Super Noisy Generator

[tinmanSC]

I have a Craftsman 5600 Watt Generator (Model 580.325601). It works great, had very few issues with it over the years - nothing so serious that has stopped it from running like a champ. The issue I'm having is that it's very noisy. It's always been loud, but I'd like a way to quiet it down. I'd say half the noise is exhaust and half is mechanical. (It's really quite mechanically loud). I'd setting for a quiet exhaust. Anyone familiar with this generator and how to make it a bit quieter?

 

[MrMeeks]

about the only thing you can do is to put the gen. in it's own containment building.Try laying a large steel garbage can on it's side and sliding it near the gen. exhaust pipe.This should help without using the containment building. Covering the garbage can with some all weather carpeting will dampen the sound.Be certain the can doesn't get too hot and ignite the carpet.ok

 

[SuperDave456]

I was thinking thicker oil. But you are in Il, and I imagine it gets pretty stinking cold there.

Also, I have known people to replace the muffler on rusted out pieces of equipment with larger/better mufflers. Last I heard they figured out the threads on the muffler bought a pipe with those threads and welded a muffler to the pipe in a fashion that worked.
I have no idea if it lasted very long, but from what my buddy said it was much much more quiet.

 

[Steve S]

They are noisey as can be ...I have a similar model.

 

[JimPghPA]

Most of those engines have female pipe thread threads already in the exhaust port of the engine head. If you remove the bolts that hold on the muffler you can see them. You can thread black pipe available at hardware stores into that thread. From there you can use the normal pipe bends that that type of pipe uses. Be sure to use larger ID connections at turns. Never use anything smaller than the ID of the pipe you thread into the engine. If you mount a car muffler to the generator so it rocks with the engine you could probably get by without using a flex-pipe. If you run the pipe away from the gen-set you should use a flex pipe so the connections are not stressed by the engine moving while it runs.

I once read a post on another forum where someone dug a big hole something like five feet deep, and ran the pipe to the bottom of it, and filled it with sand. That is a real quiet muffler.

You are right in thinking that the engine itself generates much noise.

I added a small car muffler to my Coleman Powermate 5000/6250 with 10 HP Tecumseh HM-100 engine and if you are in the back yard when it is running it is still quite loud. But if you go in the house with the back doors closed and windows closed you can barely hear that it is running. With the stock muffler it was very loud in the house.

I had to make a cup shaped part from steel on a lathe and then weld a pipe into the bottom of it to make the connection to the muffler. The muffler (small car muffler from Advance Auto Parts) had a build in heat shield that I welded flat metal to to mount it to the bolts on the electrical section of the gen-set. I also put an additional sheet of metal as an additional heat shield between the muffler and the electrical section of the generator. I used a flex pipe that had pipe threads. McMaster-Carr sell them.

 

[JimPghPA]

This is something I wrote a while ago.

I found a small muffler with a heat shield at the local auto parts store (advance auto parts her in PA there part no. from the side of this muffler 18677 9 245 ) and used PC7 epoxt puty to temporally hold the corect mounting angles with respect to the muffler heat shield attaching to U shaped steel bent from 1 inch flat steel that I purched from home depo and bent into two big U shapes to mount to the bolts on the alternator (I had to put longer bolts on that side of the generator, and extend and move the ground wire to the other side of the generator). I used very long flexable hose clamps from NAPA, (two sets, each made of two of the longest they sell) to hold the muffler to the steel while the PC7 epoxy putty dried. After the epoxy cured I had a local auto shop weld the steel to the heat shield (make sure to ask them to be careful not to burn through the muffler when welding to the heat shield). I have a lathe so I was able to turn a piece of steel to make the cup shaped piece that I had welded to the end of the pipe and provide fit to the inside of the input pipe for the muffler. I now have a home made auto muffler adapted to this generator. It did reduce the noise considerably but the valve train, piston, and air intake still make quite a racket. Before it was louder than a gas lawn mower. Now it is not as loud as a gas lawn mower.

The way I added this muffler it moves with the generator and motor but still has the flex pipe for extra give.

I am now going to add a heat shield between the heat shield of the muffler and the generator for added protection of the generator.

 

[eljefino]

Walmart has cigar shaped mufflers in the pipe thread for at least briggses. Figure out the diameter and pipe clamp the flex pipe to that. A local auto parts store has those braided flex pipes like for catalytic convertors for $15. From there a muffler/ cherry bomb. Longer is lower frequency eg better bass.

 

[GeaugaFletcher]

Build a box. Line it with carpet / other sound deadening. Make sure it has some degree of ventilation.

Probably about as much work as fabbing up a new exhaust, but better results.

 

[dnewton3]

I have a coleman powermate with a 10hp Tecumseh engine; loud is not an adequate word to describe it.

There is a muffler upgrade for those engines.

Try this: google jacksmallengines and quiet muffler. They have aftermarket, B&S and Tecumseh upgrades.

It will help, but don't expect miracles.