Desert Captain
Tucson
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Joined: 02/19/2011
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Clearly Francesca has a problem with Honda's I have no idea why. Play with the numbers all you like, quote study after study from students to NASA. If place a Honda, Yamaha and any other comparably sized generator side by side under the same load the Honda and Yamaha will be quieter and by a significant margin. You get what you pay for and if it is red or blue your neighbors will thank you. 
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Handbasket
Asheville, NC
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Joined: 01/17/2003
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vikrv wrote:Note that the independent study had a heavily loaded single EU2000i and a significant background noise level. This chart ( link) rates a single EU2000i as 53-59 dB(A) at 21 feet.
Makes me feel fine about my Onan 2800. 56 db(a) at 23' from the exhaust side, 9000 Btu Polar Cub running flat-out. That's measured in my backyard on grass & gravel, with bird and traffic noise. Not strictly 'Onan-legal', but it's survived 5+ years this way.
Jim, "Will an exhaust brake make my generator quieter?"
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison (aka 'Loafer's Glory') www.tigervehicles.com
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clydedoerr
Hardeeville SC
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I use the Yamaha 3000 ISEB. You can stand right next to mine and have a normal conversation. I can run the AC with mine and dont have to worry about carbon dioxide when using it while sleeping. The sound level is 49db, NOT 65. Can rub around 20 hrs on 3 gallons of gas which is a lot better than the built in ONAN. I sure recommend the Yamaha because it has a bunch of stuff the honda only has as optionw. i.e. wheels. 12V charging cord
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Francesca Knowles
Port Hadlock, Washington
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Desert Captain wrote:Clearly Francesca has a problem with Honda's I have no idea why.
My problem isn't with the brand, but with otherwise clear-thinking people's willingness to fall for the brand's clearly deceptive advertising campaign.
The vaunted quietness of this generator is perhaps its biggest selling point, and the core of the campaign is getting folks to believe in the "proofs" of the noise levels.
And- more importantly- to pass the "proofs" along to others.
As the daughter of a longtime marketeer, I actually admit to a grudging admiration for the skill with which Honda's pulled it off! 
Their manipulation of the chart itself is truly brilliant- by noting that certain of the measurements are as measured at a different distance from the source, it implies that conversation is measured at the same distance as the generator.
Well, no.
It's not.
At 7 meters, normal conversation is barely audible, if at all.
Duh!
Nevertheless...
How many times have we heard from users that the EU2000 is "no louder than normal conversation!!!!!!!"?
(Often going on to say how many feet away from their own sites they place the unit so they aren't bothered by the....quietness.  )
Hook. Line. Sinker.
Admen everywhere salute you, Honda! 
" Not every mind that wanders is lost. " With apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien
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pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Quote:How many times have we heard from users that the EU2000 is "no louder than normal conversation!!!!!!!"?
That's absolutely true about the Honda inverter generators ... especially the 3000 model, which is only 47 dB at idle.
Honda's most popular models - the 1000 and 2000 - are about 53 dB at idle. The PROBLEM IS how much power are you getting out of the 1000 and 2000 when they are only idling? I've listened to the 2000 at campgrounds when loaded so as to be doing real work - you hear em' quite a ways away at their 59 dB. Their fully loaded sound is also irritating because it becomes not only louder, but different .... much more "mechanical" and no longer a low putt-putt type of sound. (I have a discontinued Honda generator model that runs at a constant speed at a pretty constant 54 dB, and it's a very non-irritating low frequency deep putt-putt sound that doesn't hardly change in loudness or sound-spectrum content regardless of how heavy you load it.)
IMHO, the best current Honda is the 3000 inverter model that idles at 47 dB and probably is putting out some real power even when rev'd up to only the 53 dB loudness RPM level of the 1000 and 2000 at their idle. The only problems are ... just try and wrestle that heavy 3000 around, or find a storage compartment to hold it in small RVs!
What Honda REALLY NEEDS to do is re-engineer their 1000 and 2000 so that they idle at, say 45 dB, and produce full power at, say 55 dB. THEN .... they would really have a state-of-the-are hit out of the ball-park ... to hold us for a few more years until $700 propane fuel cells finally become available.
Phil, 2005 E450 Itasca 324V Spirit
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Francesca Knowles
Port Hadlock, Washington
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pnichols wrote:Quote:How many times have we heard from users that the EU2000 is "no louder than normal conversation!!!!!!!"?
That's absolutely true about the Honda inverter generators ... especially the 3000 model, which is only 47 dB at idle.
(sigh...)
It's absolutely false because the two are measured at DIFFERENT DISTANCES.
 Why is this such a difficult concept for some to grasp?
As I said (with references) earlier in this thread.
Normal conversation is measured at 3 ft.
Generators are measured at 25 or feet OR MORE.
Heck, if you get far enough away from it, a jet engine would measure "as quiet as normal conversation".
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Handbasket
Asheville, NC
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And as I've posted before, a large part of Onan's general reputation for noisiness is the result of cheap/poor mounting practices by RV makers. No attempt at vibration isolation from the chassis, no sound insulation in the compartment, ignoring the optional exhaust resonator, much more space for cooling air entry than Onan requires, etc.
Then owners gripe because they have no idea that it can be made better with some research, a few dollars, and a little effort.
Jim, "Mo' coffee!"
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vikrv
Pacific Wonderland
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Here is a link to a youtube video (link) that has various Honda generator models running (including audio) from the EU2000i and EU3000i models through louder models. Decide for yourself how loud the generators are at idle and load compared to normal speech.
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pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Quote:It's absolutely false because the two are measured at DIFFERENT DISTANCES.
I no longer know what point you're trying to make.
Whether the idling Honda 3000 inverter generator is 46 dB or 48 dB - quantitatively and/or measurement-criteria-wise speaking - is NOT important ... or at least not a point of any significance.
I've stood right beside an idling Honda 3000 inverter generator and, indeed, it's sound pressure/volume/level is "very low" and in a very pleasant completely non-irritating portion of the sound spectrum. It presented NO PROBLEM talking to a person for long periods when standing next to it like this.
Another real important issue to a prospective buyer is ... how often will a Honda 3000 (... or the Honda 1000 or the Honda 2000) be providing enough power for my needs when it's only idling or a little bit above?
BTW, the idling Honda 1000 and Honda 2000 are NOT as comfortable when talking right next to them because their sound pressure/volume/level is 5 to 7 dB higher than an idling Honda 3000 and also of a different sound spectrum makeup than that of the Honda 3000. IMHO, the Honda 3000 is currently a world-class piece of gasoline powered generator equipment ... not consdering it's weight.
Honda could do well at this point to improve their 1000 and 2000 further. A 3000 model around 100 lbs. would also be great.
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oldtrucker63
Harlan Kentucky
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You say you need enough power to run stuff minus the A/C In this case invest into a solar panel and a 2000 watt inverter, Noise is -0-
and this should run anything in the RV minus the A/C
Without Trucks,....America Stop's
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