jamieline
northwest
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I know there has been talk about generators before but was wondering about honest opinions about generator noise.
We were camping this weekend and several people had generators. I could tell they were not Hondas or Yamahas but there were not that noisy. They only ran for a little while but were not bothering anyone.
We are going to purchase a generator soon and take it with us to Yellowstone. I would like to use the generator more than a few times but have a hard time justifing the cost of the Honda or Yamaha.
Do you find the off brands that annoying?
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djevans
Tennessee
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not endorsing any of these in this link, but it might give you some additional information - one of the quietest "off-brand" generators I've run in to, was a fairly heavy but fairly small, diesel generator, but the cost was "also significant." What are you trying to run? (how much power is needed?)
Generators don't bother me (well the fumes do, but the noise doesn't from the inside of our RV) I run ours a lot if we are on 30 amp pedestals ( she insists on using that cotton picken convection oven - the EMS shuts all sorts of things down to include the AC units while it's on)
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rv2go
Fulltime (Knoxville, TN).... or someplace else
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This is the guide line for noise making machines in our National Parks.
"The National Park Service (NPS) noise limit is 60 db at 50' from the source." This restriction is not well published, and not easy to find on the internet. It applies to off-road vehicles (snow mobiles, ATVs, etc.) as well as generators.
Some generators will specify if they are compliant. Camping close together in a Park CG is different that boondocking where you tend to be farther apart.
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2gypsies
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If you're only going to use it a few times, why spend the money for it? Pay, instead, for electric hookups. Cheaper in the long-run.
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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National park regulations state that they must be less than 76 Db (which is pretty loud) but I think anything that loud would not be popular in most campgrounds. I don't recall EVER seeing a decimeter in use to enforce that rule however.
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smkettner
Southern California
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Depends on how long you run it. Five minutes to microwave something I don't care how loud. An Hour or two to recharge batteries I would prefer it was Honda Yamaha quiet if we are fairly close. For hours on end because your charging system is weak or to watch a couple movies is very annoying no matter how quiet you think it is. My tolerance gets less after 8p or before 8a.
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bill h
coastal reconquista
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From: NPS.GOV:
"Please note the following is prohibited: Operating motorized equipment or machinery such as a electric generating plant, motor vehicle, audio device in a manner that exceeds a noise level of 60 decibels at 50 feet"
This is 68 db at 20 feet or 66.75 at 7 meters (23 ft)
Some rrangers DO measure, but they can pretty much tell by listening.
The NPS limit is still pretty loud for anyone sitting outside. It is not too bad if you stay inside with the AC and TV going strong.
Edited for typo.
* This post was
edited 07/20/10 09:43pm by bill h *
NOTE: Any incorrect spelling is intentional to prevent those annoying popups.
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camperpaul
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bill h wrote:From: NPS.GOV:
"Please note the following is prohibited: Operating motorized equipment or machinery such as a electric generating plant, motor vehicle, audio device in a manner that exceeds a noise level of 60 decibels at 50 feet"
This is 68 db at 20 feet or 66.75 at 3 meters (23 ft)
~23 ft = 7 Meters
~10 ft = 3 Meters
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Keith M
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The Honda and Yamaha generators are not only quiet but they will save you money in fuel costs and are extremely reliable. The cheap generators are bulky, noisy and consume as much as 3x fuel per hour. I had a boondocking friend who had three of the cheap "harbor freight" generators. He liked buying them from "Harbor Freight" because they have a decent return policy when they failed after a couple of months. The knock off chinese generators like the Honeywell and Kipor havent really impressed me that much. I have seen a couple and they are noisy and you really dont save that much. Cabella's sells the Yamaha 1000 for $750 and Wise, Alamia, and Mayberrys have been selling the Honda's in the same range shipped and no tax. The Honda and Yamaha generators for a serious boondocker would actually save money over the life of the generator in fuel costs not to mention being quiet and reliability. There is also another problem that doesnt get mentioned much but the cheap generators dont produce a clean sine wave. A friend of mine bought one and it wouldnt operate his converter thus he couldnt charge his batteries. It ran everthing else but not the converter.
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imon32red
SLC, Utah
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A couple of things about Yellowstone. There are 12 campgrounds in Yellowstone. I believe that the only campground with electrical hookups if Fishing Bridge. I read earlier in the year that there is no electrical there this year though, because they are updating their grid.
Out of the 12 campgrounds in Yellowstone, 5 do not allow the use of generators. The 7 that do only allow them to be used between 8 and 8.
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