DIY Pipe Insulation Tube Traps

Tube trap wall.

I bought some 3ft long Owens Corning fiberglass pipe insulation to make DIY tube traps. I went with two sizes: 6” pipe (2” wall) and 10” pipe (1-1/2” wall). The 6” model’s outer diameter is slightly larger than the ASC 9-1/2” Studiotrap. The 10” model was the largest pipe size I could easily source with free shipping, but it’s outer diameter (13-3/4”) is smaller than the ASC Isothermal (16”) and GIK Turbo Trap Pro (17”)  models that I looked at. 

Pipe Size	Model	Thickness	O.D.
6”	722568	2”	10-3/4”
10”	722592	1-1/2”	13-3/4”

10” pipe insulation, with 14” wood cap.

Pipe insulation with fluffy insulation inside.

Half-length sections filled.

I glued 10” and 14” wooden craft circles to seal off the ends with Liquid Nails adhesive. I decided to use some remaining pink fluffy insulation that I wanted to stuff these tubes with, after reading that GIK uses additional insulation in their tube traps. I had leftover bleached muslin fabric to wrap the fiberglass. I made the mistake of trying to wrap the traps over a thin plastic tarp, which resulted in many tiny folds. The traps turned out much neater using hardboard as a surface.

Tube traps surrounding speaker.

I took a few quick measurements with and without the top 14”x18” tube trap placed above the speaker. The traps seem to help above 145Hz.

My initial plan is to use the tube traps in a similar manner as the ASC AttackWall Starter Kit. When the budget permits, I’d like to build some tube traps to surround my drums.