Last Updated on September 17,
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Generators can be an absolutely essential part of camping out of your travel trailer or RV.
Whether you use your generator for smaller things such as charging your cell or something larger like powering appliances, they can come in very handy while enjoying the great outdoors.
The downside of using a generator to include these creature comforts on your camping trip is, of course, the noise it makes.
If youve ever wondered how to quiet a generator then youre in the right place. Were going to break down the top 8 tips for how to quiet a generator so you can have a more peaceful camping trip without losing out on the essentials.
Browse any of these top tips to learn how to quiet a generator by clicking on the below links:
Something to keep in mind even before you purchase a generator is to know what your power needs are. If you know what youre power needs are before buying, then you may avoid the noisy generator situation altogether.
Its pretty simple. The more power your generator can put out, the more noise its going to make. You should weigh the amount of power you need, the amount of noise youre okay with, and how much youre willing to spend on a generator.
Some people only require enough electricity while camping to charge their phones, tablets, and essentials. If youre only looking to power smaller devices like this, then you can get away with a smaller and less powerful generator. Generators that put out a few hundred watts can handle these smaller tasks.
If youre looking to power larger appliances like your campers refrigerator, microwave, or A/C unit, then youll need a generator with a higher wattage output. Generators that can handle these larger items have an output of 2,000 5,000 watts.
Some generators are specifically designed to have a higher wattage output while being quieter than other models. These generators are generally more expensive due to having the best of both worlds.
The next thing to keep in mind when youre considering how to quiet a generator is the distance you place it from your campsite. This is one of the most important factors in making sure your campsite stays quieter while using a generator.
Now the distance that youre able to place your generator from your campsite, will depend on a few different factors. Whether youre camping on a campground with specific campsites or on open land while boondocking is the first thing to consider.
For example, if youre camping at a campground that offers smaller sized camping spots, then obviously you need to keep your neighbors in mind. You dont want to bother your fellow campers with the noise from your generator by placing it closer to their campsite.
If youre camping in a place with no other people around then the biggest factor to consider is the length of your extension cords and how much you like to walk. The further away you place your generator from your campsite, the quieter its going to get.
Most generator brands will show what the decibel rating of that particular model is. These decibel ratings are measured at about 7 meters out from the operating generator in most cases. So a good rule of thumb is to keep your generator at least 20 feet away from your campsite if you want to operate in that decibel range.
If you have the space and lack of camping neighbors then investing in some heavy-duty extra-long extension cords will allow you to place your generator as far away as youd like.
By keeping your generator at least 20 or more feet away from your campsite, you can vastly cut down on the noise and focus on enjoying the outdoors.
Another important factor to consider when figuring out how to quiet a generator is the surface that you leave it on while its running. Once youve found a good distance to place your generator, you need to make sure to place it on a surface that will dampen the noise instead of amplifying it.
Its best that you avoid all hard surfaces. So dont place the generator on concrete, wood, or asphalt as these surfaces will only increase the noise.
Usually, if youre camping, the best and only options to set your generator on are simply dirt or grass. These are both great solutions as a surface to place your generator on. Both of these will absorb and dampen the sound created from the rumbling generator.
Say youre in a situation where you dont have softer ground to place your generator on. Anti-vibration mats are a great solution here. Anti-vibration mats are generally made of rubber and help to soften the vibration and noise that comes from household appliances.
You can place one of these mats underneath your generator and it will help to quiet the noise caused by the vibrations.
Now that you have your generator placed on a soft surface, far away from your campsite, the next best thing you can do to quiet it further is to use sound deflectors.
While it sounds technical this is actually a very simple thing to execute. It can go a long away if youre trying to understand how to quiet a generator as much as possible.
The only things youll need are 4 sheets of plywood and a sheet of non-flammable material. Drywall is a good material for this as it is relatively fire-resistant. Each of the pieces should be around 4 feet wide and 3 feet tall.
You can prop each of these pieces up against the generator at specific angles. Be sure to use the piece of drywall for the side of the generator that houses the exhaust. You dont want your deflectors catching fire!
Take a look at the above image, to get a better visual idea of how you should prop these woods sheets around your generator.
By placing these pieces of wood around the generator at an angle, you leave room for airflow while deflecting the sound waves down into the earth. You can immediately lower the decibels that your generator is putting out without affecting performance in a negative way.
For a full walkthrough on how to place these deflectors to quiet a generator, check out this video.
Another idea similar to creating deflectors is to build an acoustic enclosure or baffle box.
The reason this solution works is the same reason that deflectors work well. The enclosure will contain the sound waves and drastically lower the noise decibels coming from the generator.
The best part about an acoustic enclosure or baffle box is that its much more compact then lugging around 5 panels of plywood in your trailer or RV. The other nice thing is that you can purchase a baffle box or simply make your own.
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How To Build a Baffle Box To Quiet a Generator
If you do decide to build your own baffle box, its a fairly easy process. To build a baffle box youll only need a few things:
Check out this video for a quick walkthrough:
One of the most popular strategies people use to quiet a generator is to install a larger replacement muffler. A mufflers job is to, you guessed it, muffle the sound coming out of the exhaust pipes attached to the motor of the generator.
Inside the muffler are perforated tubes that are designed to deflect the sound waves from the engine to lower the noise that eventually exits the exhaust pipe(s).
The exhaust pipes are one of the loudest parts on the generator, second only to the engine itself. By improving the quality of the muffler, you can expect to quiet down the generator around 10-12 decibels.
Finding A Muffler That Fits Your Generator
Keep in mind that while replacing the muffler on your car or truck may be easy, finding a muffler that will fit your generator may be difficult. This is because there are so many types of generators with different sized exhaust pipes on the market.
Finding a specific muffler that will fit your generator out of the box most likely wont be an option.
Your best option is to speak with a specialized mechanic or small engines repairman. Theyll have a better idea of what choices you have in replacing your generators muffler.
Youll most likely need a customized solution to fit an after-market generator with a muffler. To get an idea of what this may look like, check out the video below.
If going to the work of installing a replacement muffler sounds like too much you can try water instead. There is still a bit of customization that youll need to do for this.
All youll need for this are a 5-gallon bucket of water, a hose, and clamp to secure the hose to the exhaust pipe. Be sure to place the generator at higher ground than the bucket of water.
You dont want the water flowing backward into your generators exhaust pipe. You can also poke a few small holes in the hose if you want to be extra careful to not allow a backflow of water.
The setup is fairly simple. Connect the hose to the exhaust pipe using your clamp. Then place the other side of the hose into the bucket of water. The water will act a muffler to the exhaust noise coming from the generator.
By using this water muffler method, you can expect to quiet down the generator around 5-7 decibels.
By combining each of these 8 tips on how to quiet a generator, you can really lower the overall noise level of your generator and by extension your camping site.
After all, isnt the point of camping to get away from the city noise and appreciate the great outdoors?
We hope that this article will help you in keeping your camping spot a bit more peaceful. Happy camping!
Let us know what you thought of this guide by leaving a comment or a star rating below.
Diesel generator set is a kind of mechatronics equipment which converts the chemical energy of fuel into electric energy. With the increasing modernization, especially with the rapid development of the network and communication, the demand for the reliability of power supply is also increasing. Because the ups power supply has the problem of short power supply time, then the diesel generator has a broad development space. However, diesel generator sets not only provide convenience for people, but also directly affect people's health, work and life because of the noise of diesel generator set. With the gradual improvement of environmental requirements, how to solve and overcome the above problems has become the key to the application of diesel generator sets. Here, we mainly introduce the causes and solutions of the noise generated by diesel generator sets.
When the running speed of a generator set is at rpm, it will produce a noise of 105dB at a distance of one meter from the genset. In order to avoid the noise coming out of the generator room, the genset noise solution should include the following links.
1. Initial sound absorption and sound insulation processing in generator room
2. Intake and exhaust systems and exhaust gas emission systems should be designed with silencing air tanks.
3. Sound insulation bandaging of exhaust pipes
It can not only reduce the heat emission into the generator room, but also reduce the working vibration of the generator set. As a result, it can successfully attenuate generator set noise.
Diesel generator set noise can be divided into three parts, including mechanical noise, combustion noise and aerodynamic noise.
The first part: mechanical noise is mainly caused by collision and friction of crankshaft, connecting rod, gear and other components.
The control of mechanical noise should be taken at the design stage. For example, reducing cylinder diameter, increasing stroke diameter ratio, reducing calibration speed and developing low noise diesel engine.
The second part: the combustion noise of direct injection combustion chamber is often the main sound source of diesel engine. The combustion noise can be effectively reduced by changing the advance angle of the nozzle.
The third part: aerodynamic noise is divided into exhaust, intake and fan noise, mainly exhaust noise. Sound level up to 115-128 dB at 0.5 m from exhaust port. The noise is most effectively treated by muffler. Mufflers can be combined with filters.
The following two methods are used to deal with the noise of diesel generating set, including using noise reduction in the diesel generator room or the purchase of mute genset and silent type generator set.
1. Control of mechanical noise: the top and surrounding walls of the generator room are covered with high absorption and sound insulation materials, which are mainly used to eliminate indoor reverberation and to reduce the sound energy density and reflection intensity in the generator room.
2. Air intake and exhaust noise reduction: the intake and exhaust air channels in the generator room are used as soundproof walls, and the silencers are set up in the inlet and exhaust air channels.
3. Smoke noise reduction: the smoke exhaust system installs two-stage silencers on the basis of the original one-stage silencers to ensure the effective control of the exhaust noise of the units. Exhaust pipe length more than 10 meters to increase the diameter of the exhaust motor to reduce the back pressure.
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