2 cycle Inverter Generator

[Trebor English]

And how do you know how quiet it is before you buy it?  They should have dB ratios on the box.

Measuring sound levels can be complicated.  What material is on the far side of the unit under test matters.   The frequency response of the test equipment matters.  The distance and orientation matter.  The electrical load level  matters.  Every manufacturer will print a number on the box that shows their product in the best light.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I own 5 portable generators and one of my favorites is my Westinghouse WH1000i. It is very quiet and dependable.

They cost about $400 to $500 dollars but that's about half of the more-or-less equivalent Yamaha generator. 

The only negative is that it does not have a DC charging outlet, if that is important to you. 

Occasionally they can be found on sale for about $300.

 

[MotorVation]

I will keep looking for it.  Everyone is out of stock.

Some retailers have it in stock some don't. That leads me to believe the distributor (Buffalo Tools) is probably waiting on a fresh shipping container from China. Once they receive it and supply all the dealers you'll most likely see the sale prices. I paid about 157. for mine from Walmart. It's been a good little generator so far..

 

[becida]

And how do you know how quiet it is before you buy it?  They should have dB ratios on the box.

A 2 stroke is not quiet.

If you look on line, find the spec sheets & you should see a dB number. 
Take a look at the Honda for a good base line, then you'll have something to compare your numbers to.  If there are no noise numbers listed, I'd guess they were embarrassed....

 

[Dingfelder]

I think I'll go look at that if my Home Depot has it.  Just to look.  I might want to get something like this before I save up for a good one.  It's the noise factor that has me bothered.  I suppose one could make a structure around it (as long as there's enough breathing room for it) to muffle some of the noise...  Has anyone tried making something like that that's 4 short collapsible walls, and then put it up around the unit?

I was watching youtube vids on that last night.  One guy simply leaned some plywood scraps up against each side of the machine.  Made a huge difference.

Somebody -- maybe same guy,I think so -- was a fan of putting the generator on grass rather than a driveway or something similar, saying the grass and dirt absorb a lot of sound but pavement will reflect it.

Harbor Freight is having a sale today. I went in; some of their generators are nicely discounted.  I've been reading a bunch of reviews and at least a few of them are very well reviewed.  Prices are very good.

 

[Dingfelder]

Thanks for the feedback on making a muffling Aframe for it.  I like the idea of it putting the noise into the ground.  Here in FL the ground is SAND and that itself is a good muffler.  So that idea sounds great.  I was just thinking of 4 collapsible square walls with an open top, but the reflecting idea is better.

Yeah I'm off the $89 generator.  I'm going to get a better one than that,  and the pure sine variety makes more sense.  I never thought you could get a generator for under a 100 bux, so it was an exciting find, but not right for me.  They had a pallet of them (the units were small), so I suspect they were planning on selling a lot of them at that price.

Apparently both reflection and absorption can do a lot, as can both together.  Some acoustic foam is pretty inexpensive, like the kind that you seen in old-style foam mattresses or many mattress toppers,with the egg-shell-like bumps.  

I just got a generator today and want to make a frame for it.  To keep out rain and tree sap and leaves, even heat, and I suppose perhaps snow too, eventually ... and to cut down noise.  I'm stationed where I am for a while now so there's no hurry to come up with the perfect solution, but ... I was thinking it would be nice to make it portable.  Lightweight would be great too.

So my thoughts are drifting to acoustic foam and thrift shop cheap blankets, or even tarps, cut to fit frames I can put together out of PVC pipe.   Just attach with clips.  PVC is very light and super easy to cut to any size you want.  There's just about every kind of joint you can think of using, or you can build a shelter with PVC the way I did for my winter gardening -- driving rebar a foot into the ground, leaving at least a foot of it above ground, and simply plopping a pipe over it.  Then you either bend the other end down to another rod and make yourself an arch that you can cover with cloth etc., or cut where  necessary and fit a PVC joint, and build to suit yourself.

Winter hoop houses like these are actually fairly strong and can take a surprising amount of wind.

Even a cheapish pop-up beach tent would give a lot of protection and could help function as a framework for laying down something heavier.

Anyway, lots of options, it seems.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

 . . . was a fan of putting the generator on grass rather than a driveway or something similar, saying the grass and dirt absorb a lot of sound but pavement will reflect it . . .

Some of the small suitcase inverter/generators have an air inlet on the bottom side, so be careful about placing it on dirt.

 

[MotorVation]

Some of the small suitcase inverter/generators have an air inlet on the bottom side, so be careful about placing it on dirt.

The Sportsman 1000i has the air inlet on the bottom. After discovering that the hard way, I now put a thin piece of plywood about the same width of the genny underneath it..

 

[Dingfelder]

Some of the small suitcase inverter/generators have an air inlet on the bottom side, so be careful about placing it on dirt.

Good heads-up, thanks.  I just got a generator today and decided I didn't want to handle problems with dirt, water, and leaf litter, so I laid down a tarp and put two planks over it, setting the generator's wheels on top.  Now my generator is slightly elevated and I think mud and water etc. should be easier to handle.  Also, more air circulation should help with cooling.

 

[ZoNiE]

That is not an Inverter generator

 

[jimindenver]

I use to use the garage floor mats that hook together to creat a enclosure for my open frame. They made a 10 db difference. Four of them making a tunnel for the sportsman would do a lot for it but after awhile any noise is annoying.

The first time I camped next to someone with the quietest generator, the Honda EI3000is, I thought it was impressively quiet. Then the guy let it run 24/7 for the next four days. I woke up to a hum, I went to bed to the hum. I was ready to shoot the hum.

 

[wasanah2]

I just got a generator today and want to make a frame for it.  To keep out rain and tree sap and leaves, even heat, and I suppose perhaps snow too, eventually ... and to cut down noise.  I'm stationed where I am for a while now so there's no hurry to come up with the perfect solution, but ... I was thinking it would be nice to make it portable.  Lightweight would be great too.

Cool, which one did you get?

 

[wasanah2]

I was ready to shoot the hum.

LOL

 

[wasanah2]

That is not an Inverter generator

Yeah, I went to edit the title and the forum wouldn't let me.  I was looking at both and forgot to change the title before I published it.

 

[becida]

The first time I camped next to someone with the quietest generator, the Honda EI3000is, I thought it was impressively quiet. Then the guy let it run 24/7 for the next four days. I woke up to a hum, I went to bed to the hum. I was ready to shoot the hum.

I was at a VW campout way up in the mountains in Washington, maybe a dozen VW buses. The guy next to me had little twinkling lights on around his awning, I asked about them. They were 120vac powdered! Turned out he had a small Honda generator (I don't know if it was the 1k or 2k) running on the other side of the little hill behind us. I was totally unaware that it was there AND running. 
That was the first time I'd ever seen a quiet generator.

 

[Dingfelder]

I was at a VW campout way up in the mountains in Washington, maybe a dozen VW buses. The guy next to me had little twinkling lights on around his awning, I asked about them. They were 120vac powdered! Turned out he had a small Honda generator (I don't know if it was the 1k or 2k) running on the other side of the little hill behind us. I was totally unaware that it was there AND running. 
That was the first time I'd ever seen a quiet generator.

Wow that's pretty cool.  Quiet indeed.  Sounds like that hill must have helped, too.

A youtuber named justincredible, I think, the guy with the bright purple van, said in a video that he has put a little Honda 2000 in a compartment that vents to the outside of his van, and the noise is almost unnoticeable.

 

[Dingfelder]

Cool, which one did you get?

The Predator 3500 at Harbor Freight.  

It's big and about 100 pounds.  Moving it around is a major thing.  I sure hope I like other things about it, because something this heavy and bulky is a major commitment.  But it does get tremendous reviews and was on sale.

 

[Dingfelder]

I use to use the garage floor mats that hook together to creat a enclosure for my open frame. They made a 10 db difference. Four of them making a tunnel for the sportsman would do a lot for it but after awhile any noise is annoying.

I like that idea, Jim.  Those aren't super heavy and would probably be relatively easy to store  when not in use.

 

[becida]

Wow that's pretty cool.  Quiet indeed.  Sounds like that hill must have helped, too.

A youtuber named justincredible, I think, the guy with the bright purple van, said in a video that he has put a little Honda 2000 in a compartment that vents to the outside of his van, and the noise is almost unnoticeable.

I'm sure the mound it was behind was the reason I was unaware it was there.

I've heard many times that you must have the Honda generator out in the open for cooling.. I saw a guy run a Honda in a box (mounted on the back of his rig) with the back & bottom made of expanded metal for the ventilation plus they were not visible to anyone walking by.  He did not run it often, when we wanted to use the microwave of there had not been enough sun for the solar.

I have not talked to anyone who has actually run a Honda genset in a vented spot that was meant for a different type of generator (like on an RV).

 

[wasanah2]

The Predator 3500 at Harbor Freight.  

It's big and about 100 pounds.  Moving it around is a major thing.  I sure hope I like other things about it, because something this heavy and bulky is a major commitment.  But it does get tremendous reviews and was on sale.

A lot of generators on sale now too.