making a generator quieter... (2 Viewers)

[Mace]

I just picked up a troy bilt 5550 generator. Thing seems to work very well, but I was contemplating trying to make it quieter.

From what I understand, it is not just the exhaust that makes the noise, it is the crankcase that is a considerable source of decibles. I am planing to use this in the pitts at off road races so portability is a concern

Ideas?

 

[jts560]

I would put a bigger/better muffler on it first and see if that quiets it down enough.

 

[reffug]

turn it off................................

 

[beaufort-fj60]

what motor does it have?.... not that i can help you, but i have a loud as s*** 5500 gen I'd like to quite down.

 

[D'Animal]

The air filter and the muffler are the biggest sound emitters. The housings and schrouds around the engine also play a big part.

You can install a larger muffler and add shields to the outer cage to quite down the rest. Don't block the airflow through the engine and generator though.

 

[bigndn]

Build a small 4 sided (3-sides and a top) to slide over it. Point the opening away from your work site. Not the best, but it definately helps.

 

[Mace]

Motor is a 10 HP ohv Briggs and stratton.

I am contemplating making a nice foam box for it out of that aluminum covered foam board..

And this is not going on a job site, it is going to be used in the pitts for a off road race team..

 

[D'Animal]

Mkae sure you have plent or airflow so the entire unit does not overheat.

 

[JRFJ4-]

We had a coleman once with a Briggs on it. We put a big car muffler on it. It didn't help. It was still terrible. It was actually bolted on the rear deck of a motor home. It vibrated the entire vehicle. I bolted it down with valve springs out of a Kenworth as a cushion. It worked great for the vibration but would still terribly loud.

My current generator has a subaru motor on it. I was hoping it would be quiet. It's about as loud as the old Briggs.

JR

 

[krzyabncanuck]

I know in the military we would sandbag them. Put sandbags around them does actually work very well. Also if you put it in a little hole dug into the ground.

HTH

 

[haystax]

We doubled up the mufflers on an older Bobcat welder - worked great. It has a two cylinder Onan engine with two small mufflers straight out the top. I would also be concerned about the airflow for the generator coils if you fab up some foam.

Should have bought a Honda you cheapskate

 

[Mace]

yeah, used for maybe 10 hrs for $190 or 2 hondas (or one big one) for over $2300...
Hmmmm..

 

[D'Animal]

yeah, used for maybe 10 hrs for $190 or 2 hondas (or one big one) for over $2300...
Hmmmm..

Gee, let me get my abicuss out and calculte that one for ya.



Around 10:00pm one night I walked over to a guy at a campsite next to our and asked him to turn off his loud azz Troy Built 3500watt generator. He appoligized for the noise and said they had a sick baby they were tending to inside the camper. I loaned him a battery powered lantern and he shut the generator off.

The next morning the lanntern and generator were in the back of my rig. His entire campsite was cleaned up and they were gone.

I now own a loud azz Troy Built 3500watt Generator that needs a muffler and the carburetor gone through.

 

[Mace]

Yep, for real camping I would not use this thing..

but considering I am just going to use it out at off road races. Even if I cannot get it any quieter, it is not a huge deal.

He probably left that night. Camping with sick children sucks...

 

[Hugh Heifer]

We had a coleman once with a Briggs on it. We put a big car muffler on it. It didn't help. It was still terrible. It was actually bolted on the rear deck of a motor home. It vibrated the entire vehicle. I bolted it down with valve springs out of a Kenworth as a cushion. It worked great for the vibration but would still terribly loud.

My current generator has a subaru motor on it. I was hoping it would be quiet. It's about as loud as the old Briggs.

JR

I know in the military we would sandbag them. Put sandbags around them does actually work very well. Also if you put it in a little hole dug into the ground.

HTH

When I lived in Purto Rico we used our generator lots and frequently for several days at a time. It sounds like you have the same one. Our neighbor also had the same model. Put a car muffler on it, small 4 cylinder 2 door spec style muffler. It did wonders compared to ours with the tiny briggs blaster on it.I second digging a hole or sand bagging too. Have done both with success but onl do thatif I have a full couple days of use sinceit is a PITA. Simply forces the noise straight up.

 

[calphi27]

those hondas are sure quiet though. the worst is when you are hunting and have to refill it at 3 am in below 0 weather.

 

[fj40forlife]

Gee, let me get my abicuss out and calculte that one for ya.



Around 10:00pm one night I walked over to a guy at a campsite next to our and asked him to turn off his loud azz Troy Built 3500watt generator. He appoligized for the noise and said they had a sick baby they were tending to inside the camper. I loaned him a battery powered lantern and he shut the generator off.

The next morning the lanntern and generator were in the back of my rig. His entire campsite was cleaned up and they were gone.

I now own a loud azz Troy Built 3500watt Generator that needs a muffler and the carburetor gone through.

what you do. scare the guy away I have a generator that kinda runs but way way to loud. thats why i never use it.

 

[kulangot]

I agree with Dan, like air compressors it's not just the muffler, it's the air intake as well. I've been looking into this as my next house is in an area where there power outages from storms.

Check this out:

Quieten That Generator


-Stumbaugh

 

[Mace]

Nice, thanks!

 

[ducktapeguy]

There was a huge thread on an RV forum somewhere about generators. Those guys are fanatical about their gensets. I can't find the thread, but in summary it said exactly what everyeone else is saying. You can quiet the exhaust with a muffler, but there's not much you can do about the piston noise.

There were some cool soundproof boxes muffle the noise.

Soundproofing a Generator

There was also another idea about redirecting the exhaust into a bucket of gravel or someting like that. They actually had some interesting ideas, but I can't remember them all. In the end, building some sort of foam enclosure and just redirecting the noise upwards was the least amount of work with minimal benefits.

Those honda's are pretty nice though. I've stood next to them and couldn't even tell it was running.