Anyone ever quiet a generator

[Banage]

I got a really nice generator for our cabin, but the problem is the noise. Its a 5600 watt so the muffler gives off a noise a jet would be jealous of. Short of downsizing, I am trying to come up with ideas of how to make it quiet enough to run after the kids are put to bed. ever done this? any ideas?

[night4creeper]

add a length of pipe and a larger muffler to what is already there. use something like a muff from a toyota or similar size. if you have to remove the one that is there, add 2 with about a foot of pipe between the muffs. the second muff will act as a resonator and kill the harmonics that were passed through the 1st. Hit a junk yard, you can probably get what you need pretty cheap.

[xxxslayer1]

build a box around it

[300rman]

build a box around it

i dont know how cooling would be affected with this.

i agree, different muffler. i think after you add another muffler, you can take header wrap and wrap the original header pipe/muffler to cut down on the noise passing through the metal, and you will quiet it down considerably.

[The Goat]

go to a upull it type of place and cut a muffler off a small car. run a pipe from the first muffler into the second muffler. It won't cut down the flow of gases any, and the small car mufflers are really really quiet.

[Banage]

build a box around it

That was the first thing I did. it had 2 feet on all 4 sides, 3 on the top, a door that was just leaning against it and an inch gap in every corner and it still overheated after about 5 minz. a toyota muffler aint a bad idea.. thanks for the replys im going to tinker woth that idea.

[Name Brand]

Build a generator shed. Or put the generator in the corner of an outbuilding.

My friends have a cabin (small house really!) in the middle of nowhere Alaska. They have two large generators housed in about a 8x10 foot shed about 150 feet from the main house. One is primary, the other is a backup. They both are the size of a car engine. The exhaust is routed out the roof like a chimney and they did put in an automotive muffler on each of the generators; inside, under the roof. Both exhausts have a flapper on the end (like a tractor) so you can visually see that the generators are operating from the house. At each end of the roof is a large vent. One side of the roof has an overhang to protect a 300 gallon fuel tank and shutoff valve from snowload. The fuel line is run through the wall where there is a second valve and the filter inside the shed. The shed is insulated but with the big vents in each end of the roof it doesn't get very warm in temps up to 80 degrees. The vents are covered with a pice of blueboard during the winter.

Their setup is very quiet and really only makes a light hum. It's not noticeable near the house and can't be heard while inside.