[ed_jake]

I put the Soft Door Cab I had on my 318 on my 430 last weekend.
The 1st thing I discovered is the noise. Muffs help but it is still terrible.
What is the solution? I don't expect it to be as quiet as riding in a car but I want to do something.
Does Carpet on the floorpan and on the inside of the roof work? Do I need to buy cab insulation?

 

[mikeduwe]

Noise is likely coming from the INSIDE. No sealed firewall between you and the engine bay like on a car.

That and lack of visibility is why I took the one off my 332 the same day I put it on.

Mine did have wooden doors which should help keep outside noise out (and inside noise in though).

A quick and dirty experiment might be get a 4x8 sheet of the pink foam insulation and cut out pannels and stick them places to see where some of the big places to focus your efforts are. Might help keep it warmer in there too

 

[letienne]

I built my cab on the 318 when it was still warm outside and I had the 50" mower deck on with power flo. I had to use hearing protection. With the snow thrower it is a lot quieter. Next summer I am going to try some rubber gaskets between the fender pan and the tractor frame. I have Jim Lang's firewall insulation but it doesn't help with the noise. I know that the 212 that I had rubber motor mounts but the Onan engine is hard bolted to the frame.

 

[john_u]

Sound deadening material like dynamat/fatmat on the roof and other hard panels would greatly reduce the noise inside the cab by increasing the panel mass and reducing its natural frequency. Add some soft acoustical foam to the roof over that and you'll see that much more improvement due to the sound now being absorbed.

Insulating the fender deck and hood would likely provide great benefit as well.

 

[grandpa_dudee]

Ed,
I have the same setup, it is very noisy, even when at half throttle not blowing snow. I use ear muffs that are tight to the ears and I'm ok with that. It is worth it to be out of the snow/wind. I am sure some sound deadening will help but for me my muffs seem to make it bearable. Where abouts are you in MN?
Doug

 

[raboley]

I use ear plugs. I doubt a soft cab can be made much quieter. I didn't have the heart to drill mounting holes in the 322 fender deck which I know would be quieter, so I am sticking with the louder 318. Ear plugs keep the warm air in my head too.

 

[grandpa_dudee]

I should clarify that my ear muffs are for sound deadening not for ear warmth. Although they do some of that also!!

 

[ed_jake]

Doug I agree about the ear muffs. When I started the tractor and ran it out of the shop I immediately went back in for the ear muffs. I last used the Cab on my 318 and it was loud but not like it is on the 430.
I am going to be trying something's to try and cut the noise. I was just wondering what hade been tried by others.
I don't think my pocket book is prepared for Dynamat. I was thinking carpet but I am going to try Mikes idea of the pink foam 1st.
Thanks

 

[army]

I cut some deep pile carpet to fit the fenderpan on my 400 with the Cozy Cab. It's thick and dense and helps some but I will always need ear protection. I use industrial type ear muffs. The noise is greatly reduced and they're pretty comfortable. I want to save my hearing so I never miss the dinner bell. I bought one at a flea market for 50 cents and told my wife she could use it to call me for supper. It was supposed to be a joke but she actually uses it. I'm not the only one who starts drooling and runs to the kitchen. Our dogs do it too. I laugh every time.


Army

 

[neil]

My JD cab on the 430 doesn't seem to be any noisier than the 430 without it - no insulation with the soft side doors - the rest is hard

 

[army]

I don't have any visibility issues in my Cozy cab Mike unless it's snowing and blowing hard but I've seen some models and homemade enclosures that looked a lot like machine gun bunkers.

How pricey is Dynomat John? Some guys with old C3 Corvettes like mine put it on the floors and firewall to reduce heat and noise but I don't recall the cost.

If you want to try some thick carpet on your fender pan drop by your local carpet place and ask if they'll let you have some roll ends. Get lots of it if you can. It might take a couple tries to get the pattern right. Mine is 2 piece. One chunk covers the fender pan and is cut to fit down over the tranny tunnel to the dash pedestal and all the way along the footrests to the front. Before the big piece goes in I drape another chunk over the tranny tunnel and down both sides to the footrests to cover the exposed sides. The carpet I use is thick enough to also help seal up the fender pan around the bottom of the cab.


Army

 

[ed_jake]

I guess I'm going to put Tractor Cab liner in it. Dynomat looks like it's out of my price range. Next spring when I pull the cab I will add something to the bottom of the Fenderdeck as well.
I do agree with you Neil. It just that it seems worse inside of the Cab.
The main reason working on this is I'm getting old and deaf as it is and I don't want to accelerate the problem.
If I get much worse I'm going to need to find a bell like Army did and train my Lab to take me to supper or I might starve to death.

 

[john_u]

Dynamat is the name brand and hence, quite pricey. I've found a few alternative products, namely fatmat, Gtmat, and hushmat. I found gtmat without a logo on the auction site for a very reasonable price ($90 for 50 sq ft of 80 mil). I'll probably buy mine after the holidays. And over that, the acoustic foam from fehr interiors.

Hard to put a price on hearing protection, so I figure its worth a hundred bucks or two.

 

[ed_jake]

Christmas handled my problem. My wife gave me a 3M Ear Muff's that cut sound by 30db.
I haven't had the 430 out of the shed yet but with them on I was able to handle the noise in the cab with the engine at full throttle.
When I take the cab off next spring I am going to look into doing something under the fender pan and may do the the cab as well.
Thanks

 

[army]

My ear muffs don't work the way I thought they would. They get rid of the noise fine but nobody in the control tower ever talks back to me. Be nice to hear a "Roger that.." once in a while

Army

 

[KB]

Army,

You might want to check for exhaust leaks.

Kb

 

[aquist06]

LOL, very funny KB. Ed, what about the rubbery sheets used on docks to keep boats from rubbing? It is soft, but really quite durable. We have it in the roof and sides of one of our front end loaders at work. Really quiets it down and was pretty cheap compared to the original insulation from Deere.

[URL="http://www.thefoamfactory.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/polyethylene21.jpg[/IMG]http://www.thefoamfactory.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/polyethylene21.jpg[/URL]

This is what it looks like. we also use it for kneeling pads when working on equipment.

Adam

 

[coalminer16]

I always where hearing protection for all of my equipment (chainsaws, mowing, blowing snow, etc). But-it isn't unbearable in the cab without hearing protect if needed (quick move point A to B). The Cozy cab is nice and tight so things don't rattle on the cab itself and there is plenty of vision with how much glass is on that cab. I can see my front tires without issue and see the rear blade. If anything my sides might be a little limited-but not much-I can look over and see my rear wheels like I can without a cab. But the front wheels, blower and rear blade which I can see all stick out equally far so no need.

 

[ed_jake]

Adam
This is very interesting. Looks like a material that will stand up.
I am a little overwhelmed by the different materials they offer.
I am assuming the material you are referring to is an acoustical material. Do you know which material is being used?

 

[aquist06]

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/closedcellfoam/polyethylene.html

This is the stuff that we have in the loaders and it works great. I didn't look at the other products, I bet the acoustic foam would be even better.