Just say no to Honda !

[Clan Graham]

LOL ... Nah, just kidding. But I am personally going to say no to one of the wonderful and quiet Hondas or Yamaha generators. And here is my reasoning...<br><br>This generator is TWICE more powerful, and rated extremely highly by people who own it.<br><br><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/Champion-Equi...58&amp;sr=1-7&amp;keywords=champion+generator" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Champion-Equi...58&amp;sr=1-7&amp;keywords=champion+generator<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;">And as far as quietness ... This is waaay simple. I plan on making a new generator exhaust flange, and attaching a 30 ft long piece of flexible exhaust pipe. Then adding a really quiet full sized car muffler on the end of the exhaust pipe. This allows me to take the noise 30 ft away from the bus. Where the entire muffler will then be placed inside a 2 ft square box, made from 2" thick foam board, with one side open with a 6" round hole in the side for the exhaust to pass through. </span></span><br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;">I saw this done in Colorado once, by hunters living in a small cabin. You could not even hear the generator inside the cabin, except for a small, distant hum.</span></span><br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;">So this gives me twice the power, at half of the cost, and even quieter. Since I can work on small motors, I am not worried about repairs.</span></span><br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;">Please help me see where this may be the wrong thinking .... thanks !</span></span><br><br><br></a>

 

[Patrick46]

WOW....I love this entire idea....the box and all!! <IMG class="emoticon bbc_img" title="Thumb - :thumb:" src="/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif">

 

[user 423]

-The mechanical noise from the generator is probably half or more of what you'll hear. <br><br>- A 30ft. exhaust pipe may cause too much restriction and you might have problems with overheating and burnt exhaust valves.<br><br>- It may be different now but in the past, parts availability for these was not so great.<br><br><br>I had a 1500W version for a while and it also was noisy but was decent for the money.

 

[highdesertranger]

champion power tools made in china.&nbsp; if you are ok with this.&nbsp; then what can I say.&nbsp; with some things it's hard to avoid but others it's easy.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[user 423]

Are there any reasonably priced, smaller US made generators left? I believe Briggs and Coleman have both been outsourced.

 

[yesican]

I was reading the first review of this generator and the guy stated the noise is coming from the motor and not the exhaust.&nbsp; Perhaps you won't need to go to that extreme with the exhaust and just put a box over the generator?!

 

[rokguy]

<em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">Slowday, </span></strong></em><br><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">&nbsp;Onan Cummins still make a U.S one. I have seen them here. They also make a Chinese one.</span></strong></em><br><br><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">I'm wanting to do this myself with a Diesel genset on my land and was looking at the seawater cooled exhaust on the yacht and how quiet it is. <br>Recirculated water injection wouldn't be to hard to rig up, could be spigot mounted into the exhaust pipe down from the manifold with a pickup to re inject it or some sort of baffled water tank with the exhaust running into it with the outlet above the water level.</span></strong></em>

 

[Patrick46]

Just like to add that some sort of 'floating mount' on some rubber biscuts would be truely ideal for eliminating sounds and vibrations coming from whatever generator&nbsp;unit you do end up using. <BR>You can probably use some body mount pucks for a small car body. Any decient auto parts shop should have something behind the counter they could suggest...or try a truck shop and tell 'em what your gonna do. Those guys are usually pretty good at fabbing up neat stuff.

 

[user 423]

Onans are good generators but they are much more expensive.&nbsp; My friend at slab city in Cali had a 3kw unit that was 25 years old and was still going strong.<br><br>Yes, I've noticed the effective exhaust muffling of boat motors but if you recirculated water through your stationary unit wouldn't it eventually get very dirty and toxic?

 

[rokguy]

<em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">???????????????? I don't know ? but given all its being used for is to cool / baffle the exhaust pipe only, would it matter? P</span></strong></em><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">erhaps c</span></strong></em><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">hange the water in the container when needed.&nbsp;<br>I myself have got a Chinese built 8kva Diesel genset on order so I'll let you know I couldn't justify spending $6000 on a Onan/Cummins<br><br></span></strong></em><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">After all the Chinese buy our Aussie ore so its only natural we buy it back as something else.</span></strong></em><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;"><br><br>Patrick,<br></span></strong></em><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">the genset I already have has got those rubber mounted frame and it doesn't make any difference. Though this is highly recommended for wind generator mountings.</span></strong></em><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;"><br><br></span></strong></em>

 

[James AKA Lynx]

Just do not use it with any electronics. The wave form can kill them. Ok for power tools and lights.<br><br>Computers, TV,s more fancy appliances it will fry the circuit boards. <br><br>Gas usage may be more. <br><br>Heavy?<br><br>James AKA Lynx

 

[Zil]

Champion generators get good reviews and are rated highly by consumer union. But they are noisy. If you ran your exhaust 30 feet away from your camp, you would run it 30 feet closer to your neighbor. Larger mufflers don't equate to quieter engines when not designed for said engine. And what a PiA to set up and store.<br>Water exchange exhaust equals hot contaminated water. Recirculated is boiling contaminated water.<br>One benefit of the honda is the inverter. Makes clean power at any rpm, can run slower for lower draw. champion must run at high rpm steady for any draw.<br>Chinese parts are used on the international space station.

 

[wagoneer]

I have an excellent Honda 650 and never use it it just seems to defeat the whole green idea. In an emergency I could see the usefulness. But camping/boondocking I dunno.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Generator noise abatement is hardly a new topic. &nbsp;From everything I've read about it most of the noise is not from the muffler but what makes it out the air intake and through the motor body itself.<br><br>Like when people add CAI's to their cars/trucks and it gets louder and sounds faster but likely is not. &nbsp;Most people will also claim better MPG too. &nbsp;One needs to realize humans need to justify their actions, and convincing oneself that their effort yielded positive results is paramount. &nbsp;With the internet this is done by getting strangers on forums to follow the same path and click the 'like" button. &nbsp;No proof needed.<br><br>The effort to save money has this bad habit of costing more in the long run. &nbsp;How much money will be spent creating the baffling to reduce the noise? &nbsp;How much time spent building/ experimenting, modifying/ researching?<br><br>When all is said and done, the Honda/Yamaha route might look pretty cheap.<br><br>I'm glad I don't need a generator.

 

[MK7]

There are a few videos on YouTube where people tries to quiet down their noisy generators by attaching car mufflers and long exhaust pipes, but failed....meaning that the noise stays almost the same. The problem is that many of the noisy generators are noisy all over and not just at the exhaust.

 

[Clan Graham]

Hey, hey ... I am no fool !&nbsp; LOL<br><br>I will be sticking with the 2000w Honda then. This is exactly why I started this thread this way <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img" title="Wink - ">&nbsp; Keep setting me straight please. I need all the help I can get ! LOL

 

[wagoneer]

what seems to bother me is the reluctance to differentiate stix-n-brix from cheaprvliving.<br>trying to replicate stix-n-brix model to the road. Losing the whole concept of cheaprvliving. I am struggling to re-invent my comfort zone to make more sense in my mobile experience as apposed to downsizing/replicating a more conventional take. Does this make sense? For me night time is night time and prolonging the light a bit silly especially at the cost of burning gasoline a great ol' quote "make hay while the sun shines" No I am not a Mennonite.( small chuckle)

 

[cygvan]

hi clan. i like the original idea but as others have said regarding the muffler and sound it seems to be a point of diminishing returns.<br><br>perhaps you could run the champion in one of the storage bays that you seal up really well and use some sound deadening in there. then just extend the exhaust enough so as to bring it away from accumulating under the bus or entering a window, without making it so long that it affects performance and created other mentioned issues.<br><br>the honda 2000 is an awesome generator. ive used one borrowed from my host a few times. i do want to mention that it is rated for 1600 continous though. and it only puts out about 13.3 amps AC. so if you go with the large charger route i mentioned to you, be aware that the model i mentioned needs just over 20 amps (to fully utilize its 90 amp DC charge capability) and requires a 30 amp breaker.<br><br>so if you stick with the honda 2000 you might need to ratchet down the charger model to either a 45 amp (uses 11 amps AC) or a 55 amp (13.4 amps AC).<br><br>important consideration since the generator is your only charging source for your batteries (which it sounds like you will have a large AH capacity when all said and done).<br><br>here is a link to a spec chart for the iota chargers.&nbsp; <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wind-sun/Iota-charger-ratings.pdf" target="_blank">http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wind-sun/Iota-charger-ratings.pdf</a><br><br>the honda 2000 comes in two varieties, the standard and the companion. you could get one of each (i know $$$) and run them together for larger loads or run just one for smaller loads.<br><br>there is also the honda 3000 (two versions). <br><br>

 

[Clan Graham]

LOL .... and here we go round again. Well, one thing is for sure : I need to pick ONE route that best suits my needs, and cygvan has already helped me to realize a good way to accomplish this. So instead of being so concerned with brands, I think I will just stick with the best specd generator for the route he has suggested. <br><br>But I sure do appreciate all of the opinions !&nbsp; Very valuable to my education ! I really do wish I could afford a nice, amazing generator. But hey, I am on a budget after all.

 

[Clan Graham]

Wagoneer ... I sure feel ya. But being individuals, we will all have differing opinions on what extent we want to take cheaper or green living. I personally have no issues about roughing it, but I DO have a terribly sick wife. And she needs what reasonable comfort I can give to her. This is already going to be really difficult, considering our lowish budget ... BUT, we will be throwing probably $5000 or more into the needs of the bus.