Dreadnaught Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 (edited) Open plan kitchen. How could I reduce the noise of fridge freezer's compressor (while keeping the back of the fridge ventilated of course)? Ideas: A short stud wall section beside the fridge freezer? Sound-absorbent foam behind Any better ideas? (By the way, ignore the kitchen design. Its just a rough draft.) Edited April 9, 2019 by Dreadnaught Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Soundproofing aside and assuming there is nothing actually wrong with your fridge a fairly simple thing is to make sure your fridge is completely level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Is the fridge not integrated anyway rather than free standing, and going to be box, and have an end panel to hide the side and rear of the fridge? the mass of end panel should be enough rather than a whole stud wall. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadnaught Posted April 9, 2019 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 2 minutes ago, Moonshine said: Is the fridge not integrated anyway rather than free standing, and going to be box, and have an end panel to hide the side and rear of the fridge? the mass of end panel should be enough rather than a whole stud wall. I should have explained that the house is not built yet. I am working on the plans so I can do whatever is best to minimise the noise. I was thinking that there might be a solution for acoustic insulation that was superior to usual thin kitchen panels. What might you recommend? By the way, I don't plan to have a build-in a fridge-freezer, with a front panel to blend in with the other kitchen doors. I have always thought that was somewhat pointless as many modern fridges looks good without, especially the stainless steel ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 One of my 2 fridge freezers (built in) is making a terrible whining noise off and on so I imagine there is something wrong with the compressor. Anyone know if these days it’s worth getting that sort of thing fixed or just bite the bullet and replace? Sorry to hijack your thread @Dreadnaught but you are right to be concerned as some nights I could put a brick through it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 7 minutes ago, newhome said: One of my 2 fridge freezers (built in) is making a terrible whining noise off and on so I imagine there is something wrong with the compressor. Anyone know if these days it’s worth getting that sort of thing fixed or just bite the bullet and replace? Sorry to hijack your thread @Dreadnaught but you are right to be concerned as some nights I could put a brick through it! Ours WAS noisy... then it died. New thermostat sorted it. See my thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 (edited) Buy a decent fridge to begin with. I replaced my fridge/freezer a few years ago with an American style Beko model, it was a horrible noisy poorly engineered beast that seemed designed to promote early onset macular degeneration. Appliances Online agreed to take it back and the smaller more expensive Samsung is whisper quiet in comparison, the reviews mentioned a new technology powering the Samsung compressor. Edited April 9, 2019 by epsilonGreedy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billt Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 1 minute ago, epsilonGreedy said: it was a horrible noisy poorly engineered beast that seemed design to promote early onset macular degeneration. I never knew a fridge could make you go blind! I would modify the design so you don't have a fridge in a living area. Even the best of them make some noise. All these developer houses with one big (cheap) kitchen/dining area seem flawed to me partly because you can't get away from noisy appliances Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 The problem with "buy a new fridge" is how do you know how noisy it was. The LG double door "American" FF in our last house proved to be the quietest FF we have ever owned. That was luck, not judgement. In the new house SWMBO did not want anything that big but when we looked most upright FF's (one above the other) were too small. We ended up with a Becko FF because it was 700mm wide and had quite a bit more space than the majority that were 600mm or less wide. There really was not much choice. Let alone then being able to choose the quietest one in that format. As it happens it is disappointingly noisy. It is in the "kitchen / family room" and now sits alongside a bit of projecting stud wall next to it that has quietened it a bit. This just reinforces my view that open plan rooms incorporating a kitchen are a very bad idea. I am now very glad we have the other living room available away from the noise of the FF, the dishwasher, the fan oven, and the extractor hood. Kitchens are WORK rooms, not relaxing rooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoveringbuilder Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 +1 for Samsung, even when the house is deadly quiet you do not hear it, also my Bosch dishwasher is silent, if you forget you’ve put it on you only hear the bleeper when it’s finished 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 27 minutes ago, Onoff said: Ours WAS noisy... then it died. New thermostat sorted it. See my thread. I would need to get someone in to fix it so weighing up the cost of that vs just buying a new one. I have an identical one next to it that’s quiet as a mouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 2 minutes ago, newhome said: I would need to get someone in to fix it so weighing up the cost of that vs just buying a new one. I have an identical one next to it that’s quiet as a mouse. £25 vs £400+ here. No contest! Of course it could be coincidental that in moving the freezer in / out from where it was it's gone back more level! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 1 minute ago, billt said: I never knew a fridge could make you go blind! The b-grade product designers at Beko must have been experimenting with led lights for the first time. Unfortunately these were angled towards the person opening the fridge and over powered without suitable diffusion. The Samsung had half the wattage of led lighting and was still brighter that tradition fridge illumination plus the led lights were mounted in recessed panels angled towards the shelves and not the face of the human owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 10 minutes ago, ProDave said: The problem with "buy a new fridge" is how do you know how noisy it was. The LG double door "American" FF in our last house proved to be the quietest FF we have ever owned. That was luck, not judgement. Not just luck, here is the science behind Samsung's quiet compressor. https://news.samsung.com/global/appliance-parts-story-part-1-the-secret-of-worlds-no-1-refrigerator-compressor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 I think that Which cover noise when they do their Best of reviews on fridges. Also some websites have noise ratings in the spec detail. Finally, standing it on a square of rubber matting will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadnaught Posted April 9, 2019 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 (edited) Thanks all. Interesting about the new compressor technology, @epsilonGreedy. Didn't know about that. I will certainly be choosing as quiet a one as I can find. Back to the original question — how best to build a housing for a fridge-freezer that allows air circulation but muffles noise? I like @ProDave's idea of a stud wall. Any other ideas? Edited April 9, 2019 by Dreadnaught Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Change your wall finish behind and beside the fridge to be absorbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Search "accoustic foam fire rated". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzie Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 My neff is in the open plan kitchen and it is silent. It is built in though. In the Utility I have a freestanding american style side by side which I bought for the rented property I didnt pay a huge amount and it is a really great piece of kit and very quiet I’m so impressed with it. Brand is Haier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 On 09/04/2019 at 11:56, recoveringbuilder said: +1 for Samsung, even when the house is deadly quiet you do not hear it, also my Bosch dishwasher is silent, if you forget you’ve put it on you only hear the bleeper when it’s finished @recoveringbuilder what model is your Bosch dishwasher? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 stud wall and a door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Thread is 2 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Pay for the best FF that budget allows for, but TBH the budget should really be set by "how much the quietest FF" as that is your core remit . In an open-plan kitchen / dining / living area, unless it's an american style FF, there is no way I would lose continuity of the eyeline when looking across the space by having a conflicting finished full height FF. It would defffo be an integrated unit. Plus ( iirc ) your oven tower is alongside so that will have a tower decor panel either side anyways, plus a door above and a door and a plinth below, so why stop the plinth? Looks 'bitty' that way, imo. The kitchen needs to be drop dead gorgeous and be completely / as unoffensive as possible to achieve a ( marketable ) finish, and to fully compliment the open plan idea, so apart from the sink, hob and extractor, get it all hidden AFAIC. Washer / drier to be in the utility, if / when you have one, and get an equally high performance ( deffo 1/2 load capable ) dishwasher to boot. On 09/04/2019 at 11:56, recoveringbuilder said: also my Bosch dishwasher is silent, if you forget you’ve put it on you only hear the bleeper when it’s finished My DW is an Indesit and ( another by luck not judgement ) it's the same here, ultra quiet and the beep reminds me I've actually put it on. The cheap freezer I bought departed this building before it died, as it was a PITA......noisy and froze up where it shouldn't have. Buy cheap buy twice, etc, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 23 minutes ago, Ferdinand said: Thread is 2 years old. I'm older. Resurrecting old threads is A OK, and much better than starting a new one to discuss the same thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Does the type of compressor make much of a difference. Piston Screw Scroll Hermetic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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