Hondas Getting Louder
We have two Honda EU2000 generators. Normally we run them alternately unless the AC is needed. So each one has about 400 hours. DW says they are louder than when new — confirmed by a db meter check...
Forum Discussion
Yeah, it would be great to have a generator that was quiet, light in weight, and had power to run any kind of load. Physics tends to work against this, though.
Your Kohler powered unit had a large stator and bigger, heavier field windings. That's why it was able to operate on less RPM's than the inverter generators. That larger weight and heavier load needed a bigger engine to make the power.
Any efficiency in these small gensets is probably going to be increased by better materials or engines capable of more power in the same size range. Using similar technologies to accomplish a decrease in RPM as from the larger unit to the smaller, isn't going to work.
Another consideration is that the Kohler powered genset may have produced the same noise level but at a lower frequency. That can be a lot less irritating than a higher frequency sound.
A real work around for generator noise, IMO, is alternative power, i.e. solar or, maybe in the future, a similar priced fuel cell.
Hey, if we really wanted a low RPM generator we could look no further than the Kato 500. When I operated those, I think the RPM was well under 1000. Upside was that it would power the entire camp ground. Downside was the noise and fuel consumption of an ALCO locomotive engine.:B
Your Kohler powered unit had a large stator and bigger, heavier field windings. That's why it was able to operate on less RPM's than the inverter generators. That larger weight and heavier load needed a bigger engine to make the power.
Any efficiency in these small gensets is probably going to be increased by better materials or engines capable of more power in the same size range. Using similar technologies to accomplish a decrease in RPM as from the larger unit to the smaller, isn't going to work.
Another consideration is that the Kohler powered genset may have produced the same noise level but at a lower frequency. That can be a lot less irritating than a higher frequency sound.
A real work around for generator noise, IMO, is alternative power, i.e. solar or, maybe in the future, a similar priced fuel cell.
Hey, if we really wanted a low RPM generator we could look no further than the Kato 500. When I operated those, I think the RPM was well under 1000. Upside was that it would power the entire camp ground. Downside was the noise and fuel consumption of an ALCO locomotive engine.:B
