Your last generator Maintenance Run

[Popgadget]

With an air cooled generator, a lot of noise is mechanical noise from the engine. The cooling fins do a great job of transmitting it into the air.
A regular automotive muffler will do great job on the exhaust, you just have to be a little creative with the fabrication connecting and supporting it. However, that won’t help the mechanical noise.

 

[3930dave]

Another comment I've seen..... the gen-head itself can be surprisingly noisy.

A loud exhaust is a good reason to save eng time/$ on noise/vibe mitigation, that nobody will appreciate in a low cost product.....

Rgds, D.

 

[shaeff]

Team TBN at work ...... you'll see some things get re-framed/stated here for clarity, even when it's a regular who we know well..... CO issue alone gives me shivers...... can only imagine the # of fatalities from that during the last round of planned Cali shutdowns.....

Good checklist you posted d.

Rgds, D.

Hey, I'd rather you guys and gals doublecheck if someone (myself included) is unclear about something, especially when it's a safety issue. I'm well aware of the dangers of CO. Almost lost my dad and brother to it about 20yrs ago, maybe longer. Luckily they figured it out and got to fresh air unscathed but terrified.

With an air cooled generator, a lot of noise is mechanical noise from the engine. The cooling fins do a great job of transmitting it into the air.
A regular automotive muffler will do great job on the exhaust, you just have to be a little creative with the fabrication connecting and supporting it. However, that won’t help the mechanical noise.

Another comment I've seen..... the gen-head itself can be surprisingly noisy.

A loud exhaust is a good reason to save eng time/$ on noise/vibe mitigation, that nobody will appreciate in a low cost product.....

Rgds, D.

Check out youtube. Some simple baffles leaned against the generator at 45* angles (think pieces of plywood) mitigate a LOT of the noise. That's why I'm planning to have the sides of the doghouse swing out from the top. The mechanical noise will deflect toward the ground. There are tests where people use decibel meters and the difference is substantial just by leaning some plywood against the generator.

 

[grsthegreat]

i had a customer build a stupid shed for his generator, about a 200# asphalt shingles nightmare roof that has to be manhandled open and shimmed up with a broom in order to lift generator cover. Its so horrible to deal with i am no longer servicing his unit. He also leaned a piece of plywood against the exhaust side to quiet the noise. he ended up melting the control pad. he wanted me to replace it under warranty, sorry cant do. Generac doesnt warranty against stupidity. in order to replace a control board under warranty you have to mail in the old unit back to generac. theres no way they will buy this repair. a new control board, installed will be $600-700. and really, the generator is 40 feet from his house. was not loud.

 

[combustor]

Hearing all these loud generator problems makes me appreciate the surplus TQG. Power went out for a few hours yesterday (wind I guess?) so it was back in service sooner than expected after running for 100 hours outage last month.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Friends of mine had a Northern unit with a Yanmar in a dog house. Maybe 6KW. Exhaust fell off and internal temps in the dog house got very high, melting the foam element in the air cleaner and destroying the alternator. Not sure exactly how that happened. Gotta say the replacement was reasonable and the service people GREAT to deal with.

I just love customers who have no regard at all for the access of service people. They want all this stuff but don't want it seen. And certainly wouldn't want to loose any of their precious closet space!

 

[grsthegreat]

You should drive down the roads in My rural area when powers out. The standbys arnt a noise issue. Its the 100s of home depot and lowes and harbor freight portables that are all humming..l i mean roaring away.

The only need for a super quiet generator in my own humble opinion is in a campground setting. When people are trying to get back to nature ( in their $100,000 portable homes) .... i dont worry about it when its 10f and i have no power.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I suppose. But air cooled 3600 screamers, pressure washers or log splitters whatever, just grate my nerves. Given the choice, I choose something quiet.

 

[90cummins]

You should drive down the roads in My rural area when powers out. The standbys arnt a noise issue. Its the 100s of home depot and lowes and harbor freight portables that are all humming..l i mean roaring away.

The only need for a super quiet generator in my own humble opinion is in a campground setting. When people are trying to get back to nature ( in their $100,000 portable homes) .... i dont worry about it when its 10f and i have no power.

I built an insulated powerhouse for 2 of my air cooled diesels.
The L100 Yanmar is very noisy and I wanted to suppress the noise as much as possible in the event the SHTF.
I did not want noise tipping people off that I have a generator running when others my be desperate.
I have 55 gallons of diesel in there along with heat and 2 ventilation fans.
I used fire code sheet rock inside and Hardy Board cement siding outside to blend with the house and add another fire proof barrier to contain and give me additional time to respond in event of a fire.
Over kill maybe but it looks very nice and is very quiet when the doors are closed.

90cummins

 

[LouNY]

When I put the tractor on my pto generator in the 540E mode it sits right outside my attached garage and I can't hear it in the house and just barely in the garage.