My Onan 5500 mounted in my toy hauler had the exact same decibel reading as my brother's dual Honda 2k generators that were sitting on the ground. I measured from equal distances. That surprised me. I thought my Onan would come out a bit higher (louder) on the scale.

 

The hardest thing about measuring decibels is not only comparing by distance, but also load.

Lots of comments in this thread about inverter gensets being quieter, which is not automatically true. Inverter gensets running at their max are often quite loud.

Steve

 

In my case, both trailers were running a single air conditioner unit.

 

It's funny how sounds can seem louder or quieter depending on the frequency. We were just camping the last two days in the National Park near us and with lots of folks running gensets. A class C was running its Onan and man did it seem loud. But then again, our Yamaha sounds really quieter until you make it work at its max, then it doesn't sound so quiet.

And I have yet to hear an open frame that sounds quiet. Man, I really wanted some armor piercing rounds for some of the folks with contractor models camped near us!

Steve

 

Don't let anybody kid you, the Honda EU series for example are quieter than the cheapies but not exactly quiet. I can see where generators would become an issue in parks and campgrounds, especially at night. Hearing those things drone all night?

When they claim 59 db what does that mean exactly, 100 feet away, upwind?

 

I could be wrong but I thought that the standard measure for decibels was at 1 meter away from the source.

I have the Gen-Turi stack on my generator. It does a very good job of redirecting the exhaust fumes. It also helps a bit on the noise too, but that's not why I bought it.

 

Here is what the standard is supposed to be "Generators must conform to National Park Service regulations pertaining to audio disturbances, which states that "motorized equipment or machinery cannot exceed a noise level of 60 decibels measured on the A-weighted scale at 50 feet" (36 CFR 2.12)."

Of course, since the standard is never enforced, in reality there is no standard! If I were king here is what I would do. If you were in a National Park or National Forest, where the standard is supposed to apply, I would drive around and, with my trusty decibel meter, I would issue a one time warning to anyone with a generator that was louder than the standard. The next time it would be a $50.00 citation. On the third strike you would have to leave the campground.

Once word got out I think it would put an end to all the nonsense about $300 open frames being quiet. Unfortunately the notion of consideration for others is a long gone memory and some type of legal penalty strikes me as the only way.

Steve

 

60 decibels at 50 feet seems pretty doable. I'll have to check mine again at that distance. It does depend on what surface the exhaust is facing. Grass will muffle the sound some, but concrete sure won't.

 

Same here but mine is honda eu3000is and it is so quiet with making conversations.....

 

Wow, Did not know that even existed. That would save me some cash for sure. Won't have to buy a new generator, Do you need two of them one for each ac unit (I have 2 15k units)?
Thanks,

 

Yes, you need one for each unit. Very simple to install and cheap to buy.

Steve

 

There was a code "airstream" that would save $50, I dont know if its still good.
It gets a lot of good reviews.

 

$299 cheap to buy
Denny

 

Thanks for the lead. I just ordered a couple of these. The airstream coupon code is still good, although for $40 off each, not $50.

 

Steve, just ordered these. I'm pretty good with tools, but never opened up the a/c on the roof. Can you give the 10,000' overview?

Thanks, dave