Generators

[katwillny]

Hey all,

With the power outages over the past few months I used my generator a great deal. One of the things that i dislike about the gennys is that they are LOUD. At least ones that i can afford. Is there a way to adapt some sort of silencer to those things to make them quieter? by the way, this is a hearth related question since i use my genny for the blower on my stoves. LOL. Moderators, feel free to move this post as you see fit.

Happy Burning 'Yall...

 

[KB007]

Dunno, don't care about the noise (have 5kw unit). Usually if the power is out long enuf to need the generator, the neighbours are so grateful that i can make them a cup of hot coffee

 

[agartner]

Hey all,

With the power outages over the past few months I used my generator a great deal. One of the things that i dislike about the gennys is that they are LOUD. At least ones that i can afford. Is there a way to adapt some sort of silencer to those things to make them quieter? by the way, this is a hearth related question since i use my genny for the blower on my stoves. LOL. Moderators, feel free to move this post as you see fit.

Happy Burning 'Yall...

Yup...they are loud. The Honda's are really quiet, but damn they're pricey. For as much as I use it, I'll just stick with my noisemaker and just get it as far away from the house as I can.

 

[wood spliter]

Also point the exhaust away form the house. You would be surprised how much that helps.

 

[fbelec]

i've always run it thru my mind about piping the generator into a car muffler. my 5kw will wake the dead.

 

[begreen]

Get a Honda or Yamaha inverter generator. The are much quieter than the run of the mill generator and provide clean power. If you don't need it, don't get one that is too big, try to size it so that with the emergency circuits running (typically refrig, freezer, furnace and a few lights) it is running at about 50-75% load. Typically these fall in the 2-2.5KW range and are quite quiet when running. If you have a deep well or sewer field pump, you may need to go up to the 5KW size.

 

[Highbeam]

You can do better than generac with a small budget. Champion power equipment is one brand that sells the very common chinese Honda genset. The same gensets are sold by many different labels including cummins/onan. They are not as quiet as a honda inverter genny (not all Hondas are quiet) but they are much much quieter than any of the standard 5000 watt gensets. They use huge mufflers.

The RV crowd loves them for their clean power and quiet running.

My 3500/4000 surge model was less than 300$ and has run very well over the last few years.

 

[woodsman23]

I have a honda ex1000 for sale will run pellet stove and some lights maybe even a tv, it's quiet as a mouse at 49db at 4 ft. runs for 6 hrs on 9th of a gallon of gas. Just kinda small for my needs.

 

[woodsman23]

You could also build a kind of generator house for it but you must leave the exhaust open to the air with a 12x12 opening. I installed a escort muffler on a 2500 colman and it works well but the gen itself was noisy.

 

[bjkjoseph]

this sounds crazy,but it has been done...people run a pipe from the exhaust in to a drum of water.

 

[fbelec]

Get a Honda or Yamaha inverter generator. The are much quieter than the run of the mill generator and provide clean power. If you don't need it, don't get one that is too big, try to size it so that with the emergency circuits running (typically refrig, freezer, furnace and a few lights) it is running at about 50-75% load. Typically these fall in the 2-2.5KW range and are quite quiet when running. If you have a deep well or sewer field pump, you may need to go up to the 5KW size.

i've heard of generators and inverters but not a combo. can you send me a link so that i can take a look see?
thanks

 

[begreen]

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/models.aspx?page=models&section=P2GG&category=inv
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/products/modeloverview/cat/2007/55/model_overview.aspx

 

[fbelec]

thanks begreen. this is the first i've heard of these. everytime i thought inverter i thought of the electronic box that looks like a car audio power amp and hade squarewave output that is hooked to a 12 volt battery. these look awsum.

 

[webie]

You can quiet the muffler all you want but generally there is so much other mechanical noise that it hardly helps much . The only way to get the noise down on the typical box store generators is to have some kind of an inclosure around the generator .
If I can find it again there is a company that makes and sells generator storage units . It looks like a small rubbermaid outside storage building and has a fan like a window fan in it and then a bunch of vents on the otherside , and there is a flexable metal exhaust pipe . It claims to substantially reduce the gen noise . and I beleave it would , Any quiet generators all are running in some type of inclosures .
What makes inverter generators more quiet is they are variable speed , in other words they actually produce DC power ( thats the reason for the inverter ) and if there is no demand they idle , the more demand the faster they run. But I can tell you this Quite doesnt come cheap . i have a honda eu 2000 inverter generator that I use on my camper and you can stand right next to it running and carry on a normal conversation but you are also talking nearly a thousand bucks too , Also unless you get into the big inverter generators you only have 120 volt power no 240 , Big inverter generators are thousands of dollars .
I have a generac xl 4000 and if I use that for my house I just run it out in my pole shed which is about 50 ft away . With the doors closed on the shed I cant hear it in the house .
Now if I fire up the 8000 watt twin cylindar diesel generator you will definately know its running out there , But I dont hear it over the hot tub running so then I really dont care .
I will try and look for that portable generator enclosure if I find it I will post the link , I think you could build one pretty easy .

 

[wahoowad]

The old retired guys from the Recreational Vehicle (RV) forums fret a great deal over generator noise in campgrounds. 2000W - 5000W generators are very common at these RV parks and a lot of them have devised ways to reduce the muffler noise. The "Tech Issues" forum at RV.net has some retired engineers and tinkerers who know what they are talking about as well as many curmudgeony old farts who are convinced they know what they are talking about.

Certain generators have known mechanical issues that add to the noise. I've seen fixes for specific models referenced as well.

 

[webie]

Hey all,

With the power outages over the past few months I used my generator a great deal. One of the things that i dislike about the gennys is that they are LOUD. At least ones that i can afford. Is there a way to adapt some sort of silencer to those things to make them quieter? by the way, this is a hearth related question since i use my genny for the blower on my stoves. LOL. Moderators, feel free to move this post as you see fit.

Happy Burning 'Yall...

I see in your signature that its a husky generator , I found this out when I went to look at what kind of generator it was. hope yours isnt one of these.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09305.html

 

[webie]

Found the link I was looking for for quieting your generator.
http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/Gen-Tran-GS7500/p1021.html

 

[begreen]

thanks begreen. this is the first i've heard of these. everytime i thought inverter i thought of the electronic box that looks like a car audio power amp and hade squarewave output that is hooked to a 12 volt battery. these look awsum.

The difference in quality and quiet running these units is exceptional when compared to the average contractor generator and some of the cheap stuff coming out of China now. The ham radio community is quite particular about noise both audible and electronic. These units are the favorites with good reason.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

We have a linkable Honda Inverter for the camper, but our back-up for the house is a big 12kw Generac, and yes it's a bit noisy, but it also runs the whole house, and most importantly, the hot water heater. and the sauna. power outages around here are like little vacations. Last years ice storm was at it's worst, one of the best camping trips we have been on.lol