Have you ever cursed your VR oven for waking up in the middle of the night? Have you ever had to raise the TV a little when the heater was turned on? RV ovens are notoriously loud for a number of reasons. Generally, most of the noise comes from the high-speed fan which is then amplified by the enclosure in which the oven is located. This tutorial focuses on how to reduce oven noise using soundproofing material and a little airflow trick that will reduce the noise level to a dull roar.
Step 1: measuring box
Begin by removing the return air register and inspecting the inside of the oven cabinet. Using a tape measure, measure the dimensions of the top, back, and sides of the cabinet. For example, the top of the cabinet may measure 24 “x 24”. That’s 2 ‘x 2’, or 4 square feet. foot What you are doing is measuring the total square footage inside the cabinet where you will place the soundproofing material. Usually around 6-8 square feet. foot Required, unless you have a really large enclosure, such as inside a lower dining room storage area.
Step 2: determine airflow requirements
Now get the manual out of your oven. Find out how many square inches of return air area the oven requires to operate effectively. For example, a 30,000 BTU suburban oven requires 54 square feet. on. opening area for air to flow through the return grille. This size oven will generally have a rack that has 4 sets of racks. In reality, only 2 are required to support the return air requirement, which in this case is about 60 m2. on.
Step 3: add soundproofing material to the registry
Next, add some soundproofing material to the back of the register. Much of the fan noise is carried through the front of the register, so it makes sense to try to reduce the noise here as well. In the example in step 2, you need to apply soundproofing material to the back of the register over the middle two of the four columns of louvers. It’s okay to do this as it still meets the furnace return air requirements.
Step 4: add soundproofing to the cabinet
Cut the soundproofing material to fit your oven cabinet measurements and attach it to the walls (sides, top and back) of the cabinet. The suggested material in the parts source link below can be obtained with a peel and stick backing, making material joining a breeze. It costs a bit more than non-sticky stuff, but you won’t have to use glue if you choose this type.
Step 5: install the return grill
Replace the return air grill and turn the oven on. Let the oven run for a full cycle to make sure everything is working properly.
Tips and Warnings:
- You can expect about a 6 dB reduction in noise level. How much is this? The human ear perceives 3 dB sound levels as twice as loud or quieter. For example, if you measure the noise output of your oven, it could be 61 dB at 5 ‘. Reducing the noise level to 58 dB would be perceived as twice as quiet. With this mod, using the 3/4 “material, your oven could be up to four times quieter! Now you won’t have to turn on the TV every time the oven is turned on!
- Be sure to provide adequate airflow through the return air grill by meeting the minimum airflow requirements for your furnace specified in your owner’s manual. Otherwise, the oven may run erratically or shut down due to overheating.