On Aug 9, 2:33 pm, RickH wrote:
On Aug 9, 1:10 pm, Jud McCranie
wrote:

Our Kenmore dishwasher that is 10-11 years old is making a noise like
it isn't going to last much longer, so we are replacing it. I've
looked at several models, but I'm leaning toward a couple of Bosch
dishwashers. One is rated at 52 dB but comes only in black. The
other is rated 54 dB, but comes in black/white/stainless steel.
Stainless steel would match our refrigerator. Is there much
difference between 52 dB and 54 dB in a dishwasher?
--
Replace you know what by j to email

Every 6db is a doubling in the volume, so going from 0db to 6db is
twice as loud, going from 6db to 12db is another doubling of the
volume making 12db four times as loud as 0db, going from 12db to 18db
is another doubling, making 18db eight times as loud as 0db.
(assuming 0 db is the volume you call "normal" or your zero
calibration point which can be any thing you want to calibrate it to).

So for example if you calibrate the sound of a cricket at 10 feet to
0db, then you increase to 18db the cricket will be 8 times as loud as
"normal".

So a difference of 52db to 54db would be about 33% louder, most folks
would hear that easily.


Most could hear the difference if asked to compare the two levels side
by side. However, 1db or less is generally not discernable. And even
if you can tell that one is louder than another, I would doubt it
would be enough to make it a deciding factor in a dishwasher. For
example, here's a link to some common sounds and their associated
db. 50 is a private office or soft music. 60 is conversational
speech 65 is a business office or soft classical music. Considering
that, I wouldn;t worry about 52 or 54 from different dishwashers.
http://home.new.rr.com/trumpetb/audio/dBexamp.html

Also, and perhaps more imptortant, is what the noise sounds like.
You could easily have dishwasher A at 52db being more annoying than
dishwasher B at 54 because of what the sound is, as opposed to the
difference in level.

I have a GE Profile that is very quiet, the water sounds like a gentle
water fall. In fact, when I first turned it on, I thought there was a
leak. In general, I think Bosch is over priced and I've heard plenty
of bad stories about problems and repair costs.





I went shopping for a furnace the only spec I cared about was db, the
salespeople thought I was nuts. I told them I care less how efficient
it is, I want the quietest one regardless of energy. Unfortunately
the manufacturers could not even tell me their db ratings (Trane,
Bryant, Lennox, etc)