Community Forums

Dmorgan6375 · 11-14-2014, 07:11 AM

My gen is rather quite to begin with, but even if the added piece is in place to direct up and over the top of the RV, all you here is a mild humm from the genny. I like it for the windy days to help keep fumes from getting into the RV. And of course the fact that on a hot summers night in a must be quite CG, you can run it.

Gerryl · 11-17-2014, 02:14 PM

We run our entire hunting camp with a Honda EU2000. It is the best investment we ever made. Previously we had another 2000 watt generator that was heavy and loud. When the first EUs came out, I went to a dealer to look at them.
Several things convinced me to buy the Honda. Number 1 was the economy. He told me that the savings in gas would pay for the Honda in a very short period of time. He was right about that. Our old Generator would run our camp for 15 hours on 3 ½ gallons of gas. When I bought the EU2000 it ran the whole camp for 11 hours on ONE gallon. Now we have an extend-a-tank and the generator runs for about 3 ½ days. The extend-a-tank is 6 gallons, giving us a total of 7 gallons. We always change the oil after we run it that long. When we camp in the MH, I only use the onboard generator when we need AC. I had a neat gas line made up so I can plug it in and draw gas directly from my MH tank for the Honda. There is a picture on another thread showing that Mod.
The second thing that sold me was the weight and size of the Honda, 46lbs vs about 90lbs. I’m not getting any younger or stronger.
The third thing was the noise. The Honda is whisper quiet. We go to some Nascar races and the big ‘contractor’ type generators will drive you nuts.
I am a big fan of the EU inverter generators, whether they are Honda or Yamaha.

mel s · 11-17-2014, 02:41 PM

rving4us
IMO a noisy generator equals an inconsiderate neighbor.
But I know people who use them because they enjoy the electricity.... (never realizing, or CARING, that others don't "share" their "enjoyment").

Thanks for being considerate enough to ask.

Mel
'96 Safari

vanbuskirk · 11-17-2014, 07:32 PM

It depends on the circumstances. We are "not" wealthy but we do have built in generator as well as a portable generator that we use for tailgating at PSU games. We try to be very considerate and only use the generator when necessary however there are other tailgaters that run theirs continually...crock pots, tv's , etc. It can be annoying especially when you are awning to awning however it is to be expected and you just have to deal with it. Same with Walmart and any other spot that doesn't have services.

I personally would not incur the expense of replacing your current generator...just continue to be courteous.

kenn_chan · 11-18-2014, 09:19 PM

shoot me an email and I will send you photos of an enclosure I made to quiet my yamaha down with.

things are a little different here in Japan any genset after about 1600 is a total no no due to noise. I made a baffled enclosure with sound dampening mat and two cooling fans and it runs so quiet my neighbor in the sticks and bricks did not realise I was running it last month during a power outage

kenn_chan · 11-21-2014, 02:16 AM

sa I was preparing to answer some questions for two of the members who emailed me, I discovered that my genset had been stolen from me. attached are the photos of the cover, you will notice that it is baffled internally to keep the incomeing cooling air and exiting exhaust sepperate. it is also covered internally with sound absorbing foam like what you would see in a music studio.

It has two cooling fans which are powered by the 12 volt output of the genset and automatically start spinning as soon as you start the genset.

My generator was a yamaha EF2800iSE (japan version) which is the same as the EF3000iSE (worldwide version) it was rated at 51~57DB with 51 being 1/4 throtttle with eco mode on, 57 being WOT full load.

after building the enclosre I measured the genset with a calibrated sound meter that I borrowed from our safety office and measured the following: WOT full load without sound enclosure was 56.23 dB with the enclosure on it dropped to 49.85dB with most of the sound being generated by the cooling fans.

This was a measured 6+ dB drop in radiated sound. initially I only used one coooling fan, but I used my home oven thermometer to measure the temp inside the gensets stock shroud and the temp was running hotter than I wanted so I added a second fan for one pulling in fresh air, and one pulling out exhaust, after this mod the temps hovered right around the normal temp without the enclosure, but the fans did add some noise.

first two photos show the enclosure dissasembled, parts are coated with FRP rosen to make them water resistant.

kenn_chan · 11-21-2014, 02:19 AM

the above shots you can see the inner frame which hold the divider in place. In these shots you can see it partially assembled., and fully assembled.

Anybody got a yamaha genset that they want a sound enclosure for? (jk) if I could mail it to you I would but i think that the postage would cost more than it cost me to make it

good thing is its not hard to build, a circular saw and a jigsaw along with a brad gun is all you need.

mel s · 11-21-2014, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenn_chan

as I was preparing to answer some questions for two of the members who emailed me, I discovered that my genset had been stolen from me.

kenn_chan
Sorry to hear that!
However that does point out the fact that "portable" generators are not difficult to steal...(which is not true of "built in" generators).
Mel
'96 Safari

kenn_chan · 11-21-2014, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mel s

kenn_chan
Sorry to hear that!
However that does point out the fact that "portable" generators are not difficult to steal...(which is not true of "built in" generators).
Mel
'96 Safari

Mel this is very true, unfortunately my little TT barely had space for my solar power system let alone an internal genset.

I guess I was more shocked than anything, as this is only the second item stolen from me in 30 years of living overseas and the first from my home, so I guess the romance is over, time to get a home camera system and install it.

ken

Gerryl · 11-21-2014, 09:54 AM

Or at least buy a heavy cable, one of those 'round' locks. And if you have a Honda EU, buy the metal handle that keeps anyone from just cutting through the plastic handle.

LittleHouse · 11-26-2014, 10:10 PM

Hi, the quieter the better. We have the Honda 2000 and use it sparingly if we can't get an electric site. I hate the sound of the noisy ones when you are trying to relax or enjoy a peaceful evening