Generator Advice

[texasjohn]

Well, schmism, I really wish you would hurry up and try the honda muffler on your Coleman... and post the results... Do you think that all that is needed is an improved muffler Interesting idea.

Us Coleman generator owners would like to know the benefits of this mod and I'm sure you will also post all the details for the rest of us.

Thanks for your good ideas... let us know how it goes... inquiring minds want to know

 

[RonMar]

Has anyone ever had any luck building a sound chamber around the generator? I'm sure you'd have to put in a fan or some kind of air handling system to keep the engine cool.

Are you looking for something to quiet it down while powering your house?

As mentioned, your biggest sound maker is the exhaust. A larger more baffeled expansion chamber on the existing muffler would probably go a long way to cutting down on the noise. A small auto muffler would probably make a big difference.

Putting it in an enclosure is problematic due to the need for a lot of cooling air as you mentioned. You could probably get the same results deadening the radiated mechanical noise by placing it on a pedistal in an enclosure like a doghouse with insulated panels. These would be open at top and bottom to allow generous airflow with a roof to keep the weather out. Raising it would create a chimney effect to maintain airflow and the insulated panels would, like a muffler baffle and absorb the radiated noise.

 

[laurencen]

Hi, one of the quietest generators I have used is the Onan quiet diesel on my motorhome, its 7000 wats and easily puts this out, it is bearly heard, they are pricey, come up on ebay once in a wile for around 1000 to 2000 dollars, it is in a enclosure and is offered as a home standby, mine has 2000 hours hours on, it will run 24 hrs a day running 2 roof air units and microwave, washing machine no problem, while on the road, under load it sounds as its running maybe 1000 rpm,

 

[laurencen]

Just one comment on house power, 3 years ago I purchased a Miller Bearcat 250, it is gas driven, has the low idle down for no load applications but the real benifit other than a 250 amp welder is 240 volt and 110 volt outlets, it will maintain 10Kw output and easily run a house, 2 years ago we had a power outage in winter and it ran 8 hours connected to the house service, no issues with all the appliances, we had fridge, heat, water stove and lights even the outside lights were shining, other than the Miller I installed a remote start pannel, when the power service is cut, it isolates the line and starts the gen set, this box cost 300 dollars, there is a delay in power of 5 to 10 seconds, mine has some 150 hours on it but sure handy in the truck for the odd welding job in the field, definatly would not run it camping unless many friends want power, as for noise its quieter than most lawn mowers, it is not the higher pitch sound small engines have, here Acklands Granger have sales and they cost $3000.00 to $3500.00, comes with the typical welding gear,

 

[thatguy]

Depending in the size of the genset you can try one of those igloo shaped dog houses.. I have seen them (or similar dog houses) used to keep the noise down some

brian

 

[Highbeam]

I also own a coleman with an 11HP tecumseh engine. I adapted the existing muffler to a 1" female pipe and then added an elbow, flex, and then attached to a OEM off-road motorcyle muffler that was designed to make a bike very quiet. This setup, though cumbersome, nearly eliminated the exhaust sound. It did not make the generator significantly quieter though since the other sounds just became exposed such as the noisy valvetrain of the OHC engine, rattling ratcheting pull start gear, and the worst was the drone through the intake to the air filter.

Using the generator with the muffler rigged up and under cover of the canopy in the back of my truck (tailgate and back door open) I was able to reduce the noise significantly so long as the back of the truck pointed away. Further reductions made by buying a large gauge extension cord.

The exhaust isn't the only noisy thing on these cheap generators.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I also own a coleman with an 11HP tecumseh engine. I adapted the existing muffler to a 1" female pipe and then added an elbow, flex, and then attached to a OEM off-road motorcyle muffler that was designed to make a bike very quiet. This setup, though cumbersome, nearly eliminated the exhaust sound. It did not make the generator significantly quieter though since the other sounds just became exposed such as the noisy valvetrain of the OHC engine, rattling ratcheting pull start gear, and the worst was the drone through the intake to the air filter.

Using the generator with the muffler rigged up and under cover of the canopy in the back of my truck (tailgate and back door open) I was able to reduce the noise significantly so long as the back of the truck pointed away. Further reductions made by buying a large gauge extension cord.

The exhaust isn't the only noisy thing on these cheap generators.

Thanks for that perfect first hand account. Once again, that's why I like TBN.

At work we've had a project going to enclose a whole compressor room with accoustic insulation. It's been amazing what that has done to reduce noise on the outside of the plant. I've just been wondering if the same principle could be applied to a gen set without breaking the bank.

I've got a 50 foot 10 guage extension cord in addition to the 30 foot pigtail coming off the trailer. that could really help the noise, but I want to reduce the source as much as possible.

Did the muffler adaptation help enough to make it worth the effort?

 

[Coyote]

Sounds like you need two generators...like I have....a 5500 watt Generac for house backup..(LOUD, but good) ....and a Honda 2000i, I use at my remote cabin. With a 25 ft extension cord I can barely hear it.

 

[Kendall69]

Here’s one
Super Quiet PowerMax 4400 Watt Gas Generator Camping RV - (item 130139520366 end time Aug-07-07 11:44:53 PDT)

 

[schmism]

Speaking of quiet gen sets....

i was at a ham fest in Carlinville IL last sat and the local emergency management bla bla bla was there with there hightec comunications tower. (half a mill of your tax dollars at work funded by Homeland security)

anyway the thing had a 10K onan on it that i had to walk up and put my hand on to tell if it was running. (it was)

all you heard was the rush of exaust air like a what a blower on furnace sounds like.

 

[laurencen]

like I said earlier, the onan quiet diesel is quiet, mine is 8Kw and when running 2 roof air units, convection oven and the laundry it seems its only idle rpm and you have to be on top of it to hear any noise, this one cost 10K but bullet proof, on the camp sites people are suprised its running, we often let it run 24hrs a day, the roof air units make way more noise

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Here’s one
Super Quiet PowerMax 4400 Watt Gas Generator Camping RV - (item 130139520366 end time Aug-07-07 11:44:53 PDT)

I've seen these Powermax generators on ebay. I wonder how good they are. Do you have one of these? Do you know anyone who does?

 

[schmism]

i could have sworn there was a thread about a guy that was useing one like that to supply power for his builder who was building his home....

changed oil in it every week (~every 50 hrs) and after like 3 weeks it was DOA....

 

[Mighty Dodge]

I bought a used Lincoln g8000 welder. It comes in handy for welding and backup power for the house (8000 watts). It's a little big to take camping though.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Well I've taken the advice of nearly everyone who posted. I got a smaller generator for my camp trailer and I got a bigger one for the house.

There were two generators listed in the local want ads. I couldn't decide which was best so I got them both. I got a cheap chinese 6.5 Hp genny for $250 and I got a Coleman 10 hp 5000 watt genny for $150. The cheap chinese one was brand new. It still had all the tags and the chords were still zip tied to the frame. The coleman is pretty used, but I trust that with it being a coleman I be able to find parts and service as needed.