making generators quiet...

[dakotamouse]

At IRG3.0, my brother brought a generator, which he ran from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, figuring this was lunch time not nap time. He had to charge his battery so he could run his C-PAP machine. We walked around and informed our neighbors, and everyone was quite pleasant about it.

I didn't like hearing it run, either, but under the circumstances, it was tolerable.

Just went to an outdoor rockfest where a number of campers had generators. The one right next to our site was extremely noisy. At first I thought they might be running their airconditioner.......but no.....the windows were open. I couldn't take it anymore and went over to ask what they were running the genny for...........maybe they had a good reason like a C-PAP. turns out they had turned it on to use the microwave and forgot they still had the genny on. They were nice enough to turn it off.

[Arne]

At night, when all is quiet, any generator noise will be noticeable..

When I do sheep dog trials, all campers are in some sort of farm field with no hook ups, and we all run them all night during the summer. And the interesting thing is, we all get a good nights sleep.

In any other format, one generator running, no matter how quiet, is as annoying as a mosquito in your camper buzzing around your head.

[Shadow Catcher]

If you want the ultimate in quite generator try an EFOY fuel cell, completely silent but 5,000$. An enclosure with fan could be built using convoluted foam on the interior that would absorb a great deal of the sound.

[Blumie]

We're not total curmudgeons -- we enjoy seeing other people's kids playing in campgrounds, etc., just not at bedtime after a long day on the road. Next time we may dry-camp elsewhere in the national forests, rather than risk landing next to folks who have such very different ideas about what it means to go camping.

[07rascal]

You know your "hosed" when the new neighbors roll in with the Charbroil Gas grill and Recliner in the back of their truck! At that point, we hook up and move.....if you cant join them run like He!!, thats our motto!!

[bdosborn]

Head over to rv.net and do a search through the tech forum. There are hundreds of posts on trying to make a generator quiet. The quick summary is it's hard to do and usually doesn't get you a generator that's any quieter than a quiet Honda...
Bruce

[H-Balm]

Get thick pieces of the pink insulation board.
Cut these to make a cube-like creation. Think puzzle pieces so they can be assembled on site. 4 Facings should work

Just be sure to leave an opening for fumes/air vent.


It will not stop noise but severely dampen it, and allow you the ability to "steer it away.

[starleen2]

Ball - peen Hammer - need to say more?

[JohnnyG]

Nothing's worse that hearing someone's radio IMO.

[eamarquardt]

When I had a boat and spent a week or more out we'd have to run an air compressor to fill scuba tanks. It was a Honda but not particularly muffled. I'd run it during the middle of the day and usually in an empty anchorage. One day, however, we were in a small anchorage surrounded by several other boats. After fillling a couple of tanks (45 minutes running time) there were CHEERS from the other boats when we completed filling two tanks and turned off the compressor. It was all pretty good natured but even I was happy to not hear the compressor's engine.

I can't imagine running a generator all night for air conditioning unless the majority of the other campers are doing so also.

Cheers,

Gus

[Lou Park]

Try buying a honda 1000. Quiet enough to stand next to and have
a conversation.

[Corwin C]

I think the key here is to be respectful for others. If there is activity during parts of the day which will make the generator less noticeable, that is the time that you should be getting things charged up and ready for the quiet times. The respect needs to be both ways as well. I'm disturbed by how many suggestions there are that the solution is to destroy a generator ... are you sure that there isn't someone there that is relying upon that power for a serious reason? Dad uses an oxygen concentrator on occasion to make it possible for him to go camping at all, and I think I'd be looking for blood if someone disabled the generator that he needs. Guaranteed ... if it ever happened, there wouldn't be anyone sleeping within miles when we leave. I know it's tough, but ask what the situation is and try to work with your neighbor(s) to get consensus for reasonable noise levels. Communication will go a long way to making everyones experience a positive one.

A possible noise solution ... my brother-in-law has a 1" pink foam board with two "air vents" in it, one of which has a small 120v fan as well. He digs a hole large enough for the generator well away from the camper, places the generator in the hole, starts it, plugs in the fan and a long cord to the camper, and puts the foam board over the hole. The fan supplies fresh cool air to the generator. It seems to work quite well as there are times when the noise from the fan is more noticeable than the generator. Not a perfect solution for sure (many campgrounds would severely discourage digging holes), but something to consider.

I think this is why I enjoy boon docking so much ... nobody around to either frustrate me, or be frustrated by what I'm doing.

[Mukilteo]

I do just fine without a generator.
At one time I thought I wanted one. But I got over it.


The solar panels do fine for the little amount of power I use at night.

[Rigsby]

Try adding a length of tube from the genny exhaust, and run it underground for a couple of feet, before exiting the ground into a piece with lots of holes drilled in the sides and the end blanked off.
This way a lot of the vibration is absorbed by the ground

[Wishbone]

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/ Look at list for Quite Mufflers Wishbone-Ks