Generator sound deadening

[zuley]

Sorry in advance for another generator thread. Question for all (loud) gen set users. Has anyone tried to make any sort of an insulated box type cover to lower the sound output from their generators? While at the HD Boutique this past weekend I got looking at what I call the 1" think pink hard board insulation. Got me thinking of building a box type cover out of 3/8" plywood and lining the inside with this insulating material to use as an insulating cover over top of my little coleman 1850 when I use it for my two week vacation this summer. Seriously considered buying a Honda but I'm having a hard time justifying the expence for two weeks use every summer. I think this box will work but my concern is being able to get air to the generator to allow it to run properly. You cut a hole in or vent the box and then you take away from the muffled sound deadening attributes of the box. Has anyone created anything such as this and how did it work out in the end?

[Ken / Claudia]

I had 2 loud gennys in the past. Getting better bigger mufflers helps very little, it is the engine that is real noisy besides exhaust. That being said, yes you could build a box and it would help. Hard part will be to have openings the right size for air, were noise will escape. And the exhaust will be vented out thru the box also creating noise. With a lot of work you likely will not hear much change. Your idea is used on boats with in board engines. Mine is insulated, a friends is not with the same 200hp v6. Mine is less noise but, not much. At high RPMs riding in either boat talking is yelling or we wear head sets to talk called fire coms. Those engines come with air intake and exhaust already vented. Besides a long electric cord to place the loud gennys away from you, the best way is get one that is quiet to start with.

[JRTJH]

Before we bought our Champion inverter generator ($499 for the 2000i) we used a Champion 4000/3500 generator. It isn't as loud as some contractor units, but it's loud enough to be a "pain" when used for more than a few minutes. I built a box (walls only) out of 1" pink rigid foam with cutouts for the air intake and the exhaust. The box is just about 1' taller than the generator, so after it's running, I position the box around it. Depending on how I orient the generator to "shield the trailer" away from the exhaust and intake, it does reduce the noise somewhat. Don't think that you will get the same noise reduction to compare to running an inverter generator, but it is much more "tolerable" for a couple hours.

Where we dry camp, there's seldom anyone within a quarter mile, usually even further, so only the "critters" are disturbed by our generator.

There is a "sound deadening foam" that I had considered gluing to the inside of the pink stuff, but I never got the motivation to proceed.

As stated, buying a bigger muffler won't help, it's the generator whine and the engine bearing noise that's annoying, even with the best muffler installation.

I held my "pink box" together with duct tape, built it in two "folding pieces" and assembled it with a piece of paracord to hold it all together once it was placed in the proper position. Total size was about 3' x 4' x 3' (LxWxH)

[zuley]

Thanks guys. Don't know what I'm going to do just yet. As I said I can't justify spening 1200 to use only for two weeks every summer. We camp in a non hydro section of Killbear PP every summer and run the gen for an hour every afternoon. We try to do it when everyone heads to the beach. I've never had any inclination to join the crowd with their lit up palm trees, bread makers and awning lights in the hydro section of the park. I know the guy next to us was not pleased with us running the gen last summer, that is until he had to borrow it to boost his truck the day he left.

[Festus2]

zuley -
Designing and building an effective sound-proofing cover for a generator can be very challenging - especially one that is "noisy" to begin with. I've tried a couple of different ones which really weren't all that effective and since then I've resorted to moving the generator as far away from myself and others as possible.

I did come across one that worked extremely well and should have taken photos of the innards but....... The insides were a network of various compartments, baffles, a 12v fan for drawing in air from the outside, along with numerous holes placed in various places throughout the box and insulation of course.

I did get to chatting with the owner as his "box" often had a small crowd of admirers around it and he was only too willing to explain how he built it and how it worked. This wasn't just a plywood box, with a couple of holes in it and lined with insulation. It was very elaborate. All the while, the generator was running and it could barely be heard standing right next to it.

To make room for everything that was inside - including the generator - the 'box' was quite large - considerably bigger than the generator itself. I can't recall if it was "collapsible" but if not, it would take up considerable storage space.

You might try using Google - I am sure there are numerous sources of ideas there.

If you do manage to construct something, post some pics for the rest of us to see.
Good luck.