Generator sizing issues?

Gdetrailer wrote:

pnichols wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
Acutally 69DB is LESS than any builtin RV gen like Onans and a heck of a lot less cost..

Hmmm ... I wonder where this came from?

Click around on this website until to get to a common RV Onan generator's specs like their RV QG 4000 model: https://www.cummins.com/generators/rv-qg-4000

Here's a clip out of the .pdf specification for their 4000 watt model from the above website:

"Sound: 68 dB(A) readings at 10 ft (3 m) half load

* Meets National Park Service sound level requirements
(60 dB(A) @ 50 ft) for use in national parks.

* Typical installation will further reduce sound level."

The last sentence is important. Since the noise spec is for the "naked" Onan generator sitting there in only it's included case ... when it's well mounted and additionally enclosed inside an RV's outside cabinet (but open at the bottom for air flow) the actual noise heard by others outside the RV in most camping situations should be very bearable when within generator hours.

Our built-in 4000 watt Onan's sound seems nicely muffled (well below 60 dB(A)) from 50 ft away outside the RV - just a steady 3600 RPM low hum regardless of the load it's delivering. Winnebago sound-isolated it's noise output such that when inside the coach - with respect to the camping independence it's providing - we can easily tolerate it's humming. We have even run it nearly all night for A/C while we were drycamp sleeping in hot and humid conditions.

Obviously, YOU have NEVER had to SLEEP beside a motorhome RUNNING an Onan..

I CAN easily HEAR a Onan running in a busy Walmart parking lot well over 100 car spaces away (1000 ft at 10ft spaces) INSIDE MY RV.

I would rather listen to a Refrigeration ("reefer") truck parked next to me..

YOU might "think" your "built in" is quiet, but your neighbors may not have the same opinion.

Well I guess - as Einstein would almost have said - "...it's all relative".

For instance:

- We have slept all night close to Onan's running ... improperly running and enclosed in that they were constantly surging up and down and doing it much louder than our Onan sounds running smoothly. It drove us nuts.

- We have during the day camped 50 feet away from a camper using a Honda 2000 inverter generator in Eco Mode with either their A/C or microwave running. The up and down surging drove us nuts.

- We have over-nighted in truck stops many times. The noise from their poorly, or not-at-all, enclosed refrigeration unit engines drove us nuts.

- We have camped innumerable times in campgrounds with loud talking/hollering adults, hollering/squealing kids, barking dogs, loud outside music, circling vehicles, and idlng diesels. The noise drove us nuts.

- We have during the day camped 50 feet away from a motorhome with a running and very well installed generator running that we could barely, barely hear. That slight noise over the sound of the wind didn't bother us at all.

Of course a lot of things bother us when our "overly sensitive" buttons get pushed. For other close by folks that we guess might have those kind of buttons from a noise perspective, we charge our batteries during generator hours by idling our V10 engine, which by pure luck winds up being a real quiet source for replenishing 12 volt energy.