Neighbor's pool heater is rockin' the boat!

[dws3]

We live in a nice neighborhood in the DFW Metroplex, with 3-5K sq. ft. houses on postage stamp-sized lots (75x130, or about 0.2 acres). My neighbor just completed a six-month backyard project that included a patio extension, outdoor kitchen, pergola, small pool, spa and artificial turf. It looks great. The problem - for me, not them - is that when the heater kicks on, it generates a very low frequency rumble that I can feel and hear throughout most of my house. They don't hear it when they are in the spa because the spa is so noisy with the jets and bubbles and all. I approached my neighbor about it, and he said he would have his builder check it out. My neighbor's builder told me that "it was unfortunate" that my house was laid out the way it is, with my patio being opened up in the direction of my neighbor's house. I explained that it wasn't so much that the noise bothered me when I was outside, but when I was in my house, because I could feel that vibration on the other side of my house. He replied that "it isn't that loud", and "that's just the way it is". That was the end of our conversation, because I had to leave before I said something I would have regretted. It sure sounds loud when I'm watching a movie in my family room, or when we are trying to sleep at 11:30 pm, or 2:00 am. But if you had someone come stand next to the heater to see how loud it was, they might be hard-pressed to think that could really be a big problem.

So here is my theory. The heater - a Pentair 400K Btu unit , MasterTemp 400, I think - kicks on. The gas jets start roaring, which generates low frequency waves in the low audio and sub-audio range. It is definitely loud enough to hear, but not so loud that you can't talk over it. The pool equipment is mounted on a plastic platform, not concrete. I feel like the plastic platform probably contributes to the transmissibility of the sub-audio frequencies. And the fact that "it isn't that loud" doesn't really matter, because low frequencies will travel long distances, even at low amplitudes. I think that either the platform is the wrong mounting surface for the heater, or it (the heater and/or the platform) isn't properly installed.

My neighbor has been avoiding me since I first pointed out the problem, and I have been giving him some space since he has had a lot of company lately, enjoying his new outdoor oasis. I would like to get him to come into my house and feel what I am feeling when his heater is on, but I'd also like to know if anyone has ever experienced something similar to this? Is there any way to dampen the frequencies and dampen this potential feud? Or is it "just the way it is"?

 

[cowboycasey]

That is interesting, There was a person on here last year or maybe 2 years ago with almost the same exact situation but it was his equipment and it was connected to his own house.. when the pump would come on it would make major noise inside his house....

He used sound recording equipment to track down the noise.. what exactly I am not sure.. but it had a display and you could clearly see the frequency the sound was at and exactly when it turned on and off...

I do not remember what came of it or if they every got it fixed..

If it were me I would buy 2 sets of these and walk over and ask him if you could try putting them under his heater legs and see if that helps.. 40 bucks for my sanity is worth every penny and if it works say thank you very much for doing this...

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[sktn77a]

Those anti vibration pads on a solid concrete equipment pad should work.

 

[dws3]

Thanks, I'll investigate anti-vibration pads, but I'll have to look at something made for outdoor use, and probably something that is heat-resistant, since I don't know how hot the bottom of the heater gets (probably not super-hot). Unfortunately, I can't make him take out his plastic equipment pad and install a concrete pad. But this whole episode - the six-month project length, during which we were constantly barraged with heavy equipment and days of stone dust blowing across our back yard - has made it clear that I am not meant for postage-stamp living, or as we used to say in the Navy, being "nut-to-butt". We are looking for a new house further out of the metroplex, with at least an acre. You don't live forever, and it's been way too long since I could sit on my front or back porch and see the sun rise or set. Cheers!

 

[cowboycasey]

I know exactly what you are saying.. I wanted 5 to 10 acres but settled for 1.5 just outside of town in a new subdivision with 1 and 2 acre lots, we got a corner lot so 1.5...

 

[DorsalSpine]

My wife and I are thinking of downsizing but giving up my 3 acres on the edge of town would be a shock. Our vacation property is 35 wooded acres in the middle of nowhere. No light pollution, no noise, no cars, no neighbors. It's a little too remote for year round living but it's nice to get away from it all. I don't think I could go back to living in town.

 

[ajw22]

probably something that is heat-resistant, since I don't know how hot the bottom of the heater gets (probably not super-hot). Unfortunately, I can't make him take out his plastic equipment pad and install a concrete pad.

The bottom of a pool heater does not get hot at all.

Moving a pool heater to change the pad it sits on is not a big deal. Unscrew the two water lines and the gas line and it can be moved to the side.

Sweettalk your neighbor into telling is PB to just do it. Throw him a few bucks if necessary.

 

[BowserB]

I think I know of what you speak. We have a Mastertemp 400. Our concrete equipment pad is on a kind of L on the north side of our house, on the base of the L open to the west and the other part of the L facing north. That side of the house is 7.5 feet from the fence. Our pool is behind the house--west of the back of the house--and the spa is on the south end of the pool. We don't often use the air blower, but we do often use the spa with the temp set to 99-100. The heater cycles within about a 5 degree range, as we often don't completely isolate the water suction and returns. When the temp drops to 94, my wife starts listening. When she hears that low rumble, she knows the hot water will follow. In the spa, we're probably 75 feet or so from that heater, but the rumble comes through clearly--I can't tell if it is through the air or the ground and water, but I hear it. I've never been indoors when the heater came on, but I can imagine the sound coming through. We certainly hear the standby generator when it runs its weekly automatic exercise run for 20 minutes (it's on the north side of the house, too...that's where our utilities--gas, electric, water--enter the house.) I've asked our neighbor to let me know if there is a better time to run the generator--like when no one is usually at home--but they say it's no problem for them. I wonder now about the heater and whether we're an annoying neighbor. I know his neighbor on the other side is an annoyance, so maybe in comparison, he doesn't mind us!

Our heater is on a concrete slab. I'm a little surprised to hear that a super deluxe back yard pool oasis was built with the equipment on a cheap Home Depot plastic pad. I don't know about vibration, but I can't imagine that would hold everything steady--pumps, etc., or last very long. OTOH, in our last house, the A/C guy put those plastic and foam pads under the A/C condenser units on top of the existing concrete, as he said it would better absorb noise and vibration. So short of spring-based pads under your neighbor's heater, what you're hearing may be as quiet as it's going to get. Even springs might not do the job, as when I'm standing next to it and the heater fires up, it sounds like the rumble is coming directly from the heater to my ears.

P.S. My description was bad. Sorry. Here's the layout from a Google satellite view--I think about two years ago. Red arrow points to the heater. Blue arrow points to the sps.