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Polymax Absorb XHD 100mm batts


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I am researching poly bats at the moment and I am being put of by the price for Polymax. Does anyone know what the gass flow resistance is for Autexx Greenstuff AAB ? It comes in different densities and is much more affordable.

 

Looking at the posted video, the way to cut this seems to be with a heated knife. You can buy these of Ebay and seem to be designed to clean cut Polyester and Styrofoam. The guy in the video is using a solder iron.

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  • 2 months later...

I got a couple of packs of Martini Absorb HD 50 delivered yesterday. Looking at the data sheets, didn't much see the point in paying extra for XHD for little to no gain. My question is to do with cutting them. In a previous project, when they were called Tontine Acoustisorb, I used an angle grinder, but it was a pain to do straight cuts and need to flip them over.

 

Thinking about using a 7 1/4" circular saw this time. That should just about reach 50mm when running on a 12mm guide. The remainder I can cut easily with scissors. The question is do I use my normal wood blade or use a diamond blade with flatter edges? Or I found the Insucut circular saw blade which is made for this stuff, but can't really stomach the AUD$240 price tag: https://kaindl.de/en/kaindl-insucutr-dammstoffmesser-kreismesser.html

Edited by Gradenko
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I used an angle grinder with cutter blade in one hand and a length of 90x45 as a guide and to press down hard on it with my other hand.

 

That stuff doesn't compress easily, and I really had to watch my other hand while using the cutter.  Tip: two plastic bags. Put the lopped finger in one. Then put the tied-up bag with finger in the other bag that you fill with ice. Then go hospital. No this didn't happen to me, it was Plan B.

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Depending on your circular saw size (185mm etc) you could buy cutting discs for grinders or a cheap tile saw blade. Buy a shim ring kit also as the centre fitting will probably be a different size. Even if it is unbalanced they generally do not detonate themselves unless you hit a hard surface to quick but even then they have a mesh fibre in the discs so it's not overly dangerous.

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So quick update, tried this insulation reciprocating saw blade on my Milwaukee M12 Hackzall: http://www.suttontools.com/products/specialty-reciprocating-blades-insulation-ultra-h534/

H534_Reciprocating_Blade.jpg.a56536f8e99809e9479529a372ef1518.jpg

 

And it didn't do sh*t. Even with the piece clamped on one side and me holding the other, I still had to physically saw to get it to cut. Maybe with a reciprocating saw with more travel it would work. I then gave the circular saw a go with the wood blade. This worked, except the off cuts blocked up the guard and there was polyester flying everywhere. 

 

After that we looked at angle grinder blades for the circular saw, as bjc suggested. This would work great, except for my application I needed the sides smooth and not melted so the absorption qualities wouldn't change. Toolmart recommended a hand held insulation saw for $45. I wasn't keen but tried it anyway.

fe8c3180-00a7-4d60-8c1d-9d37b61b40cc.thumb.jpg.1c31f67bbfce8e1092d2976981421eae.jpg

By gosh, this thing is sweet. Weighs nothing and cuts through it like butter. Highly recommended for when you need clean edges that aren't glazed.

Edited by Gradenko
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And this is the finished product. I've filled in all the gaps between the speakers and themselves and the walls. This should solve my SBIR and 100Hz suck out issues. The insulation above the speakers is a bass trap which was there previously.1976202246_unnamed(1).thumb.jpg.e9f81bf8fc8f75d3ef7bb3335fa72343.jpg

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Good stuff, it looks like a giant bread knife! I had a blunt hand saw that I hit with the bench grinder for fun one day which turned out to be stupidly sharp. I rounded the teeth then just put as fine an edge as possible on it. Used it for hacking the palm trees and pumpkins we get every year.
I keep the machete under the bed though!

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On ‎6‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 12:21 AM, Gradenko said:

And this is the finished product. I've filled in all the gaps between the speakers and themselves and the walls. This should solve my SBIR and 100Hz suck out issues. The insulation above the speakers is a bass trap which was there previously.1976202246_unnamed(1).thumb.jpg.e9f81bf8fc8f75d3ef7bb3335fa72343.jpg

Agree with @bjc - very nicely done!

 

Do you have a build/showcase thread on here? Any info on what speakers/subs are in the pic ?

 

I put 2.4m x 1.2m x 20cm of black QuietStuff polyester insulation (Autex equivalent of Polymax) behind my speakers and subs to help with SBIR as well, worked very well

Edited by jamiebosco
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48 minutes ago, jamiebosco said:

Do you have a build/showcase thread on here? Any info on what speakers/subs are in the pic ?

 

Mains are Ascension C1503DAMTL (Adelaide Speakers high-power speakers). Sub drivers are Mach5 UXL-18's. No build thread for the room but have a build thread for the subs over here: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-diy-speakers-subs/2923958-grad-sub-ported-uxl-18-a.html

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On 05/08/2018 at 11:33 PM, Gradenko said:

Toolmart recommended a hand held insulation saw for $45. I wasn't keen but tried it anyway.

Thanks Gradenko. I've made quite a number of cuts to my batts in the past (maybe 16?) using just a hand saw, and it took about 10 minutes each time, not to mention the heap of fluff it produces for each cut:

 

IMG_20180204_175758.thumb.jpg.c88f5178d0b82cffc1553264d706b5c4.jpg

 

I still have a few fresh batts that I may cut up in the future, so this is good to know. Looks like Bunnings also stocks them for about $35: https://www.bunnings.com.au/bahco-550mm-insulation-hand-saw_p5710254

Edited by Setiawan
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On 05/08/2018 at 11:33 PM, Gradenko said:

I wasn't keen but tried it anyway.

fe8c3180-00a7-4d60-8c1d-9d37b61b40cc.thumb.jpg.1c31f67bbfce8e1092d2976981421eae.jpg

By gosh, this thing is sweet. Weighs nothing and cuts through it like butter. Highly recommended for when you need clean edges that aren't glazed.

Awesome - will try it - just checking, it was poly not fibreglass you were cutting?

I'm assuming poly since you refer to edges remaining unglazed?

 

Bunnings web says, "designed for cutting mineral wool, polystyrene & styrofoam."

If it works well on dense poly also - woohoo!

 

FWIW, glazed edges won't impact absorption of lower frequencies, but you need a big disk to cut through 100mm thick polymax XHD in one go, so this tool is great.

 

cheers

Mke

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On 05/08/2018 at 11:33 PM, Gradenko said:

After that we looked at angle grinder blades for the circular saw, as bjc suggested. This would work great, except for my application I needed the sides smooth and not melted so the absorption qualities wouldn't change. Toolmart recommended a hand held insulation saw for $45. I wasn't keen but tried it anyway.

fe8c3180-00a7-4d60-8c1d-9d37b61b40cc.thumb.jpg.1c31f67bbfce8e1092d2976981421eae.jpg

By gosh, this thing is sweet. Weighs nothing and cuts through it like butter. Highly recommended for when you need clean edges that aren't glazed.

 

Thanks for this suggestion! I was looking for something to cut the batts, ended up using a long bread like knife , which sorta work.  Still have a few sheets to cut so might pop down to my local bunnings store 

 

 

On 10/08/2018 at 11:44 PM, iversons13 said:

Has anyone been able to source black XHD recently? I tried through an insulation mob here in WA and got the common response that it's made to order for commercial quantities only.

 

Group buy anyone?

 

 

 

If you were in Sydney I have the Martini Absorb HD Black 2.4m x 1.2m x 50mm (pack of 6)  might have a total of 1.5 packs (9 sheets)  of these available soon - i am just in the middle of building my corner bass traps , I ordered 4 packs (24 sheets) have used 2 packs so far as I doubled them up to make 100mm thick for corner bass traps . Being black colour also they charge a premium extra 10% ! 

 

 

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On 10/08/2018 at 9:44 PM, iversons13 said:

Has anyone been able to source black XHD recently? I tried through an insulation mob here in WA and got the common response that it's made to order for commercial quantities only.

 

Group buy anyone?

 

 

Interested. But was thinking going DIY frame using Bradford Soundscreen batts. Performance seems to be similar to XHD at the same thickness.

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Interested. But was thinking going DIY frame using Bradford Soundscreen batts. Performance seems to be similar to XHD at the same thickness.
I'll be going DIY frame too, but want to stay away from fibreglass if possible.

To give people a rough idea of price, I was quoted $275 for XHD 50mm, 6 sheets of 2400x1200, in white. I'm told the black is more expensive.
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If you were in Sydney I have the Martini Absorb HD Black 2.4m x 1.2m x 50mm (pack of 6)  might have a total of 1.5 packs (9 sheets)  of these available soon - i am just in the middle of building my corner bass traps , I ordered 4 packs (24 sheets) have used 2 packs so far as I doubled them up to make 100mm thick for corner bass traps . Being black colour also they charge a premium extra 10% ! 
 
 
I'd be happy to take what you have left off your hands. How much?
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