What is happening here?

[JB]

Last night as I sat here at this 'puter I suddenly noticed a very slight vibration coming into my feet from the floor. It was about the right frequency to be an out-of-balance motor running somewhere in my house, somewhere in the vicinity of 10-30 Hz.

I went and investigated every motor driven device in the house. I turned off all ceiling fans, the fridge, freezer and humidifier. The HVAC was not running.

It was still there, and also in the theater room. Couldn't detect it anywhere else in the house, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there... I just didn't feel it there.

I went outdoors and listened. About 1/2 mile away there was a big diesel engine running the fracture water pump for a gas well, and there was a faint vibration in the air that seemed similar to the vibration in my floor. I did not feel the vibration in the ground, but it could have been there, too.

My house is an 8 year old double-wide (48'X24') manufactured home mounted on concrete block piers and "tied down" with steel anchors going down into the ground. I have an attached 20'X24" garage on a slab.

What?? Seismic transmission from a well drilling rig somewhere nearby? No rigs that I know of within a mile. The diesel pump is still running this morning and the vibration is gone. A passing heavy truck? The vibrations lasted too long, at a fairly constant volume, and I would have heard the truck if it was within 2 miles.

Of the possibililties I have thought of so far the drilling rig seems most likely, but as I said. . . none within a mile.

Ideas? Any one experienced this sort of thing before?

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: What is happening here?

Helicopters do that but it only lasts until they pass.

 

[tommays]

Re: What is happening here?

My first house was out east buy the F-14 final test sight it used to get strange when they would run up a test engine for and hour or so

Tommays

 

[stevieray]

Re: What is happening here?

I went outdoors and listened. About 1/2 mile away there was a big diesel engine running the fracture water pump for a gas well, and there was a faint vibration in the air that seemed similar to the vibration in my floor. I did not feel the vibration in the ground, but it could have been there, too.

My bet is your house structure's natural frequency (the frequency at which it will vibrate at the highest amplitude when acted upon by an outside force) is the same as that diesel was putting out at that particular time. You would not feel it outside the house (unless your body's natural frequency happened to be the same as your house's) and if the diesel's frequency changed just a bit, it would completely disappear in the house. Strange phenomenon.

 

[QC]

Re: What is happening here?

Wow this is like Deja vu for me with one exception. Also yesterday (morning), also sounded like an electric motor, but it oscillated on/off every 6 - 8 seconds. On for same time as off. I thought it was coming from the counter/sink combo thing, but then I also heard it in the garage. Nothing since . . . Spinners little buddies? :%

We are below the approach to LAX, but 35 miles out, they can sound similar, but of course don't oscillate, and are a little louder.

 

[i386]

Re: What is happening here?

I went outdoors and listened. About 1/2 mile away there was a big diesel engine running the fracture water pump for a gas well, and there was a faint vibration in the air that seemed similar to the vibration in my floor. I did not feel the vibration in the ground, but it could have been there, too.

My bet is your house structure's natural frequency (the frequency at which it will vibrate at the highest amplitude when acted upon by an outside force) is the same as that diesel was putting out at that particular time. You would not feel it outside the house (unless your body's natural frequency happened to be the same as your house's) and if the diesel's frequency changed just a bit, it would completely disappear in the house. Strange phenomenon.

Yes. Resonant frequency is my best guess too.

One way to test that theory...

Calculate the internal volume of your house.
Take a chainsaw and cut the house in half vertically.
Discard one half of the house.
Build a new wall on the end that you cut.

Now, if the house is still vibrating but it's 1 octave higher that's what it was. If not, either you didn't measure/cut right or that wasn't it after all.

8)

 

[technostingray]

Re: What is happening here?

We will control the horizontal, we will control the vertical....

 

[dolluper]

Re: What is happening here?

Not an active jesser under the Hideout......bubbling crude maybe Jed

 

[xtraham]

Re: What is happening here?

JB,
if you keep hearing that sound, watch out or check for These for certain if you have a fireplace, lots of trees, or any wood laying around, been there done that,
it drove me nuts for about a month, I could feel/and hear thier sound only late at night when all was very quiet

 

[JB]

Re: What is happening here?

No sound, Xtra, just a vibration in the floor. Constant volume and frequency.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: What is happening here?

I'm betting it was aliens. You better make a foil hat before they start stealing your thoughts. :^

 

[bjcsc]

Re: What is happening here?

LOL@i386...

 

[i386]

Re: What is happening here?

JB, take your test a little further and cut your main breaker off and see if it goes away. That'll surely rule out anything electrical.

Repeat for water and gas as well if you want to be thorough. If you rule out any normal household energy source it pretty much have to be critters or some vibration coming from somewhere off your property.

 

[QC]

Re: What is happening here?

I found mine, as it happened again today after I posted. It was TiVo's hard drive whirring. It's in a built in cabinet and was resonating in the walls.

 

[JB]

Re: What is happening here?

I think the resonance makes sense, but it has to be stimulated from an outside source.

I still think it might be a gas or oil well, drilling or fracturing.

If it happens again, I will try killing the power, propane and water.

If that doesn't work I will Email SBN to ask his buddies about it.

Is there a type of low level earthquake that slips real slow that could make that vibration? All the deep drilling and fracturing going on around here might trigger such an event.

 

[Coors]

Re: What is happening here?

several small species of furry mammals gathered together under your house and grooving..

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: What is happening here?

Black helicopters?? The ones you can't see!!

Seriously, with all the power cut I would wait at least 30 minutes. Do you have a well pump? Air pockets in the well casing?

What about Mineral Wells? When I was stationed in Missouri the entire area was full of underground caves, springs and pockets...... they used to fill with water and do wierd things.

OR

Maybe they are testing a new sound projection weapon and you are feeling the residual....... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_weaponry

Oh BTW my wife works with people who have their thoughts stolen by aliens and instead of a funny foil hat ..... lining the window shash with foil is just as effective.

 

[i386]

Re: What is happening here?

Subwoofer from home theater/stereo?

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: What is happening here?

[colour=blue]Maybe you were hungry.................rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: What is happening here?

my whole house vibrates when a south african taxi comes past .... I have no idea what kind of a sound system those guys have in ...... but it feel like the windows want to fall out their sockets ....... and it is a newly built house, finished in November ..... brick afcoarse. ....