeks, it will be part of the ambient noise, and not something you will focus on consciously.
 
jamesperrett said:
I seem to remember that we had a fridge when I was young which didn't use a compressor - I think it was a Frigidaire but I could be wrong (as we're talking 40-50 years ago). There were also Kelvinator gas powered fridges.
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I doubt these would be allowed by health and safety or UL in USA anymore. :D Plus 1 for just unplug/turn off at the breaker while recording. Its a sealed box, as long as no one opens it for any length of time it aint a gonna hurt nuffin. Just don't forget to turn it back on. You might turn off the icemaker feature first, it may just be whats coming on since an efficient 'fridge shouldn't really need to cycle on often, unless it's in a really hot environment. Or are you even recording? I just realized I only assumed you were!
 
My fridge is right next to the open doorway to my recording room. I can hear it when it's running - it's more than 20 years old and should be replaced (soon!). But I've never noticed it in a recording.
 
Gtoboy said:
Or are you even recording? I just realized I only assumed you were!
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I don't think the OP was talking about a recording situation...rather that he just thought the fridge hum was generally too loud in the kitchen.
 
yeah. so a compressor generates a lot of heat during operation which means it needs to have plenty of air space to keep it alive. so from an engineering stand point its going to need air flow which unfortunately also means sound flow. If one was to insulate one to reduce noise it would shorten the life, the more insulation the more it would reduce the lifespan.
 
Gtoboy said:
yeah. so a compressor generates a lot of heat during operation which means it needs to have plenty of air space to keep it alive. so from an engineering stand point its going to need air flow which unfortunately also means sound flow. If one was to insulate one to reduce noise it would shorten the life, the more insulation the more it would reduce the lifespan.
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Funny story about refrigerators and their noises....

One of my fridges (and it's funny that it's the newer one, not the older one...probably 15 or more years older!!!) about 5 years ago developed a small "clang" when the compressor would shut off.
I deforested it for two days, to make sure it wasn't some ice on a fan blade...and pulled it out from the wall, opened the back cover, didn't see anything out of place.
So I called in the service guy (this was a Sears Kenmore)...and he shows up, and I meet him outside just as he's getting out of his van, and he asks what's the problem. As soon as I say there's this "clang" that started happening on shut off....he just smiled.
He says to me...I can tell you exactly what it is without even going into your house...he says one of the rubber bushings inside the compressor that acts as a isolator, has worn out...so you get some metal-on-metal contact when it shuts off sometimes and there's that momentary shake.
He shows me on a dead compressor he had on in his van...he hits it, and you here some "clang".

He said...to replace the compressor would cost more than buying a new fridge (this wasn't one of those ultra-expensive models)...or he said, you can just ignore it, and the fridge might run for another 10 years, or eventually another bushing will go, and then it will get serious noisy...but there was nothing to fear...no fire or anything dangerous, just the noise.
So...here it is...5 years later, and it still works just fine, and the "clang" has even gotten quieter lately, and I don't even notice when it shuts off anymore...so I'll wait another 5 years and see if it's still running.

Speaking about the "ultra-expensive refrigerators some people buy... :laughings:...like those Sub-Zeros (or whatever they are called) that cost $3k+...or even more... :facepalm: ...my sister had one, musta broke down twice, they replaced it, and the new one broke down also.
A friend of my had another brand that she spent over $3k for...with the fancy doors and lights...she had the repair guy over at least 5 times that she told me about, he replaced all kinds of parts...and she ended up tossing it and buying a different one.

So any old basic fridge for $500 can do just fine. ;)
 
Since we seem to have gone off on a "my fridge is older than your fridge" pissing contest? My Indesit must be at least 30 years old. A lot of the door seals have split and are fixed with Aluminium fabric tape, it is really too big now there is only two of us and the kitchen is tiny but, A, I am loathe to spend the money and B, I don't want to add to landfill. (yes, I know bits can be recycled but not GF and then there is the energy and pollution making me another one)

Re not forgetting to switch it back on? Probably a good idea to get a fridge alarm? These scream if the temperature exceeds safe limits.

Dave.
 
Yo Miro...IF you wanted that dumb thing to quit clangin and were willing to let it sit not running for two days here's your fix... Pull the fridge out so you can get to the compressor ( unplugged) use needle nose pliers and a knife to extract the bad rubber bushing... get some shims and position the compressor so that steel rod that is in the middle of the bushing is in the center of hole that holds the bushing ...fashion a 1" piece of cardboard in a round circle and slice a line from the center of that circle out then slide it over the metal pin that held the bushing (below the hole that held the outer ring of the bushing) now get a tube of silicone caulk and squirt a couple hershey kisses size drops down from the trop side of bushing area...The cardboard ring will suspend the silicone until it hardens 24-48 hours....You now have a bushing again..................Or you could probably just buy a matching bushing at the local appliance store and squeeze it in...surprised the repair guy didn't offer to do that...You shouldn't have to pull the compressor to slip a rubber bushing on I would not think anyway silicone is bad ass stuff I use it for all kinds of vibration hold in pace stuff...
 
FSM bless the internet, where else could you find a thread about refrigerators in a recording forum? And it just so happens to be a topic not far from my mind. Not the fridge particularly adds to my recording noise directly ('studio' is upstairs) but for a relatively modern fridge (>10 years, I think) I can't believe how noisy it is. With the through door ice dispenser it makes a plethora of sounds. My mother sometimes swears there is somebody knocking at the kitchen door but it's the fridge doing its thing. I swear it is getting louder by the day and probably will be audible upstairs someday. One would think it would become background noise but that's why I think it is getting louder, because it isn't becoming accustomed to.
 
Damn noises from those refrigerated kids! Get off my lawn! lol

I remember having a loud fridge once when I was a kid. Haven't noticed much noise from any since. I do recall it pissing me off.

I love the silicone gasket MacGyver 'Jimmy rig' solution. It only missing chewing gum and a paper clip. :)

I also have to have ambient noise to sleep. Usually a fan and/or meditation music. Anything to cover up the bubbles from the damn fish tank in the bedroom...

Just random replies...

Oh, and I am glad you 'deforested' your fridge Miro. Nobody likes trees in their ice. :cursing:
 
Damn ice trees. My brother bought a high dollar dishwasher specifically advertised to be the quietest -it was, for about 6 months. Thereafter it was just as noisy as a cheap one and he said it never really cleaned the dishes well either. Just goes to show something or other. He left it behind when he moved houses and got the plain jane contractor style.
 
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