Rattles (1 Viewer)

[Mark_J_H_Jr]

I am sure folks on this forum have experienced various rattles in their rooms from the sub rumbling at low frequencies.

The first place the rattles come from is the can lights in the ceiling. I unfortunately have 17 of them to deal with. I have no idea what rattles. Other than replacing them, is there a trick to silencing them?

The two doors in the room will rattle at very low bass when closed. Opening the doors is realy not an option, so is there cool trick to stopping this rattle.

I guess that after I fix these, I will find some more. But if there are some tricks, I would sure like to know.

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

I don't know if it will help your rattles but this stuff worked wonders for me! It is also great for coupling bookshelf monitors to stands! The same stuff is sold in hi-end audio stores for like $10-$20. Its a $1.97 for a twin pack at staples...
[c] [/c]

My main rattles were the air return vent which happens to be about 2 feet above my sub on the wall. It figures my sub would sound best in this location... Anyway I used this generic blu-tak to dampen the air return vent.

After that, I noticed the crosses that are hanging on the wall outside my bonus room were rattling like crazy! (The wife collects crosses...) I used little balls of this blu-tak behind the crosses where they contacted the wall. No more rattles!


Ronnie

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Mark,

It might help to determine what in the cans is rattling. I suspect it may simply be the light bulb vibrating against the can. Often the bulb is not centered in the can, but is touching the side of the can or trim ring. If that is the case, any insulator used (per Ronnie’s recommendation) will need to be able to withstand high temperatures.

Typically the socket is mounted on a bracket; it should be relatively simple to bend it to center the bulb so that it clears all surfaces. Alternately, if your cans are using PAR 40 bulbs, switching to smaller PAR 30 bulbs would solve this problem.

Regarding the doors, I would assume that if it is the door panels vibrating, there is probably not much you can do about it. However, the fact that it stops when you open the door suggests that it may be the door vibrating against the frame. Try pulling the doors tightly closed and see if the rattling stops. If it does, some weather stripping would solve the problem.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Mark_J_H_Jr]

The cans have a metallic sound when they rattle. It could be the bulb against the side. I will verify and make sure the bulbs don't touch. I'll stop by staples and get some of the recommended reuseable adhesive.

It is amazing what a sub does in the theater once I got the phase correct. Watched "XXX" the other night and during an avalanche, things rattled and the I thought the couch moved.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[ThomasW]

Be careful with any of the 'Blu-tak' like products. They are oil based and the oil can leach out. Also they will melt with higher temps.

Might simply try rubber door stops on the closed/open doors. They work fine between the door and the frame on pocket doors. Or between the door and the floor with a standard door

The cans shouldn't rattle unless something is loose. Check the wing nuts that control the bulb height/depth. If you can access the top check the screws on the Romex clamps and the clip that holds the top on the wiring access box

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

As stated by others, I would NOT use the blu-tak on anything that is a heat source!

rf

 

[Brian Bunge]

Ronnie,

Crosses huh? You're not married to Sharon Osborne are you?

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Brian, did I tell you this story in Atlanta?

I can't remember if it was the Sears repair man or the Terminix guy, but one of them when on a service call to our house saw all the crosses. The first thing he asked my wife was (in a serious voice) "COOL! Are you guys major Osborne fans? That's my favorite show too!"

My wife just smiled and said "No, we're Christians." The guy got a confused look on his face like "but what does that have to do with being Osborne fans..."

• (FYI: If you knew my wife and I, you would see the humor in the above story.
  It's pretty obvious we're not reclusive Osborne fan, much less overt ones.)

rf