Soundproofing material for pump enclosure with wifi devices

[YonnyPiscinas]

I'll be building some new wooden doors on my pump/filter enclosure but would like to add some soundproofing material also.

I have several wifi linked devices in the enclosure that already have a weak signal due to being far from the access point.

What kind of material could I use that would not impede the signal?

Thanks

 

[HermanTX]

Can you run a wifi extender or a mesh network closer to your enclosure? That would help regardless of the standard soundproofing material

 

[YonnyPiscinas]

Can you run a wifi extender or a mesh network closer to your enclosure? That would help regardless of the standard soundproofing material

Thought about that but was hoping to avoid it.
Already got 4 access points around the house. Running the cat cable under the ground to the end of the garden may well prove to be an issue. Last resort possibly a cheap 2nd hand router cabled. I don't think my fish eye would reach that far either (I'll give it a go though)

 

[markayash]

Anything dense enough to block sound will probably block wifi

 

[Dirk]

Can the "wifi linked devices" be hardwired with ethernet cable? If so, do yourself a favor: eliminate all WiFi and do what it takes to run an ethernet cable to the pad. You can get around the fish limitation by running a light rope (mason line is very strong, see below): run half the conduit, fish the rope through it. Run the other half of the conduit, without connecting it yet to the first half. Fish the rope through the second half and then glue the two halves together. Use the rope to pull the ethernet cable. I used this MO myself when I couldn't get a fish tape to work.

Use at least Cat 6. You might research which type of Cat 6 to use. They vary by types of insulation and shielding. Some are best for certain applications.

Use an ethernet switch to connect the devices to the cable. If the devices cannot be hardwired, plug in a WiFi extender to the ethernet cable, which will then be inside whatever soundproofed barrier you erect, which means you can make it as thick and sound-proofy as you need.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-250-ft-Fluorescent-Orange-Nylon-Mason-Line-String/1000126025

 

[Tres Gatos]

Megasorber.com makes sound absorbing panels primarily for boats but can be used in many other applications.

 

[ZcottD]

Thought about that but was hoping to avoid it.
Already got 4 access points around the house. Running the cat cable under the ground to the end of the garden may well prove to be an issue. Last resort possibly a cheap 2nd hand router cabled. I don't think my fish eye would reach that far either (I'll give it a go though)

4 standard APs wired into a router?

There are many wifi range extenders that plug into an outlet, connect to your network via wifi so you dont need to run a cable to them. Just need an interior outlet in a good spot between the closetest AP or your router and the pump enclosure.

With 4 APs and a router it sounds like you have a very large house, or a very concrete house, and a mesh style network would be the ideal upgrade, but it would be costly. Wifi range extender would be 50ish bucks, upgrading to a mesh router and satellites would be around 500-600 by the sound of things.

 

[markayash]

I will do a 180, I was going to sound proof mine but after getting a VS pump I can barely hear it run not sure if that’s what’s you are trying and if you have a bunch of extra money laying around but a vs is 10 times quieter

 

[YonnyPiscinas]

4 standard APs wired into a router?

There are many wifi range extenders that plug into an outlet, connect to your network via wifi so you dont need to run a cable to them. Just need an interior outlet in a good spot between the closetest AP or your router and the pump enclosure.

With 4 APs and a router it sounds like you have a very large house, or a very concrete house, and a mesh style network would be the ideal upgrade, but it would be costly. Wifi range extender would be 50ish bucks, upgrading to a mesh router and satellites would be around 500-600 by the sound of things.

Yes we have a complex solid house. The electric underfloor heating seems to impede the strength between the floors to start. We have bathrooms in the middle of the house so the water tanks/pipes don't help.
I have more than 50 devices connnected (home automation - cameras/rf bridges/inteligent lights etc etc). DHCP server/gateway with a list of static Ips set.
So a good way to get full strength at all corners of both floors was to place access points. Far better than extenders or mesh systems.
Working in IT I do prefer cabled systems. I like the keep the home automation devices (2.4ghz) on a separate channel and ssid also. A separate 5ghz wifi for phone users. TV's/ps4 all cabled.

 

[YonnyPiscinas]

I will do a 180, I was going to sound proof mine but after getting a VS pump I can barely hear it run not sure if that’s what’s you are trying and if you have a bunch of extra money laying around but a vs is 10 times quieter

VS pumps here in Uruguay are very very rare and also if available extremely expensive.

 

[markayash]

VS pumps here in Uruguay are very very rare and also if available extremely expensive.
[/QUOT
I didn’t notice your location. There were some threads on here about making pump sound proof covers/ boxes

 

[YonnyPiscinas]

Thanks had a look at some ideas. MDF better than plywood for a start.
Possibly a layer of 50mm fibre glass against the mdf also.
Materials are limited here so the fibre glass is a viable option

 

[Katodude]

Styrofoam should work pretty well at noise isolation with very little impact on wifi. Also just consider drywall since that does not block signals either.