Coyote_Sport_13
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Re: 3000W Chinese Gensets Info.
(Read posting from 8/9/07 @ 2:30 p.m. for full text.) This one sort of caught in my craw..... I believe I have the same RS meter. I do have a Champion. I have NEVER gotten a reading as loud as you report under almost identical measurement conditions. The fact that you say the spark arrestor made the unit quiter disturbs me. It should make no difference. In fact, according to my testing, the muffler is excellent in reducing sound and little if any benefit is gained by adding additional silencing to the exhaust. Please try this before you give up: Take an old towel, fold it to 5-6 layers and gently hold it over the muffler outlet (be quick, it gets very hot!). There should be NO significant change in sound level. If there is, I suspect you may have a defective muffler. I know this sounds remote, but it is possible. The muffler is a three chamber design much like an auto muffler. In the manufacturing process if "something" was left out or improperly welded/pressed, the muffler would not function as designed. Again, a long shot but entirely possible. If you conclude the muffler may be defective, call CPE and talk to Paul Cole. Most likely, he will be aware of the problem since he does read the forum. Once more, your generator should not be as loud as your measurements. That's great you have the same meter so you understand the settings and perhaps quality (?) of the unit. Do you think it is a reasonably consistent meter? As I mentioned it was recommended on several home theater forums several years ago. I was able to get the fan silicone job done tonight and hope to try your recommendations on the muffler on Monday/Tues as I'll be pretty busy until then. If I tap on the muffler case or tilt the genset up/down I don't hear any loose baffles but I suppose there still could be. Thanks for the recommendations and I'll report back ASAP.383Views0likes0CommentsRe: 3000W Chinese Gensets Info.
I don't think it's the meter. This thing is LOUD. I definitly have the fan rattle as I can press my hand against the case and it will stop it. I think the silicone mod will fix that. I'm not giving up on it yet. I can't see trying to sell it right away at a loss and we will only need it about 10 times a year so the Yamaha/Honda did not seem practical. I have an old Honda 650 (?) genset and it is really quiet. Of course it only puts out about 5 amps.371Views0likes0CommentsRe: 3000W Chinese Gensets Info.
I just purchased a Champion C46540 from Kragen Auto Parts yesterday for $299. I have a sound (decibel) meter from Radio Shack that I used to set up my stereo surround sound system so I took some readings of the generator. You can look at the meter here http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103667&cp=&sr=1&origkw=sound+meter&kw=sound+meter&parentPage=search . It is accurate to within two decibels per the manufacturer and is recommended on several stereophile sites as being tested and proven against much more expensive meters. I set the meter to "slow response" which means it takes a reading every 0.5 sec and used the "A weighting" setting that is used for non musical sounds. I additionally used time weighted setting that averages the sound over a period of time. I set this for 10 seconds. I took all readings 20 feet away and the generator was out in the open with nothing with in say 30 yards to bounce any sound off of. Now that you got all that here is what I found... The thing is LOUD. Granted it is brand new but I can't imagine any real improvement over time. I let it run for 5 minutes before measurements began. I first tested without the included spark arrestor installed and averaged 75 decibels. With the spark arrestor in the average was 73 decibels. I could not in good conscience run this thing as is in a campground. I camp in Forest Service campgrounds and I can't imagine a tenter or an rv'r not being rather upset at the noise level. I am going to do the silicone behind the fan mod, remeasure and post results. I also have plans for an enclosure with a fan and will move the AVR outside the case. I'll take decibel measurements with all this and post back over the next month or so. Interesting that Champion lists the decibel level at 68.371Views0likes0Comments
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