Why don't they build the gennies with a decent muffler?

Brodie Allen · Guru

Why don't they build the gennies with a decent muffler?

Plain Truth · Guru

A provocative and a antagonistic post.

Why don't you send a letter to Honda or Yamaha for a technologist answer.

They are the manufacturers of the most popular brands.

Brodie Allen · Guru

Plain Truth wrote:
A provocative and a antagonistic post.
Why don't you send a letter to Honda or Yamaha for a technologist answer.
They are the manufacturers of the most popular brands.

What nonsense are you on about?

A very thoughtful and legitimate question I would think!

Maybe you prefer the noise?

Dick0 · Guru

I would direct the question directly to the gennie manufacturers for their reason not muffling exhaust noise to your perceived expectations.

I can't see how Grey Nomads can answer this conundrum.

Peter_n_Margaret · Senior Member

Because it would be almost as big as the rest of the device and because (unlike motor vehicles) there is no legislation restricting the noise and the pollution produced.
Cheers,
Peter

dorian · Guru

Brodie Allen wrote:
Why can't the manufacturer build a silent genny?

They can effectively muffle a 5L V8, so why not a piddling little 120cc fartbox?

Good question. Lawn mowers and chainsaws have mufflers, but they still make a big racket.

-- Edited by dorian on Thursday 11th of April 2024 04:45:42 AM

Gundog · Guru

In my military days I was a commander of an ACV (Armoured Command Vehicle) because of the amount of radio's it could flatten batteries quickly.

The generator could be operated in the basket or it could be lowered to the ground and positioned away from the ACV.

When this was done we dug a hole in which a metal basket buried and a flexible pipe ran beteween the basket and generator to subdue the noise of the genny.

vince56 · Senior Member

I agree with Peter, the muffler would have to be disproportionately large to appreciably quieten a genny down, you wouldn't buy one if you had to transport it.

Brodie Allen · Guru

A neighbour has a motor scooter step thru thing that is 250cc.

The muffler is only about double the size of the muffler on the Honda genny.

My mower likewise (Honda) ride-on.
Little combustion exhaust noise - you can hear
the general internals of the motor and gears.

Given the capacity of the Honda genny, I'm not convinced that the silencer
would need to be anything like the size mentioned at near the size of the
generator, or even ¼ that size.

Are you talking from fact or taking a guess?

Frosty

Brodie Allen · Guru

Here is a link to a site that has what would be usefull.
Looks like a clip-on that could be left lying on the ground.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005346535010.html?src=google&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=631-313-3945&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&albagn=888888&isSmbActive=false&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&albcp=19821179470&albag=&trgt=&crea=en1005005346535010&netw=x&device=c&albpg=&albpd=en1005005346535010&gad_source=4&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2uiwBhCXARIsACMvIU1ECr4SlS6kgZiI3l81JuMfFLhkEvQZ0K-NCV9MjfwJqhg1T-qq7NoaAny-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&aff_fcid=9625d077839945958059cdfa3985ffa8-1713049139959-02895-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=9625d077839945958059cdfa3985ffa8-1713049139959-02895-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=75459cd6f9374f16b52c870af0760c93&afSmartRedirect=y

There's dozens of alternatives if you go to

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005346535010.html?src=google&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=631-313-3945&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&albagn=888888&isSmbActive=false&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&albcp=19821179470&albag=&trgt=&crea=en1005005346535010&netw=x&device=c&albpg=&albpd=en1005005346535010&gad_source=4&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2uiwBhCXARIsACMvIU1ECr4SlS6kgZiI3l81JuMfFLhkEvQZ0K-NCV9MjfwJqhg1T-qq7NoaAny-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&aff_fcid=9625d077839945958059cdfa3985ffa8-1713049139959-02895-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=9625d077839945958059cdfa3985ffa8-1713049139959-02895-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=75459cd6f9374f16b52c870af0760c93&afSmartRedirect=y

None of them "larger than the generator" !!!

Apologies for the copy/paste address. Can someone post how to distill it down for Mac?

Frosty (Brodie)

KNOCKERS START HERE:

-- Edited by Brodie Allen on Sunday 14th of April 2024 09:10:04 AM

dorian · Guru

Brodie Allen wrote:
Apologies for the copy/paste address. Can someone post how to distill it down for Mac?

Truncate everything after, and including, the question mark.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005346535010.html

You can use this extension to clean the tracking garbage from your URLs (Firefox and Chrome based browsers):

https://docs.clearurls.xyz/1.26.1/

Safari users need to find their own.

-- Edited by dorian on Sunday 14th of April 2024 09:27:25 AM

Brodie Allen · Guru

Thanks Mr Gray!!

(How is the picture going)?

Frosty

Cupie · Guru

Gundog wrote:
In my military days I was a commander of an ACV (Armoured Command Vehicle) because of the amount of radio's it could flatten batteries quickly.
The generator could be operated in the basket or it could be lowered to the ground and positioned away from the ACV.
When this was done we dug a hole in which a metal basket buried and a flexible pipe ran beteween the basket and generator to subdue the noise of the genny.

The RAA (dropshorts) equivalent was to bury the gun position CP gen sets in a bloody big pit covered with iron sheets & sandbags, then exhaust them into a 44 gal drum of water.

Sorry no pics .. security you understand ... LOL

-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 15th of April 2024 08:30:46 PM

Bas + Eve · Senior Member

The only old grumps who whinge about generators are those too skint to own one.

dorian · Guru

Bas + Eve wrote:
The only old grumps who whinge about generators are those too skint to own one.

The only old grumps who whinge about people complaining about generators are those who are too skint to own a decent solar system.

Aussie1 · Guru

Bas + Eve wrote:
The only old grumps who whinge about generators are those too skint to own one.

X2 Spot on.

Peter_n_Margaret · Senior Member

I bought a generator 30 years ago. It now sits unused in the shed.
It has not been used for over 20 years because the solar is better in every respect.
Cheers,
Peter

Scubadoo · Veteran Member

Ditto
OT I guess.
Nothing to do with money.

Our generator has been slowly rusting away in our storage locker for the last 10 years.
It would serve no purpose in our travels.
Solar and driving keep our battery charged.
The alternator pours 80A into the battery until full.
A 80A battery charger and capable generator would be a big (and noisy) beast to carry.

Dick0 · Guru

dorian wrote:
Bas + Eve wrote:
The only old grumps who whinge about generators are those too skint to own one.
The only old grumps who whinge about people complaining about generators are those who are too skint to own a decent solar system.

Spot on.

As I am predominantly a 'free camper'...

I discarded my generator after setting up a solar system capable of powering all my 240V needs.

No need to lug around 30kg of gennie & 10kg of fuel.

Aussie1 · Guru

I bought a generator 20 years ago. (Honda). Used regularly. both on the road and on occasions at home for power during outages.
Have solar as well on van and at home. So gives us for full deal and have never been inconvenienced by lack of power.

As I have stated many times, it is free choice.

Peter_n_Margaret · Senior Member

Is that the same free choice that says you can play loud music and frighten all the birds and critters away in a bush camp site?
Those who think so usually have no idea of the effect of their selfish actions.
Cheers,
Peter

Aussie1 · Guru

Yep, free choice, as long as one is not breaking the law. To noisy, to smoky, move away. Have never noticed any Birds or critters running for cover when my genny is on.
But, as you have said on previous occasions, they will be banned (soon). Until then (and I suspect never) I and others who favour the benefit of generators will continue to use them.

Cheers
Aussie1

Greg 1 · Guru

Back to the original post, it is more than likely that to muffle a tiny engine like those on a small portable generator, would reduce the power of the engine beyond what could be considered reasonable. Whilst some back pressure on an engine can be slightly beneficial, too much can destroy performance. If you want the ultimate demonstration of that block the exhaust pipe up and see how long the engine will run. Not very long. Hence mufflers are a balancing act between noise levels and performance. On a large powerful engine, a manufacturer can afford to throw away a handful of horse power to make the engine quiet. On a race car the first thing you do is have the most free flowing exhaust you can get away with without overstepping track noise limits and the reason is it is pretty much free horsepower. So to muffle a small gennie down to what the OP would like could likely see the motor not being able to perform at what is needed and a much larger and less portable motor would be required.

Aussie1 · Guru

Thank you Greg for brining this back on track. Very good points.
There is, in my opinion, way to much time spent on "emotional" feelings about the use or non use of generators.

Southern Cruizer · Senior Member

Aussie1 wrote:
Yep, free choice, as long as one is not breaking the law. To noisy, to smoky, move away. Have never noticed any Birds or critters running for cover when my genny is on.
But, as you have said on previous occasions, they will be banned (soon). Until then (and I suspect never) I and others who favour the benefit of generators will continue to use them.

Cheers
Aussie1

x2

peter67 · Guru

X3

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about really? I have used a Gennie on and off now for the last 14 years BUT always between 2am and 4.00am when everyone is asleep and can't hear it. Two hours is enough to top up batteries if needed etc.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

Brodie Allen · Guru

This thread was supposed to be about the mechanics of generators and noise.

Seems we have "generated" a lot of irrelevant tok tok about how we don't need them
and those that do are "selfish" and likely in need of psychological regulation!

Well there's 10's of thousands of older caravans out there providing countless days
of pleasure and release from everyday cares for some that just dont have $5 to $10 thousand
to convert to solar. Lots of mums and dads with a couple of kids are never going to
be likely to spend up big on solar conversions. The genny is the alternative.

A small plug-in supplementary muffler would make them less "selfish" and quieter
in the great outdoors so that the REALLY selfish amongst us will not be inconvenienced.

While we are at it, we might ban human walks etc in Nat Parks because the use of them
frightens the wildlife!

It's not rocket science - see the posts that I have made itemising numerous examples
of small mufflers that would assist older vans to move from noisy to less noisy.
Don't need the hypocrisy!

B

DMaxer · Guru

I don't understand how everyone uses so much power that they need a generator to survive. I have 150 watt solar panel on the roof and a single 120 amp battery .

When not on mains, the fridge and hot water run on gas and the idiot box on 12 volt. I have two coke can inverters that charge the laptop, phone and modem and run the 12 volt fan if hot. If cold, I have a 12 volt blanket for the cot. I cook outside on gas or the butane stove

On one occasion only, after several days of rain during winter, the battery looked a bit low so I hooked the Anderson plug into the car and let it idle for about ten minutes. Problem solved and back to business.

It must be for hair dryers, air con and watching Home and Away 24 hours a day as I can't see how you need so much power.

-- Edited by DMaxer on Wednesday 17th of April 2024 03:51:12 PM

Peter_n_Margaret · Senior Member

And all for less than half the cost and half the weight of a generator and zero running cost. :)
Cheers,
Peter