Do you think they can hear me?

[craggy2012]

Just go take a big loon n blow it big n tight!

It’s not the bang when it gives out, it’s all the squeaks n squeals as it protests beneath you

[gerbil366@outlook.com]

I still live with my dad but still blow up my balloons at night time when dad has gone to bed, they do burst sometimes and don’t get asked about the bangs anymore, so just carry on enjoying bursting your balloons

[zman21]

I know that this is an old thread, but I´d like to dig it up again.

Recently I also have the opportunity to use a house for looning. The neighboring house and also the neighboring garden are less than 15 meters away from the house.

Since I'd like to slowly get back to the b2p topic, I'm also a little worried that the neighbors might hear something. The windows aren't the newest and you can hear the chirping of birds in the living room when the windows are closed, for example.

Today I did an interesting (and exciting) test. I put a compressor in the living room and attached a Unique16 to it. Then I opened the valve a bit so that the balloon could slowly fill up and I could "escape" to the garden. That way I could hear and judge the loudness of the bang in the garden.

I was surprised how loud the bang could be heard outside. But at the same time it was pretty dull (is that the correct word?!? ). I think it is very difficult for the neighbors to see where the noise is coming from and what it actually is.

A little concern remains, but I think it's okay if it just pops every once in a while.


PS: Who of you would have liked to be in the living room while the balloon slowly got bigger and bigger? I think I would have chickened out

[Blown2Bits]

Considering balloons can pop at over 160db I think it would be impossible to block the sound completly unless the house is specifically built for it. I have modern windows (3 layers of glass) and the house is built out of bricks instead of wood and drywall and you can still hear the pop at least 50m away from the house if you spend attention to it. It won't be loud but still hearable since the human ear is very sensitive. I read that that there is a loudness difference of about 1 million between the most silent sound the average human can hear until the point when it becomes ear damaging loud.

[q16popper]

160dB at what distance? The sound level dies off as the square of the distance plus anything in the way reduces it more

I've never had a problem, and if anyone asks say you were just getting rid of a few balloons from a party - who knows, they might even come and help!

[Blown2Bits]

I assume 160db would be measured at the source. Usually these kind of measurements are doing at 1 meter distance of the source.
But as I said there is a huge difference between no longer ear damaging and being able to no longer hear any of it.
Ear damaging starts at about 85db, which is less than half as loud as your typical lawn mower with a combustion engine. And then you can still hear sounds that are about 1 million times less loud than that.

[zman21]

You're right! I think it will be impossible to completely seal off the sound. If the neighbors are far enough away, that won't be a problem.

I did another test today and I'm a little worried... It's quite loud and you can hear it quite clearly in the garden. My neighbours sometimes are only a few meters away... especially on hot summer days like today.

To be honest, I'm pretty unsure if this is the right looner place for me. But it's also the only one I have, so I'll have to live with it...

[Blown2Bits]

Maybe upgrading the windows could help if it is possible at all. I don't know if you own the place or if you are renting. It is not a good sign if U16 is already loud to hear outside since it is one of the balloons that are generally not as loud. Unique are generally one of the less loud brands, so almost any other would be louder.

[aron_crow]

This sort of thing has always plagued my mind and I always worry how many people would hear just a pop from a small 12". My idea is that you should not try big and loud balloons in apartments, your neighbours (top and bottom as well) can probably hear a faint bang, may be more. Its ok if the bangs are 2-3 balloons, but anything more will be suspicious.

If you want to hide more sound, I know that having large and heavy curtains all around the room and in the house mask the noise very well. Sometimes the noise wont even escape the room. I'd recommend building a small soundproof room and having your fun there.

[Blown2Bits]

"just a pop from a small 12" is misleading. Smaller balloons are usually louder than bigger ones. The only upside is that they pop with a higher sound frequency which are easier to block than frequencies that approach the bass level.
And curtains are definitely not enough to fully block a balloon pop. You either need really thick walls (probably at least 2-3 times as thick as you see in your average appartment building), floors and ceilings or build a room inside the room.