2bnb driver wrote:
Ive been curious as to how much quieter these things are with the plastic bodies than without. i think the honda would still be rather quiet because its built more like a GC motor than a gx(timing built, nylon cam and all). Champion/yamaha is more of a conventional type engine. Still they are small engines with rather unique exhaust systems.
I still have a Kawasaki GA1400A that I purchased "around" 1985 (27 years ago? - Wow).
It is still a great little genny and surprisingly quiet for a NON inverter.
I attribute this to the side panels, the method that air is drawn into the engine fan and some cool air bypassed to the alternator. Heated air exiting from cooling the engine is routed over the muffler and out the back in a manner
similar to my Kipor and Champion inverter gennys.
The GA design engine may indeed have less internal mechanical noise than the GX. I have a Honda 5HP 160cc GA that was on my Trac-Vac but the thing wore out in two leaf clean-up seasons. The GX200 Chinese clone I put on to replace it has never faltered. I prefer the cast iron sleeve and metal cam gears even if they do make more clatter.
There have been a few (very few) commercial versions of the "open frame" Chinese genny with sound abatement panels installed from the manufacturer. As far as I can tell, they did not sell too well since most buyers were not interested in paying the additional cost for a few dbA noise reduction (about 2-3 dbA lower).
As an experiment, I made my own panels for one several years back using James Hardie concrete backer board. (Waterproof, fireproof, cut with saw or scoring knife). It was heavy as all get-out but did make a difference. :)
No way I can heft a 3500 open frame around any more. If I lift one it has to be with a winch, crane or front loader on my tractor. That is one big plus for twin inverters at 50# or less each.
