Soundproofing cab on B2650HSTC

[4x4farmer]

I haven't herd of to many guys doing much with the super b cabs as far as trying to eliminate the hydro whine. I know guys have taken all the floor panels and under seat panels off on the B3030 and B3000 and put dynamat on the bottom side. I know the superb cab is a lot better then the older ones but it's still to much noise for me. The newer cabs are all one welded unit so not much for plates to remove. My plan...remove the seat. Remove the plastic shrouding from around all the levers on each side of the seat. Remove the rubber floor mat. Now I'm going install dynamat on the fenders, under seat, and under the closed cell foam under the floor mat. Anything that is metal will get dynamat put on. Then anything that is still exposed dynamat after the floor mat is re installed like under the seat and fenders will get 1/2 inch tractor cab insulation put on it. I will update with pictures as I do the project. Not sure when I'll get started but hoping soon. Anyone with any other advice for me would be greatly appreciated.

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[KubotaVet]

I'll be very interested on how that turn's out! My 2650 is being delivered tomorrow and I haven't had a chance to drive one yet, if whine is too annoying I might be doing the same thing.

Post lots of pics, please

 

[sheepfarmer]

After driving 4 different B2650's and finding the transmission noise inside the cabbed models annoying, I talked to 3 of the dealers in the area about the problem. I learned that it was that way because of the geared transmission, unlike the solenoid controlled transmission in my L3560. I didn't think it was a problem with the open station B2650's. One dealer, Alderman's, offered to take a new B2650HSTC in its crate, and do essentially what you are suggesting, remove the seat and cover everything with sound insulating material. They did a fabulous job, way better than I could have done myself. They obtained the foam liner in a roll from an ag supply company, Shoup, I think the number was CU1. It is not in their online catalogue you have to call them. It requires an upholstery adhesive to hold it in place. Looks like it came from the factory that way. The exposed surface is grey and can be wiped off if needed.

The noise level is greatly improved by my subjective impression, but there is some variation among different machines, and since it was in its crate when they started, no before and after measurements were made. I can run it comfortably with the snowblower without earmuffs, but it is still a bit noisy. Someone in the threads you mentioned said that they had been told that the glass in the cab would also resonate, and not much you can do about that.

I would say that what you are planning is worth doing. I had thought to add some sound deadening baffles to the ceiling, but not much room for them. I don't think anyone has done any quantitative comparisons inside a tractor of the various sound deadening materials, so which one is best for our purpose is not known. Too thick or too stiff and it won't be possible to put it where you want it neatly. There is no more room under the floor mat for more material.

 

[fatjay]

Please post your results.

I'm looking to soundproof mine as well. The plan is to use a rubber mat and cut to fit on the inside which will insulate from the underside, then maybe take off the dash and cut a rubber piece and put it between the gas tank and the dash, as I think I have a good amount of sound coming through there.

Here's the one I was looking at: http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficM...ercial-Door-Mat-60-060-9501-4000600/206498901

 

[NEPA Guy]

Oh man if you could get this project going that would be great. I'm dying to fix mine. No time or resources yet to do anything about it, hopefully come spring.

Just make sure to measure the decibels, for before and after results.

Here's some talk.

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26817

 

[4x4farmer]

I don't think I have much noise coming through my firewall from the engine. When I have the tractor throttled up at 540pto speed for blowing snow I hardly even notice the noise difference from idle. We will see when I'm done. Can always go back and do it. I'm going to download a decibel app on my phone and check it before and after.

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[4x4farmer]

Just did a little snow blowing on the driveway and did a decibel test. The before test was done at 540pto rpm. It read 89 decibels while snowblower was under load and hydro was whining. When I stopped moving and the hydro noise went away it still read the same level. So I guess I'm basically trying to stop the hydro whine but I'm sure it will help with decibels as well. I had a old piece of 1" scrap insulation laying around so I cut two notches in it real quick just to shove it under the seat to see what that did and I think it took some of the whine away. It was just a test though. Hoping to acually start the project this weekend.

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[4x4farmer]

Just did a little snow blowing on the driveway and did a decibel test. The before test was done at 540pto rpm. It read 89 decibels while snowblower was under load and hydro was whining. When I stopped moving and the hydro noise went away it still read the same level. So I guess I'm basically trying to stop the hydro whine but I'm sure it will help with decibels as well. I had a old piece of 1" scrap insulation laying around so I cut two notches in it real quick just to shove it under the seat to see what that did and I think it took some of the whine away. It was just a test though. Hoping to acually start the project this weekend.

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[4x4farmer]

https://youtu.be/Mdy4RNeZMgo

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[coachgeo]

Sounds easier (pardon the pun) to just wear sound deadening/noise canceling head phones

 

[NEPA Guy]

I wear ear plugs and muffs. It still aggravates my tinnitus. I can hear it now. Imagine shutting off the tractor, walking away, and still hearing the high pitched whine. Non stop. For weeks. Months. The only thing that masks it is more noise.

If you don't have hearing loss yet, and you subject yourself to these excessive decibels, you will lose your hearing. Just as sure as smoking cigarettes causes cancer. It's only a matter of time.

the EPA says, "Noise levels for various areas are identified according to the use of the area. Levels of 45 decibels are associated with indoor residential areas, hospitals and schools, whereas 55 decibels is identified for certain outdoor areas where human activity takes place. The level of 70 decibels is identified for all areas in order to prevent hearing loss."

OSHA and the CDC says, "In workplaces, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that average noise exposures not exceed 90 dB for an 8-hour work day. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that the highest permissible level of noise exposure in the workplace is an average of 85 dB over an 8 hour day.

Occupational limits are set to protect workers from developing “material hearing impairment,” meaning an inability to hear and understand speech, if exposed over a 40-year period. They are not set to protect all workers, nor sensitive populations, such as children, and people with certain diseases. When setting this limit, NIOSH acknowledged that about 8% of workers could still develop a material hearing impairment. For this reason, NIOSH recommends that noise levels be reduced or hearing protection used whenever a noise level exceeds 85 dB for any length of time. For more information on understanding noise exposure limits, visit NIOSH Occupational vs. General Environmental Noise."

 

[4x4farmer]

Sounds easier (pardon the pun) to just wear sound deadening/noise canceling head phones

The point is to not have to wear them. I don't find wearing things on my ears comfortable. Don't get me wrong..I do have a pair of noise canceling radio ear muffs which work great but like I said...anything on or in my ears for more then about 10 min gives me a splitting headache. I can't even wear sunglasses due to them sitting on my ears and giving me a headache. I guess we all have our ways. If a guy doesn't mind wearing that stuff great. I just want my tractor to be comfortable and be able to listen to the radio a bit. That and I love tinkering on projects like this...so why not.

 

[sheepfarmer]

The guys at Shoup were very helpful, and the stuff we used comes in rolls, I think you can buy it by the foot. Call them and I bet you could order a foot and try it out to see if you liked it compared with the other brands. The expensive part was the adhesive, and unfortunately a can holds way more than you need. You could do an initial trial with doublestick tape maybe.

 

[4x4farmer]

The guys at Shoup were very helpful, and the stuff we used comes in rolls, I think you can buy it by the foot. Call them and I bet you could order a foot and try it out to see if you liked it compared with the other brands. The expensive part was the adhesive, and unfortunately a can holds way more than you need. You could do an initial trial with doublestick tape maybe.

I'm pretty sure I got the same stuff from Macs harware that you get from Shoup. It's a black tractor cab insulation. Has open cell gray foam on the back and the front is a black fabric with perforated holes in it. Got the 3m spray adhesive for it as well. I have worked with this stuff on other tractor cab projects as well and it works well. I just haven't quite figured out how to contour it to curves and such without putting creases in the finish side of it. I guess that's why I'm not an alpholstry person.

The point is to not have to wear them. I don't find wearing things on my ears comfortable. Don't get me wrong..I do have a pair of noise canceling radio ear muffs which work great but like I said...anything on or in my ears for more then about 10 min gives me a splitting headache. I can't even wear sunglasses due to them sitting on my ears and giving me a headache. I guess we all have our ways. If a guy doesn't mind wearing that stuff great. I just want my tractor to be comfortable and be able to listen to the radio a bit. That and I love tinkering on projects like this...so why not.

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[KubotaVet]

Finally got some seat time with my new B2650. The noise/HST whine didn't seem too bad, better then what I was expecting. I downloaded the same app that 4x4farmer used to measure the decimals when blowing snow under the same conditions. The average was 76db with a max of 78db.

I wonder if Kubota has improved the sound dampening with its newer models? The only time the HST whine was bad was when I had it in High Range when I traveled to my sister-in-law's. Then it was really annoying, but got better when I turned off the cruise control.

I blew the snow in Low Range, I wonder if that has an effect on the HST whine? I've found that with this tractor Low Range is more of a working speed (faster) then my old B7800, which I hardly ever used Low when working the loader or PTO implements.

 

[NEPA Guy]

My machine is much louder. I'm going to download soundmeter and run a comparison with my sound app SPLnFFT to see the differences this afternoon. Is it machine, or app? Also brings another important question to mind. Why the huge difference? If all the machines are made the same, the DB's should be relatively close.

Whats interesting is that Kubota uses some sound dampening material. I looked up the parts diagram, but to repurchase it is very inexpensive, which means in reality its garbage. So the question becomes, would simply replacing the stock material with dynamat work? If not where are the deficiencies? What other places can be filled to improve the dampening?

 

[4x4farmer]

Hey guys. I got started on the project last night. I removed the seat and the plastic shrouds on each side council. Then removed the floor mat and the closed cell foam under it. I took the one cover off from under the seat that accesses the top of the transmission and I put dynamat on the bottom side of that right on top of the thin factory foam. I reinstalled the cover. Now I went ahead and covered every inch of exposed metal on the inside of the cab from the back window to the floor including fenders with dynamat. I then took the foam from under the floor mat and cut dynamat to match the shape and I covered the floor with dynamat. Reinstalled the foam and the floor mat. I'm now at the point of trying to install the tractor cab insulation. This is the tricky part trying to get this to look good. In the end I might end up taking somewhere to have this done. I want it to look good in the end. Here's a couple pics I snapped in the mean time.

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[4x4farmer]

Finally got some seat time with my new B2650. The noise/HST whine didn't seem too bad, better then what I was expecting. I downloaded the same app that 4x4farmer used to measure the decimals when blowing snow under the same conditions. The average was 76db with a max of 78db.

I wonder if Kubota has improved the sound dampening with its newer models? The only time the HST whine was bad was when I had it in High Range when I traveled to my sister-in-law's. Then it was really annoying, but got better when I turned off the cruise control.

I blew the snow in Low Range, I wonder if that has an effect on the HST whine? I've found that with this tractor Low Range is more of a working speed (faster) then my old B7800, which I hardly ever used Low when working the loader or PTO implements.

I didn't try it in low range but I know it would be better. As for the cruise control that is a noisy bugger. The noise avbiously travels right up through the lever and into the cab. I wonder if a guy could look into the linkage and install some rubber isolators somewhere along the line to help. I guess other then traveling down the road or mowing very large areas I don't use mine. I'm excited to finish the project and see how it turns out. I'll be sure to update later today.

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[Huskerfan]

Wow, what a project!

But for those looking for an easier alternative, get the Bose Q 30 headset, noise cancellation and blue tooth wireless. Clamping force and fit over your ears is minimal allowing comfort for hours. The reduction in sound is superb, allowing low listening levels of your audio.

For some background, My wife and I have been wearing Bose noise cancellation A20s in the airplane cockpit for years (now that is a noisy environment!), they are still considered to be the best for general aviation pilots, providing excellent sound reduction and two way radio communications with air traffic control etc. The Q30s are very similar except for the head band and microphone.

 

[NEPA Guy]

Wow, what a project!

But for those looking for an easier alternative, get the Bose Q 30 headset, noise cancellation and blue tooth wireless. Clamping force and fit over your ears is minimal allowing comfort for hours. The reduction in sound is superb, allowing low listening levels of your audio.

For some background, My wife and I have been wearing Bose noise cancellation A20s in the airplane cockpit for years (now that is a noisy environment!), they are still considered to be the best for general aviation pilots, providing excellent sound reduction and two way radio communications with air traffic control etc. The Q30s are very similar except for the head band and microphone.

Excepting the Bose set wont do anything for high frequency HST whining. Only low frequency rumbling. Like from a plane, or a diesel engine. There is no NRR rating and it is not recommended for hearing protection.


"We apologize for the delay in responding to your email. The electronic noise-cancelling component of our earmuff is specifically designed to reduce low-frequency noise—noise generated by engines, blowers, vacuums, generators, compressors, fans, etc. A high-pitched whining sound should be helped by passive earmuffs or earplugs or the combination of the two. We are sorry, but as you have rightly deduced, our product is not the right one for you. However, if your noise is in the high frequency, then you should be successful with a earmuff with earplug combination. High Frequency noise waves are short and can be absorbed by materials such as plastic and foam. We wish you the best and thank you for contacting us."