Would anyone balk at 68 decibels?

[waroland]

Originally Posted by nothermark

I don't get the sound police. 3 db difference in generator noise and somebody wants everybody else to go buy the quieter one when they are all too noisy.

3db doubles the sound level.

[Bigd9]

Shoot, my wife talks louder than 68 db!

[Gary RVRoamer]

The dB number is meaningless unless a distance is also stated. That genset has a 0 dB sound level at one mile, but probably well above 68 dB if only a couple feet away. Each time you double the distance from the source, the dB drops by 6. For example, if the sound level is 50 dB at 20 ft, then it will be 44 dB at 40 ft. One source says it is customary to measure generator sound level at 7 meters, roughly 23 ft, but I think 25 ft is more common. The US Park Service uses 50 ft as it spec level.

The rest of the sound question is whether the rating is at idle, full load, or somewhere in between. For example, the Honda EU20001 operates between 49 dB at idle and 59 dB at full load, with a typical 1/4 load at 53 dB.

dB is not a linear scale - a reduction of 6 dB means the sound level is just 1/2. There is a major difference between 60 dB and 68 dB!

[diesel odor]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Shoot, my wife talks louder than 68 db!

Especially after 2 glasses of wine!

[vanion2]

I would shoot for under 60 dB just because I don't like ruining the camping experience for my neighbors. I have a B&P that is 58 dB and in a forested campground pointing the exhaust away from any nearby campgrounds the sound is barely heard 10 feet away. If you are a canyon ledge campsite there's no such thing as a quiet generator. Of course, I only turn ours on when I need to help the batteries in the morning before the sun touches the solar panels after a full night of furnace usage. Even then I wait until after 8 am just to be polite regardless of how early the quiet hours end. If you are boon docking then the only thing you need to be aware of is the lack of wildlife in your area.

[birddog2you]

I'm sure the sound police will disagree but any inverter generator at 50 ft will be less than 60 db and meet acceptable limits anywhere in the USA. Some people just like to complain.

[firedoc]

Originally Posted by Mudfrog

Just read this in the regulations at one National Park. Wouldn't surprise me if this was the norm for most of the parks.

Well that takes care of motor cycles!

[Searching_Ut]

If you're looking for a new generator, Predator now has a 3500 inverter generator which runs somewhere in between the honda 2000 and 3000 watt inverter generators noise wise. You can pick them up for $700 dollars or less, they handle surge loads well, and a reasonably quite, although as other have mentioned, any generator is annoying in a nice quiet area.

I bought one of the 3500 watt predators in Early August as I was tired to paralleling my two 2000 watt generators which I seemed to have to do just about any time I needed the generator. With 1000 watts of solar, I generally only use the generator for bigger loads. It's definitely quieter than my champions, and I've compared it several times with folks camped next to us and both myself, and the folks with the Honda 2000 units have agreed the Predator is quieter, especially under load as the Hondas have to ramp up higher. The Honda 3000 units other than the Handi is a little quieter though. When we were in Cape Disappointment the guy next to me asked if I would hook my generator to his motorhome as he wanted to try a couple combinations his Honda 3000 would trip on and he was surprised to find the Cheap little Harbor freight unit handled surge loads quite a bit higher than his Honda would.

As for longevity, obviously I can't judge that yet. Having opened it up and looked inside, if it ever does need work it appears to be simple to access parts and should be easy to work on provided I can get parts.

[6x16inside]

Just found out the one I had was an unbelievable 72!!!
That definitely wouldn't have worked in the RV even if it had fit.
No love lost honestly.
I wasn't shocked at all when I saw it was gone just more aggravated they didn't pitch off my still-in-box sewer hose kit, LOL We'd lived here 1 full year with zero problems and I had an ad posted for it for about 3 weeks. Wouldn't you know it, I finally got the first and only call for purchase later that day.
Ok, so I got that figured out, that it was way too loud, that 62 would be acceptable, etc. etc.
Thanks for the mostly hilarious variety of answers. Time to go shopping.
(Yes, it will be bolted down this time!)

P.s Yes Dennis, we know already, you can wipe your hiney with a Honda, they're so good, I know, I rode a 750 for over 3 years, etc. etc.

[Bigd9]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

The dB number is meaningless unless a distance is also stated. That genset has a 0 dB sound level at one mile, but probably well above 68 dB if only a couple feet away. Each time you double the distance from the source, the dB drops by 6. For example, if the sound level is 50 dB at 20 ft, then it will be 44 dB at 40 ft. One source says it is customary to measure generator sound level at 7 meters, roughly 23 ft, but I think 25 ft is more common. The US Park Service uses 50 ft as it spec level.

The rest of the sound question is whether the rating is at idle, full load, or somewhere in between. For example, the Honda EU20001 operates between 49 dB at idle and 59 dB at full load, with a typical 1/4 load at 53 dB.

dB is not a linear scale - a reduction of 6 dB means the sound level is just 1/2. There is a major difference between 60 dB and 68 dB!

Thanks for mentioning this Gary. It's something I knew once but with all the other important stuff I have packed into my mind over the years that bit of information got shoved aside. So if I have figured out what you said, I need to be more than one mile away before I can declare "What did you say Honey, I didn't hear you!"

[Fyrflie]

So according to the sound police, I can’t run my “super quiet” generator but the slamming of doors, the constant honking of the car horn (locking and unlocking the vehicle), the yapping of small dogs, the barking of large dogs, the loud voices of the dog walkers at 0600, the Diesel engine idling for 45 minutes to “air up” at 0630, the yelling of the wife at the deaf husband are all OK.

I take the drone of a generator anytime.

JMHO

[6x16inside]

Originally Posted by Fyrflie

So according to the sound police, I can’t run my “super quiet” generator but the slamming of doors, the constant honking of the car horn (locking and unlocking the vehicle), the yapping of small dogs, the barking of large dogs, the loud voices of the dog walkers at 0600, the Diesel engine idling for 45 minutes to “air up” at 0630, the yelling of the wife at the deaf husband are all OK.

I take the drone of a generator anytime.

JMHO

Oh, no! Those are acceptable forms of "living".

[vanion2]

Originally Posted by Fyrflie

So according to the sound police, I can’t run my “super quiet” generator but the slamming of doors, the constant honking of the car horn (locking and unlocking the vehicle), the yapping of small dogs, the barking of large dogs, the loud voices of the dog walkers at 0600, the Diesel engine idling for 45 minutes to “air up” at 0630, the yelling of the wife at the deaf husband are all OK.

I take the drone of a generator anytime.

JMHO

Remind me not to go camping in your neck of the woods ever. I just spent this past weekend in 2 campgrounds where the neighbors were so quiet I waited until the sun rose up and broke out my 200W solar panels so as not to be "that guy". The only noisy person in the campground was a jeep owner but even he would use his mountain bike to get around versus the hard starting of his vehicle. I did use the generator twice but not until well after 0930 because we were in the Rio Grande Gorge and the sun still hadn't reached our first campground and I aimed it away from the camp sites so that when I walked 10 feet away you could barely hear it over the Rio Grande.

Yes, I have an 80# lab, a 10# Chihuahua mix, and a 5 year old daughter all of which did not disturb the peace. My truck alarm was set on silent arming and as a dog walker I rarely have to talk to my dogs during the potty breaks. Yeah, when we go camping it is to enjoy the serenity of nature. I guess it's all about where you go and how considerate you want to be. And I have no problem being "that guy" if someone brings their construction generator when it comes to getting the park hosts to get them to shut that off. If you can't live without power then go to an RV park and drive around in your TV or toad. Or invest in a proper solar setup since they require no sound or maintenance except to check your batteries once a month if you are doing it right.

JMHO.

[nothermark]

The issue often is the investment. Some of us can afford solar and Honda and other expensive toys. Some are barely doing gas money and figuring food cost is the same at home or on the road. Telling them to do the expensive choice is a prime example of spending other people's money. That is why I'm happy to just see them out and about.

As has been pointed out, be careful with db measurements. 3 db is half/double power depending on what you are doing. OTOH sound changes with the square of the distance so a few feet matters. 50 or 60 ft will be significantly different than 10 or 20. A genturi type vertical exhaust also helps with surrounding noise.