Chilliwack Murray
Gold Member
Exhaust noise can be difficult to control with universal parts. Manufacturers spend a lot design of dollars getting this right (or wrong, remember every GM product in the early 90s). You do want to be careful adding restriction to the exhaust as this will drastically increase cylinder temperatures and can cause piston and ring damage.
You didn’t say what size generator you have but one very effective way to reduce noise is put your generator in a hole deep enough to block any line of sight to your house. Much of the primary sound travels mainly in a line of sight path until it bounces off something.
Make sure the hole is wide enough to allow full ventilation and access to the unit (don’t cover the hole). This doesn’t work everywhere, in particular you need to be sure you don’t flood your unit if it rains.
Without knowing the size of your generator it’s hard to know how much vibration it is creating, the obvious solution is to move it further away but depending on the soil type, digging a hole may also help if you get below the soft spongy soil onto rock or clay that is more solid. Other than that, experiment with soft or springy materials under the unit. On large units, spring isolators are used however they cost more than most small generators.
Sometimes the cheapest and simplest fix is the most effective.
