Isolate pole from noise?

[Telia]

I have seen various solutions in minimizing the noise that the motor makes by filling the pole with sand.

Is there any other material i can fill the pole with? some foam? what kind of foam?

I beleive filling with sand is too messy as i will not have the dish in the garden but in a flat with balcony so it needs to be clean and not messy.

 

[Lazarus]

I have seen various solutions in minimising the noise that the motor makes by filling the pole with sand.

Is there any other material i can fill the pole with? some foam? what kind of foam?

I believe filling with sand is too messy as i will not have the dish in the garden but in a flat with balcony so it needs to be clean and not messy.

You could try an Expanding Polyurethane Foam Aerosol - Readily available from DiY/Hardware Stores in the UK (and I guess elsewhere). It's very easy to use and not too expensive.

 

[johnsattuk]

I have seen various solutions in minimizing the noise that the motor makes by filling the pole with sand.

Is there any other material i can fill the pole with? some foam? what kind of foam?

I beleive filling with sand is too messy as i will not have the dish in the garden but in a flat with balcony so it needs to be clean and not messy.

Buy some clean sand as used for childrens sand pits.

Foam will make very little difference to the noise level generated by the pole, needs some mass to lower and dampen the resonant frequencies of the steel tube, sand quite good, concrete perhaps a bit better, lead probably very good.

 

[Telia]

What is lead?

 

[johnsattuk]

What is lead?

A heavy toxic bluish-white metallic element that is highly malleable, used in alloys (such as solder), accumulators, cable sheaths, paints, and as a radiation shield.
Symbol: Pb; Atomic no. 82 ; Atomic wt. : 207.2

 

[futumsch]

lead probably very good.

Yeah, I was thinking of lead, and that got me thinking of lead flashing for roofs - which is a tad expensive. But, you can get sticky backed aluminium flashing (try Wickes) which you would have stick to the outside of the tube. Probably not the most elegant solution, but a practical alternative.

Is the noise quite considerable Telia? My dish is mounted on a 5mm thick 2" aluminium pole on 18" T&Ks. I've tried the filling the tube with sand method but the sound of my Silent Gold SG-100 motor still manages to make a quite whirring noise through the wall. (I think its fair compensation for putting up with the noise that the neighbours kids make 'O'-red )

 

[purplemarina]

How about trying tightly packed rags such as an old blanket or towel,just push them down the pole. non messy and cheap if it dosent work !

 

[johnsattuk]

But, you can get sticky backed aluminium flashing (try Wickes) which you would have stick to the outside of the tube. Probably not the most elegant solution, but a practical alternative.

Best results are with a combination of mass and high hysteresis, the aluminium flashing does not have this in abundance. If you can stick stuff on the outside of the tube, sound deadening panels as used in cars are quite good, they have high density, high hysteresis, are made for the purpose, and are obtainable sticky backed. Generally the motor shops only sell thinnish panels (~2mm) but you could apply a couple of layers for better effect.If you can find some with aluminium foil protection, it might look a little better. In cars the alu. foil is used to protect from radiated heat. It is easy to cut and is best applied using a heat gun.

 

[Telia]

I tried with towels and it made it better but not enough.

Concrete will make it too heavy.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Towels and sand ?

 

[Topper]

Filling the pole with mica chips or polystyrene chips will reduce the amount of resonance and hence the noise emitted, without significantly adding to the weight