Have you ever cursed your RV oven for waking you up in the middle of the night? Have you ever had to turn up the volume on the television when the heating came on? RV ovens are notoriously noisy for a number of reasons. Generally, most of the noise comes from the high speed fan which is then amplified by the enclosure that the oven sits in. This instructable focuses on how to reduce oven noise using sound deadening material and a little airflow trick that will reduce the noise level to a dull roar.

Step 1: Measurement enclosure

Begin by removing the return air register and inspecting the interior of the furnace enclosure. Using a tape measure, measure the dimensions of the top, back, and sides of the enclosure. For example, the top of the cabinet might measure 24″ x 24″. That’s 2′ x 2′, or 4 square feet. ft What you are doing is measuring the total square footage of the interior of the enclosure where you will be placing the soundproofing material. Usually about 6-8 square meters. footing is necessary, unless you have a really large enclosure, such as the interior of a dining room lower storage area.

Step 2: Determine Airflow Requirements

Now take out the manual for your oven. Find out how many square inches of return air area the furnace requires to operate effectively. For example, a 30,000 BTU Suburban furnace requires 54 square feet. in. of opening area for air to flow through the return grill. This size oven will usually have a rack that has 4 sets of louvers. Actually only 2 are required to support the return air requirement, which in this case is about 60 square feet. in.

Step 3: Adding Soundproofing Material to Register

Next, add soundproofing material to the back of the register. Much of the noise is transmitted through the front of the cash register, so it makes sense to try to reduce noise here as well. In the example in Step 2, you would apply soundproofing material to the back of the cash register over the two center columns of the four blinds. This is fine, as it still meets the return air requirements of the furnace.

Step 4 – Add Soundproofing to the Enclosure

Cut the soundproofing material to fit your oven enclosure measurements and glue it to the walls (sides, top, and back) of the enclosure. The material suggested in the parts source link below can be obtained with a peelable, adhesive backing, which makes joining the material much easier. It costs a little more than the non-sticky stuff, but you won’t have to use glue if you choose this type.

Step 5 – Install the return grill

Replace the return air grill and turn the oven on. Let the oven run through a complete cycle to make sure everything is working properly.

Tips and Warnings:

• You can expect around a 6dB reduction in noise level. How much is this? The human ear perceives sound levels of 3 dB as twice as high or low. For example, if you measure the noise output of your oven, it might be 61 dB at 5′. Reducing the noise level to 58 dB would be perceived as twice as quiet. With this mod, using the 3/4″ material, your oven could be up to four times quieter! Now you won’t have to turn up the volume on your TV every time the oven turns on!

• Be sure to provide adequate airflow through the return air grill by meeting your furnace’s minimum airflow requirements specified in your owner’s manual. Otherwise, the heater may run erratically or shut down due to overheating.