[SEL] How to quiet down a loud generator

[Orrin B Iseminger]

-----Original Message-----
From: sel-bounces at lists.stationary-engine.com
[mailto:sel-bounces at lists.stationary-engine.com] On Behalf Of
cgandree at mchsi.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 3:34 AM
To: sel at lists.stationary-engine.com; Old eng list
Subject: [SEL] How to quiet down a loud generator

Hi All,
I have an older Briggs & Stratton Elite 5550 watt generator which starts and
runs very well. Orginally purchased for power outages but now want to use it
to run the power on a RV motor home.  Have been told it may be too loud at
some campgrounds so am looking for a way to reduce the noise level while
running it.
thank you in advance,
Curt Andree
_______________________________________________

Where will the gen set be while you are running it?  Out in the open?  In a
cargo compartment?  If the latter, try lining the enclosure with glass fiber
insulation, fuzzy side facing the gen set.  You may want to ensure it stays
in place by securing it with chicken wire, or similar.  

I had to do this to muffle the furnace in a rental house.  It reduced the
noise from an almost-unbearable roar to a barely noticeable background
noise.  

As for exhaust noise, experiment with oversize mufflers, series, parallel,
whatever.  

I understand about the cost of a new unit being a bit too much; but, if you
can afford a Honda 2000, or similar, it would be the way to go.  They can be
paralleled to run A/C units; however, our 2000 can pull the smallish A/C in
our RV, providing we don't have the unit idling in "Eco Mode" when we turn
it on.

Good luck.

Orrin

Orrin Iseminger
Colton, Washington, USA
http://users.moscow.com/oiseming/lc_ant_p/menu.htm
So many projects.  So little time.