Noisy Generator!
The good news is that the generator works wonderfully! The bad news is that it is SO loud!! We find it difficult to sleep in the house when it is running and we feel badly about what our neighbors must be hearing.
Any suggestions? We are thinking about building something around the generator with access doors and vents. Thanks! |
There is one thing you can do that will make a big difference and that is to extend your exhaust and pipe it into a 5 gallon or larger bucket of water. It will make all the difference in the world and won't hurt the performance of the generator.
DO NOT attempt to build a cover for your generator. Most likely your generator is air cooled and needs all the air it can get to stay cool. Any attempt at all to cover it, even if you add vents will not allow it to cool properly and you will burn it up. Dan |
Extending the exhaust as already suggested, may help. I've done it with mine but I'm not sure yet if it's done more than move the carbon monoxide further from the house. I've heard of the water bucket trick but keep in mind that will add back-pressure to your unit which may, or may not, make a difference in performance. Variations on this include running the exhaust into a 'dry-well' filled with gravel or adding another small muffler at the end of the run.
I also put a piece of plywood about a foot from the genny as a noise-screen. I think this helps deflect a bit of the noise. It might be more effective if I added a piece of foam to the back of it. Good luck! |
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Replace that cheap little muffler that it came with.
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With our 6000w gen I noticed my govenor was set to full throttle. with my load, I was able reduce the setback and ensured the voltage was not lower than 230v on the meter. Lowered the noise quite a bit since it wasnt running wide open. I also dont run my gen at night and restart it early am to get the heat/water back running.
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EEKS, looks to me as if that maybe running in a closed or partially closed area. |
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Its quiet when its off
With the temps we had in this outage there was no need to run the gen all night long.Get up a little early,start it up and the house is warm in an hour.
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Shouldn't change the governor setting. The motor has to run at multiples of 60 to maintain 60HZ power frequency. Small portable generators typically will run at 3600 rpm to maintain the 60hz power frequency.
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BT |
Another way to go a little quiter is spending good money and purchasing a Honda or equivalent. These units are tolerable but will set you back a few thousand dollars.
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Boys,
It wasn't running in that location. :rolleye1: |
Looks like a garage or shed
Lots of folks run them in a garage with the windows open to vent the fumes and reduce the noise.
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BT |
Fumes
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That's a detached shed btw.
But with that car muffler on there (got it at the dump), that thing is QUIET. |
Clarification from OP
Interesting discussion and certainly safety trumps noise in our priorities!
To clarify our generator situation, it is full house disconnect located in the yard outside our house. We live in the house year round but part-time. In our research we found a company (Acoustiblok out of Florida - primarily industrial applications) that sells sound absorbing panels. They sent us a picture of a solid fence with their panels on the inside surrounding the four sides of a residential generator. Something we are considering. Thanks for the suggestions, of all kinds! |
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I would have to assume that BR was talking about a detached garage and or shed. Never run one in an attached garage or garage under even with the doors open. If its really stormy out I have enough wire to reach my detached shed(75 ft) away. I just face the exhaust out the door and don't spend any time in there during or after for a few days.
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Yes siksukr I was.
I honestly did believe anyone would think otherwise, but I guess I was wrong.
I know of several people who have their transfer switch located inside their garage or run them inside the garage with extension cords going into the house. This allows the security of having the generator inside instead of outside where it can be stolen as many have been. |
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I know of several propane fired standby generators that are in enclosed buildings, these generators have been there for Years without any issues. Unfortunately the most important key ingredient, Common Sense is severely lacking in todays society |
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A gas/diesel genset in an enclosed space operated by a homeowner is a recipe for death, especially if that enclosed space has any ability to exchange air with a living space. |
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I think we are http://i42.tinypic.com/2vwzpsj.gif on this subject, don't you???:)
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Another thought
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I do like the idea of the extended muffler because I'll bet the end never even gets warm so you could use just about any hose to vent the exhaust. |
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