A Little Extra Cab Insulation

[High Compression]

So this is tried and true by yours truly in other equipment, so I thought that I would share. By the way this wasn't my idea, but unfortunately I don't remember where I saw it so I'm sorry for not giving you credit.

This is my new L5740 Grand. Since I had to remove the roof for other mods, I thought I'd go ahead and do the simple insulation install. In some of my other equipment, the roof didn't come off, but the headliner came down and I was able to install the same way. Your just working upside down.:laughing:

I bought this at my local True Value hardware store in the home insulation section. It looks like bubble wrap made of Mylar. It's very thin, pretty cheap and makes a huge difference in your heat and a/c. I think it reflects more energy than actually insulates, but you get the drift.




I used Gorilla tape. It is 100x better than duct tape, but more expensive.


Cut to fit and tape in place. Just that easy.

You'll notice that you have your heater and your a/c turned down the next season. In my opinion, I think they work half as hard.

 

[rd_macgregor]

Does it make your cab noticeably quieter, too?
BOB

 

[High Compression]

Does it make your cab noticeably quieter, too?
BOB

Honestly I don't notice a difference in noise insulation. Probably because it is on the roof and not on the floor. I suppose you might not hear the geese flying over after the installation. :laughing:

 

[dawoodwa]

I have a L5030HTC, how hard is it to remove the liner. I would like to do the same thing but don't have any idea how to remove the liner.

 

[smfcpacfp]

My B3030 HSDC gets so warm that I have to turn the heat down, even on the one day I used it and it got to -14F. Is yours cold?

Kubota B3030 HSDC snowblowing Jan 2012 (HD) - YouTube

 

[4shorts]

High have you tried your new unit in the cold yet? I doubt you would have needed that done. I've been out in mine in some pretty cold temps lately with just a t shirt on in the cab with the heater fan on low and the mixture turned down on half heat and still found it hot.
My 4240 was the same way. Maybe the older 3030 had a different system that required doing this?
Even with the AC in the summer. You can't keep it up on high in the grand L's because you'd freeze to death with in ten minutes. Hate to die of cold exposure in the dead of the summer :laughing:

 

[High Compression]

High have you tried your new unit in the cold yet? I doubt you would have needed that done. I've been out in mine in some pretty cold temps lately with just a t shirt on in the cab with the heater fan on low and the mixture turned down on half heat and still found it hot.
My 4240 was the same way. Maybe the older 3030 had a different system that required doing this?
Even with the AC in the summer. You can't keep it up on high in the grand L's because you'd freeze to death with in ten minutes. Hate to die of cold exposure in the dead of the summer :laughing:

Very true! I will say that it is definitely not a necessity on the Grand L's, but I already had the top off, had the insulation left over from my other applications so I figured why not. We do get well over 100 deg F down here in the summer and I have yet to sit in a piece of equipment that will freeze you out in those temps. But the insulation did seem to reflect a lot of the sun's energy and made the a/c work half as hard. Especially when it is mounted in your roof.:laughing:

 

[High Compression]

I have a L5030HTC, how hard is it to remove the liner. I would like to do the same thing but don't have any idea how to remove the liner.

If your cab is like mine, it is way easier to remove the whole top. I think it is 13 10mm bolts that hold it down from the inside. It's not all of the bolts. Just the ones on either side of the corners, across the front, one in the back middle and a few on the sides. If you take a bolt out it should be long. If you take one out and it is a lot shorter than the others, you can put it back in. The ones across the front are a little shorter that the others but they still have to come out. Keep track. The little short ones only hold the liner. Seriously, with a cordless impact driver or drill driver, you can have the top off by yourself in a couple of min.:thumbsup:

 

[High Compression]

My B3030 HSDC gets so warm that I have to turn the heat down, even on the one day I used it and it got to -14F. Is yours cold?

Kubota B3030 HSDC snowblowing Jan 2012 (HD) - YouTube

Nah it wasn't bad. Most of the benefit was in the summer, but I did notice a difference in the 0 deg F nights too.

 

[4shorts]

Very true! I will say that it is definitely not a necessity on the Grand L's, but I already had the top off, had the insulation left over from my other applications so I figured why not. We do get well over 100 deg F down here in the summer and I have yet to sit in a piece of equipment that will freeze you out in those temps. But the insulation did seem to reflect a lot of the sun's energy and made the a/c work half as hard. Especially when it is mounted in your roof.:laughing:

Cool. I understand. I just thought I was missing something. Seeing you had the roof off why not do it. :thumbsup:

 

[bironacad]

My B3030 HSDC gets so warm that I have to turn the heat down, even on the one day I used it and it got to -14F. Is yours cold?

Kubota B3030 HSDC snowblowing Jan 2012 (HD) - YouTube

Same here, I have to keep the heat down in my cab but sure do like that it is heated

The foil will reflect radiant heat back if there is any to reflect but I would imagine that for the most part you are getting R value from the air pockets in the bubble wrap. I too thought that you were insulating the hood for noise but if you have a goose problem what the heck, lol.

 

[High Compression]

Same here, I have to keep the heat down in my cab but sure do like that it is heated

The foil will reflect radiant heat back if there is any to reflect but I would imagine that for the most part you are getting R value from the air pockets in the bubble wrap. I too thought that you were insulating the hood for noise but if you have a goose problem what the heck, lol.

Yeah I haven't put a whole lot of brain time in the analysis of how exactly it has made a difference, but it has. Also put it in one of my excavators (IR ZX-75) and there was a huge difference with the a/c.

On a different note, I thought about tinting my windows, but I'm afraid that it will hamper my vision at night pushing snow. Has anyone out there tinted the windows on their cab that pushes snow at night???

 

[tglass]

Does it make your cab noticeably quieter, too?
BOB

Yea, that's what I'm looking for too, quieter cab. Mine has more than enough heating and cooling.

 

[bironacad]

We used dense material for sound insulation in HVAC systems, there are a variety of commercial brands. This would be similar in installation as the bubble wrap but would give better acoustic resistance.

Acoustic blanket - Vicoustic

 

[Bilko]

Back when I was a teen I had the windows tinted in my car. I absolutely hated trying to back up at night due to not being able to see. While the rear window is farther away in a car then a tractor I have never owned a vehicle since with tinted windows. I could see the benefit in having tinted windows if you were out in the field all day, but would be nervous at night trying to see things. Just food for thought.

 

[PILOON]

Yea, that's what I'm looking for too, quieter cab. Mine has more than enough heating and cooling.

As used in cars, felt is good for sound deadening.

Not that I have tried it, but I would believe the self adhesive roofing underlays that replace felt paper would also be very good.

I did in past get involved in soundproofing small aircraft.
Different materials are used for different sound frequencies.
Lead is best for very high (like turbine whine) and dense foams felts etc for low freq.

 

[yanmars]

I put a tinted plexi glass on the front of my Yanmar 336. It was too dark for me and I ended up taking it off. I did not like it even on cloudy days.
I saved it and eventually used it in a fixed tree stand on the top south side.

 

[High Compression]

Back when I was a teen I had the windows tinted in my car. I absolutely hated trying to back up at night due to not being able to see. While the rear window is farther away in a car then a tractor I have never owned a vehicle since with tinted windows. I could see the benefit in having tinted windows if you were out in the field all day, but would be nervous at night trying to see things. Just food for thought.

I agree completely. Trying to back up with just back up lights sux. I would roll down my windows and use my mirrors. Although tint makes a big difference in summer for the heat. On my tractor I have lots of work lights that my vehicles never had. I dunno?:confused2::confused3::anyone:

 

[Baby Grand]

Thanks for that link, bironacad! After the storms we had at the end of August & October I had to run my welder/generator to power the house, first for 5 days, then 6 days, when we were without power. Only ran it about 4 - 6 hoiurs a day, but what a racket! On my to-do list is building a 3pt hitch frame that will hold the welder, cables, etc. My plan is to build a "dog hose" over the frame with sound insulation so I can enjoy the power with going deef. That link had some really interesting products.

 

[bironacad]

Thanks for that link, bironacad! After the storms we had at the end of August & October I had to run my welder/generator to power the house, first for 5 days, then 6 days, when we were without power. Only ran it about 4 - 6 hoiurs a day, but what a racket! On my to-do list is building a 3pt hitch frame that will hold the welder, cables, etc. My plan is to build a "dog hose" over the frame with sound insulation so I can enjoy the power with going deef. That link had some really interesting products.

Not a problem your welcome, my generator is a couple hundred yards away from the residence so noise is not an issue but I may consider it down the road, the challenge will be to keep the building well ventilated as well as sound proof. If I were to insulate my shed that has the gen in it I might use this product. Roxul Safe'n'Sound

Roxul Safe'n'Sound?

It is a fire resistant sound batting which also has thermal resistance so proper air circulation for cooling might be a challenge.