Comparing *Small* Inverter Generators
I'm tired of always lugging around my (heavy to put in the storage or the new trailer and a bit loud) existing generator, when most of the time I have 3 or 4 times the power I need. I'm looking at ...
Forum Discussion
What is the noise level like on you G800W?What a good excuse to try out my new sound meter! So here are a bunch of head-to-head readings to compare the IG800w with the eu2000i. The load was a common oil filled heater with low-medium-high settings. The entire test area was green lawn. Altitude 3500' which clearly knocks down the capability of both generators. Sounds levels in dBA, 15' from generator. I don't know how to make usable tables in these posts, so for a readable table you have to copy the numbers.
The column labels are:
generator-heat setting-exhaust side dBA-cord side dBA-panel side dBA-blank side dBA-volts-watts
IG800w-off-54-53-50-54-121-0
IG800w-low-60-58.5-56-59-120-628
IG800w-med-64-61-57-***-111-782
eu2000i-off-53-51-52-52-127-0
eu2000i-low-56-53-54-56-122.5-649
eu2000i-med-59-59-57-58-121-940
eu2000i-high-63-61-59-64-118.3-1491
*** = Overload shutdown before I got the reading.
From the numbers you could conclude that the two generators have the same noise level at no load and at full load. There's more to it, however. The eu2000i had a throaty, lower pitched sound. Kind of like a race engine loafing around. The IG800w doesn't sound like a piece of junk, but its noise is higher pitched with a bit of 'tininess'. Bottom line is that when the meter reads the same, the eu2000i's sound is clearly less annoying. I'd expect that when pushing the same load, an eu1000i or ef1000is would be louder than the eu2000i just because its engine would be revving higher. I'd also expect either one to be quieter than the IG800w.
