Fwiw, we've (since..) tried this with one of Our little 2K'ers, and it worked Great.. Generator Silencing 
Fwiw..
jd
Fwiw..
jd
Can a small inverter generator be made quiet enough that suburban neighbors won't hear it running?
After all the talk here about natural gas shortages and the issues in Texas last winter, I've been thinking about picking up my first generator. I know I will need an inverter so I can run sensitive electronics, I've been looking at some of the cheaper honda look-alikes in the 2000w range. I've also seen some of the cheaper open frame inverters with slightly more wattage (3000w - 3500w continuous) for just a few dollars more (around $50 to $100 more). My purchase is not intended as a total shtf prep, but rather for temporary outages lasting up to a few days. I would need to power a few comfort items: 2 fridges, gas furnace (if natural gas is available but power is out), maybe a tv or microwave. Both of these types of generators could probably handle each of these items, but the 2000w will not be able to power them all at once. While I would like to have a higher wattage unit, I think the benefits of a near silent generator would make it worth it, IF IT IS POSSIBLE.
So my question is this: is it possible to make a small 2000w inverter generator quiet enough that neighbors who are outside and 100 feet away won't be able to hear it running? Imagine it is the day after a winter storm, no cars are on the road, it is virtually silent outside. in my area no one has snow blowers so any small engine noise would be suspicious.
I know I would need to build a baffle box or quiet box to reduce the noise level of the generator. I briefly looked on youtube and found a few examples of people running inverters inside a quiet box. Most of them said it was quieter than a window A/C unit, but I think even that might be loud enough to be noticed. The only time I've ever been around a honda inverter was when I was walking around sporting events. I did notice that you can't hear them until you are nearly on top of them, but a sporting event is also much louder than a quiet neighborhood after a snow storm. If it is possible to quiet an inverter enough I may look further into it, but if it is definitely not possible I will probably look at the bigger but slightly louder open frame inverters.
So my question is this: is it possible to make a small 2000w inverter generator quiet enough that neighbors who are outside and 100 feet away won't be able to hear it running? Imagine it is the day after a winter storm, no cars are on the road, it is virtually silent outside. in my area no one has snow blowers so any small engine noise would be suspicious.
I know I would need to build a baffle box or quiet box to reduce the noise level of the generator. I briefly looked on youtube and found a few examples of people running inverters inside a quiet box. Most of them said it was quieter than a window A/C unit, but I think even that might be loud enough to be noticed. The only time I've ever been around a honda inverter was when I was walking around sporting events. I did notice that you can't hear them until you are nearly on top of them, but a sporting event is also much louder than a quiet neighborhood after a snow storm. If it is possible to quiet an inverter enough I may look further into it, but if it is definitely not possible I will probably look at the bigger but slightly louder open frame inverters.
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Solar generators are very quiet.
yes they can be made extremely quiet, someone I knew built one into a cargotrailer, added heavy duty ventilation ducts with silencing materials in it. pretty much all you could hear outside the trailer was the fan in the ventilation when standing right next to it AND you could smell the fumes. but move a few meters away and you didn't hear it and definetly didn't smell it
especially after dark...during a snow storm....Solar generators are very quiet.
There are many ways to tame the sound. Easier on a fixed location as you can baffle and "soak" the sound, and then exhaust the chamber. I've seen a few gov installs where you have to be within a foot to detect them. And usually it's not the sound, but the smell.
When you run a generator at close to its peak output, the noise level increases dramatically along with the wear on the engine and inverter pack. Better to get a larger generator and run it at a much lower output, which also builds in a safety margin for high starting currents.I have an inverter generator, it is incredibly quiet when idling along. But as you put more load on it it begins to rev up. As it revs up it makes more noise. Even fully revved up it is quieter than a non inverter generator.
If the exhaust is pointing at you it is fairly loud even 50 feet away. If the exhaust is pointing away it is quieter and if there is something between you and it it becomes very quiet. However that doesn't mean neighbors wont hear it, it just means it will be fairly quiet. The quieter the neighborhood is the easier it will be to hear.
Often times in the evening when things get quiet and the wind stops blowing I can hear my neighbors gate opening and closing a half mile away and I can hear their their conversations but can't quite make out what they are saying. So at that time I would expect even the quietest generator would be heard by them.
Instead of leaving the top of the baffle box open, you can use overlapping louvers on top that allow air to circulate but helps decrease noise and prevents water from getting to the generator if it rains or snows. The main reason to buy a small generator is that they are much more portable than large units. I have a little 2KW unit for camping that I can carry around even over rough ground without much effort. My 5.5KW unit with oversized gas tank weighs over 125lbs and originally came with small 12" wheels that I replaced with 20" bicycle wheels.
Thanks for everyone’s input. I really appreciate it.
As far as how many watts I would need, I think I could manage everything I need with a 2000w generator as long as I only ran 1 item at a time. 2000w is almost 17 amps at 120v. Everything I want to power is on it’s own 15 amp breaker. I understand that a breaker may allow more than its rated amperage at startup but I think I’ll be ok. I’ll test whatever I get before the power goes out just to make sure.
This weekend I paid special attention to noises in the neighborhood. While I would probably not run the generator at night, I think night is a good representation of what my neighborhood would sound like in a power outage. It is amazing how quiet things get. Late one morning I heard some neighbors through the woods about 1/4 mile away running some small lawn equipment. I’m not sure myself whether I can make an inverter quiet enough that my neighbors WILL NEVER notice it, but I don’t think it is super critical either. Unfortunately due to my property layout I can’t dig a hole or build a permanent structure for the generator so that somewhat limits my options for sound reduction.
I think I will look for something on sale for Black Friday. If that is a small, quiet inverter, then I will see how quiet I can make it. If I find a slightly larger open frame inverter on sale I’ll pick that up and be happy with the larger wattage and just deal with the louder noise.
Thanks again for everyone’s help, and feel free to post here if you have more relevant info.
As far as how many watts I would need, I think I could manage everything I need with a 2000w generator as long as I only ran 1 item at a time. 2000w is almost 17 amps at 120v. Everything I want to power is on it’s own 15 amp breaker. I understand that a breaker may allow more than its rated amperage at startup but I think I’ll be ok. I’ll test whatever I get before the power goes out just to make sure.
This weekend I paid special attention to noises in the neighborhood. While I would probably not run the generator at night, I think night is a good representation of what my neighborhood would sound like in a power outage. It is amazing how quiet things get. Late one morning I heard some neighbors through the woods about 1/4 mile away running some small lawn equipment. I’m not sure myself whether I can make an inverter quiet enough that my neighbors WILL NEVER notice it, but I don’t think it is super critical either. Unfortunately due to my property layout I can’t dig a hole or build a permanent structure for the generator so that somewhat limits my options for sound reduction.
I think I will look for something on sale for Black Friday. If that is a small, quiet inverter, then I will see how quiet I can make it. If I find a slightly larger open frame inverter on sale I’ll pick that up and be happy with the larger wattage and just deal with the louder noise.
Thanks again for everyone’s help, and feel free to post here if you have more relevant info.
It's good to have both for when the sun don't shine.Solar generators are very quiet.
I "solarized" my hamshack/shed some years ago. 600 watts with a 1750 watt modified sine inverter. I ran my LCD TV, Blu-ray player, microwave oven, stereo receiver, LED lighting, 5 cu. ft. freezer all with it. The radio is connected directly to the batteries. I recently bought a 2000 watt pure sine inverter to replace it, but can't tell any difference other than the LED lights now flicker. I think the freezer compressor likes pure sine better.Correct, you need Pure Sine Wave to run modern electronics on an inverter.
As far as solar, I don’t think I can afford a solar setup that would be powerful enough to meet my needs. I think I would want to use something like 5,000 to 10,000 watt-hours per day. since This is planned to be used during inclement weather, I would need enough batteries to last at least 1 entire day with little solar input. From what little research I’ve done, a solar setup to meet those needs would be significantly more expensive than $500 for a generator. Remember, I’m looking at the Honda knock-offs, not a genuine Honda. Ultimately I would like to get a solar setup but for now I can only afford the cheaper generator setup.
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