Polyester Batting Panels

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 11:47 am

I've been wanting to build my own broadband absorption panels for my new studio and I've seen a lot of DIY projects on the internet, but they all use rockwool. I live in South Africa and (as far as I know) rockwool isn't that easy to get here. We have an insulation product here called Isotherm that is very similar to polyester batting. It is sold in 2" thicknesses.

Would it work for a broadband absorber if I'm able to compress several layers of this in each panel (2'X4') and then cover it in cheesecloth or similar material?

Any opinions or advice would be appreciated.

EDIT: BTW, like almost all houses here, all the walls in my studio are concrete.

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:25 pm

Maybe. The only way to know is to see absorption data, or measure that yourself to compare it to known-good materials. Do you have a link to that product?

--Ethan

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:34 pm

Just out of curiosity (and a side comment)....

My gut tells me that the Isotherm insulation product is very close to what we have here in the states with "pink fluffy" insulation.

One measure of whether to even attempt to use it for broadband absorbtion, is to weigh it. Approximation will likely be good enough.

Standard home insulation is in the area of less than 1 pound per cubic foot, with Owens Corning 703 running about 3 pounds per cubic foot.

IOW... if it isn't very dense, it probably won't be too effective for use in a broadband absorber.

The thought of compressing several layers of a low density insulation, to make an effective absorber is not as easy as you would think...

A more expanded discussion can be found here: http://www.recording.org/ftopict-38238-.html

However, I have no doubt that there is an effective insulation material in your country that would do the job... it may just take some extra digging to find a source.

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