hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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The engine noise is your biggest culprit, not the exhaust. Like said above, if it was easy or cheap to quieten your generator, the manufacturer would have already done it to make it more competitive in sales.
If you are concerned with only your personal noise comfort, you can set the generator as far away from your site of course and put up a fabric curtain between the generator any your site. Face the exhaust away from you. I know you and your neighbors wish you the best luck in your quest.
hershey - albuquerque, nm
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edatlanta
Hosting in Panama City Beach, FL
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The old saying that you "can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" is definitely true here. A relatively inexpensive contractor model generator is loud. No matter what you do to it it will remain loud. You might improve it a little, but as has been said above, you make the exhaust quieter you hear the engine, etc.
Sell the contractor model, leave it home for emergency use and get a quiet generator from the get go.
Ed
2006 GMC 2500HD CCSB 4x4 Duramax/Allison, Titan 52 gallon fuel tank, TTT/Schefenacker Towing Mirrors, Prodigy Controller, B&W Companion Hitch, Progressive Industries EMS-PT50C, TST Systems 507 TPMS
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270wsmhunter
Minnesota
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We don't use a generator much with the camper so thought we could do with this one. I have been watching for a Honda or a Yamaha so will continue to do so.
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mph_medic
Southaven, MS (Outside Memphis, TN)
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I had the same concern.. Bought a 5500 watt Generator. Use it ONLY for Talladega. 1st yr it drove me nutts being so loud.. So over the next year I built a cheap box out of 1/4 plywood and took the generator to a muffler shop and put on a import muffler.. and it is a little quieter but the MOTOR noise is still there until I put the box over it then it does make it quieter ..
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christopherglenn
a little over an hour from Yosemite
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Thinking about it, after you deal with the exhaust, try putting a resonator on the intake. Most aftermarket car/truck stuff makes them louder, and more power. I assume quieter will cost you power, and if you don't reset the carb, a piston and rings.
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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The problem with putting a box over the generator is, a contractor generator is open for a reason: COOLING.
If you stifle it up in a box and work it at all, it's going to overheat and quit right when you need it most.
The quiet inverter style generators are designed for proper cooling with ducting and fans, which contractor generators simply do not have.
There's also the convenience factor to consider. You now have this big clumsy heavy generator, an add-on muffler, a little house to put it in... All this has to be unloaded, set up, torn down, and reloaded.
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kneal44
EAST CENTRAL TEXAS
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when i was in 9 grade i bough aused brigs gen for $95 . made lots of noise. once wraped wet gunny sacks over exhaust... but caughts on fire after moisture left bags.. lol
then with a flex pipe i put one end in a gallon bucket filled with water. lots of bubbling like a outboard motor would make but it was much quieter... and cheap. built a box to cover it and that made all the world in quietness. but no ventilation. later found out it was called a dog house... if i had to do it again i would make adog house out of duct insulated boards. its a sound insulating fiberglass. with some ventilation holes should work and very light to move around. you could prolly be 10 foot away and not hear it.
now i realize its in the engineering and design of the generator mechanics for quietness and smoothness... seems that overhead valves are the quietest.
my onan is quiet and my little harbor freight 800 watt is not too noisy .
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mlts22
Austin, Texas
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For something with that wattage range, I'd recommend one of two things:
1: If you are handy and don't mind a project, then building an enclosure is possible, and there are videos on YouTube on how to do it properly where airflow (especially cooling) is not affected, and how to use the right materials so the "doghouse" doesn't catch fire due to insulation near the exhaust. This will take a lot of time, but with the economy so bad, it might be the only real solution.
2: Buy a Honda EU6500i or a Yammy EF6300iSDE. The Honda EU6500i's MSRP is $4500 or so, while the Yamaha is $3690. Both are top notch, although if price doesn't matter, I'd lean to the red one just because there are more Honda generator service places. The advantage of this method is that it will hit your pocketbook hard, but the generator (assuming it is maintained) will still be quietly churning out a precise 120VAC long after most open framed models have met the scrap heap or turned into rust.
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sc3283
St Louis
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PapPappy wrote:
If you add an extension or different muffler to your system, you are going to create additional backpressure on the system, which isn't good. Those extension pipes that redirect the exhaust up the side of the RV seem to work, but who really knows if there is a negative effect on the longevity of the engine?
A properly made extension will NOT cause any adverse effect on the genny or genny engine.
engine noise as stated several times above is the key noise you have to contend with...not noise from the muffler nor noise from the air intake
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