How To Make Your Generator Quiet As A Cricket (DIY)

The problem with generator is their noise. Get rid of the irritating noise by doing little to no effort.

If someone is promising you that they will make your generator sound quiet as a cricket, that is probably a over statement. Generators will make noise, but we can reduce it significantly by using the following methods.

A generator is one of the best solutions to many of our off grid power supply problems or when we face a non-steady grid supply or extended power outages, camping, RVing etc.

It gives us opportunity to keep our daily routine business continue in a time of power outages, but one of the biggest issues that pop up with running a generator is their noise, which makes it hard to tolerate.

The generator noise has many adverse effects on human health if someone gets exposed to its noise pollution in daily life. So, here we come with solutions to make your generator quiet!

The size of the generator affects its noise-making ability. Larger the size, the more noise it will produce. Portable generator makes less noise.

Generators make less noise at full load compared to at low loads. You can try this with your generator. When you take the load off from its circuit network, it will make more noise. So, if you buy a generator of a size more than your requirement, then it will make more noise due to its larger size, and because of low load.

The exhaustion of exhaust gases is one of the reasons of noise. The generator pushes exhaust gases, and that pressure creates the noise.

The direction of their exhaust chooses where sound waves travel in higher density. Ensure your exhaust pipe direction is either in the opposite direction to you or it is upwards.

In both cases, the density of the sound waves increases in a direction other than yours and decreases the overall noise effect to you.

The generator placement can also help you in making a generator quiet, but we all have certain limitations with that.

The ideal position is at least 20ft away from your house , which changes according to the size of the generator.

If you can keep it further away without disturbing your neighbors, then it is okay, but then you will have to add a longer cord.

Remember, the closer you place your generator, the noisier it gets for you. Investment in longer power and extension cords will do good for you.

Another significant reason behind generator noise is vibration.

Generator is a complete set of moving machines that convert chemical energy into mechanical energy, then mechanical energy into electric energy.

There are a lot of parts constantly moving inside your generator to produce steady electric power. So, it generates vibrations, and if your place your generator on a hard surface, then the generator would be noisier.

Soft surfaces absorb vibrations, unlike hard surfaces that reflect the sound and vibrations. Therefore, noise produced on the soft surface would be comparatively lesser than that at hard surfaces.

A muffler does two jobs for a generator. First, it reduces the noise, and second, it reduces the exhaust gas emission. If you replace your generator’s muffler with one of a large size, it will reduce the noise.

The muffler has a pipeline mechanism to reduce the pressure of exhaust gases, which is responsible for making noise and reduces exhaust gas emission too.

So as exhaust gas pressure and quantity decrease to a certain low level in a large size muffler and so as noise.

On average, a conventional generator produces 60-70 decibels of noise, but if you sink its exhaust pipe into a water bucket, then it can reduce the noise level down to 5 to 7 decibels.

All you have to do is to attach a hose to the generator’s exhaust pipe, make it tight with a clamp and place the other end of the hose into the water bucket.

Do not forget to place your generator a bit higher, so water doesn’t flow back through the pipeline. Otherwise, it will cause severe damage to your generator.

A baffle box is made of wood that has a place to fit-in the generator, or it is set up close to the generator exhaust. It reduces overall airborne noise. Redirects the noise at different angles and absorbs some of it.

The good thing about it is that you can build a baffle box on your own easily and even if you look for buying one, it is not expensive!

A baffle box is not perfectly effective in reducing noise, but if we compare its cost to the results, then it does good.

Using sound defectors is another effective method to reduce noise effects.

In general, it doesn’t reduce the making of noise, but it puts in the direction opposite to you in a maximum density. So, the effect of generator noise on you reduces.

Sound defectors are a popular choice but remember not to defect them towards your neighbors.

We early discussed that generators produce noise mainly due to two reasons, and vibration is one among them. I suggested you place your generator on a soft surface, or on a soundproof mat. You can also reduce the vibrations on a hard surface if you put rubber shoes on your generator. It will reduce vibration and its effects.

You can put your generator on soundproof mat to make the loud generator noise tolerable.

If you are not going to change the placement of your generator day-to-day, then installing a soundproof box will be the most effective solution to the generator noise problem. These are available in the market, and you can build a soundproof box on your own.

It is very similar to the baffle box, but the difference is that a soundproof enclosure box completely bounds the noise, unlike the baffle box, which only distracts and redirects the overall noise.

Read My Guide On How To Hook Generator To House Without Transfer Switch Here.

Always get the generator according to your need. You will not only have reduced noise but also save money on fuel. You may try one or multiple methods I’ve discussed to make your generator quiet as a cricket.