I read a thread on the other forum a looong time ago on how to Build a dog house around your generator to kill the noise. We live in the city and only plan to use the generator to wash clothes. This thing really makes a Humm that can be heard throughout the neighborhood. This could present a problem. Its not that I don't want to share but I can only store so much gas.

If I insulate the inside of a dog house with that sound blocking insulation and can make the sound virtually non existent, what do you do about the exhaust? Cut a hole in your soundproof box? If you don't allow for exhaust escape won't this affect the oxygen in the carburation? Won't it overheat? Please help. Thanks!

-- (please don't@ask.net), August 24, 1999

Answers

My brother put his generator in his garage and then exhaust it through a hole in the wall. But he went to a lawn mower shop and got a muffler or two to put on it. I don't know the details. We have a 40kw and it is exhusted through the porch roof. It has a "hospital or residential" muffler on it and makes no more sound than a modern day car idylling.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), August 24, 1999.

My brother put his generator in his garage and then exhaust it through a hole in the wall. But he went to a lawn mower shop and got a muffler or two to put on it. I don't know the details. But a lawn mower guy should be able to help you.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), August 24, 1999.

If you put your generator in a "dog house", you MUST provide "positive pressure airflow" into/out of the dog house, using electric fans. Failure to do this will result in the overheating/failure of your genset.

Buy a cheap car muffler and some flex pipe & clamps. remove the old muffler, and attach the car muffler using the hardware mentioned. You'll be fine.

If in doubt, go to the Juice Page, for everything you ever wanted to know about generators, but didn't know who to ask...

And DON'T backfeed your genset into your electrical panel. Ever. Really. Trust me on this one.

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), August 24, 1999.

Many years ago I spent a couple of summer months at Ashford, WA. concluding a youthful relationship. Over the course of the summer she and I met a hand-full of old outlaws who at one time or another had poached cedar trees for the shake mills out of Mount Ranier Nat'l Park. Even 23 years ago they were paying $600 a cord, no questions asked. As you can guess, getting caught would just about ruin a man's life, so they had figured out that running a hose from the muffler into a bucket of water would quiet down the noise to a whisper. Probably burnt up a saw or two and might do the same for your generator, but if you are gonna run a generator in a city undetected, I guess extreme measures are in order. Good luck.

-- Roger (pecosrog@earthlink.net), August 24, 1999.

Please,

...in the interest of fairness, please let us know what the "DOG" thinks about your idea !!!!

-- smoky (gagging@fumes.com), August 24, 1999.

Build a " dog house " over your genset out of a frame of 2x4s and thin sheeting ( put the sheeting on the inside, think big, it will get hot in there ) Cover with 4 inches of styrafoam and more sheating ( thinking 1/8 inch paneling ) You can get the intake air from the surrounding area ( inside or out ) filtering thru 4 inches of foam rubber, just as good as the syrofoam for sound suppresion. and your exahaust should be run thu enough mufflers ( to the outdoors ) to make it quiet. Think more on the line of " I have litghts, you don't! "

-- CT (ct@no.yr), August 24, 1999.

You're only going "to use the generator to wash clothes?"

Have you tried a clean 5-gallon bucket and a new toilet plunger?

Where will your clothes washing water (and drinking and cooking water) come from?

Sorry to answer a question with more questions...

-- Lee (lplapin@hotmail.com), August 25, 1999.

You MUST provide a POSITIVE AIRFLOW around your genset to provide cooling. Failure to do this will result in the unit's life expectancy being measured in HOURS.

Forced air electric fans @ 1000 CFM MINIMUM is required.

Bottom line: seal up your genset in a doghouse, and kill it dead.

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), August 26, 1999.