How do I quieten a little 2 stroke <span class="highlight">generator</span>

Hi Bill

Most of us have the "necessities of life" at home whatever they might be.
For many, the traditional home has been replaced by a caravan or motorhome and the "road" is their home.

So I guess having the "necessities of life" with them is reasonable and shouldn't necessitate them being relegated to a powered site in a caravan park because of it, surely?

On generators, I have one and no-one has ever complained about it, and for good reason.

For one, it is a four-stroke Honda and it is very quiet, and secondly I don't run it around other people, but have it as a back-up power source for remote travel which usually means not another person in co-eee of where I am...

Just saying...

Cheers, Baz - The Landy

Hi to you Baz!

My attitude has been moulded by experience.
Some people just don't realize (or even care) how they may be impacting others.

On one particular camping trip, we found a great spot on the banks of the River Murray. Just me, my spouse, our dog and a tinny. Great!
Set up camp and were chilling out when along came a family with their caravan and set up close to us. OK I thought, they have right to do that. Had a yarn with the "oldish couple" who were quite pleasant and friendly.
That is until the sun went down and the bloke fired up his generator to run a couple of floodlights and power the TV (and god knows what else) for the grandies. I attempted to reason with the guy but he insisted on running the gennie until 11pm. We were not happy.
The buggers must have sensed our inner hostility towards them and buggered off mid morning.

I know the inverter type gennies are much quieter, but we and our touring friends have set up our camping styles without the necessities of high power needs.
We would hate to think that we may be disturbing other floks solitude with noise such as generators, or loud music, etc.

We tend to mix bush camping with an occasional stay in a powered site at a caravan park, where we may do outrageous things like employing a 240v toaster and kettle. That is luxury to us, but we also like the expected peace and quietness of bush camping as much as possible. Solitude is not always possible when touring, but expecting an aimiable environment is within the means of anyone who considers and respects the comfort of others, be it from generators, floodlighting, or unreasonably loud music.

A very happy New Year to you and all forum members!

Had to endure a pooh hole up Cape York who ran his genny for hours so as to make a loaf of bread for the kids.
They had all the 240v gear on board.
Idiots!

Hi Bill

I'm hearing you and there is nothing worse than what you describe.

Rest assured, camp within co'ee of me and Mrs Landy and it won't...in fact, whilst happy to catch up so I can buy you a beer, or make you a brew, we won't be anywhere near each other when it comes to camping - which is just the way we like it...(when we can manage it).

Cheers, Baz

And Malcolm, some run genies, some have screaming kids, in some cases, screaming adults, drunks (usually a precursor to screaming adults), and at times, more banging than a "dunny door in a cyclone" - the list is endless, but when travelling you might get it all. Hopefully not in the same 24 hours!

And isn't one of the good things about travelling this great country of ours, if you don't like your neighbours you can just pack up and move on...!

But to be sure, having 240v gear on board doesn't make someone an idiot, or "pooh hole" in my book, just different to what we might like to experience.

And for clarity, we have 240W of solar panels on the vehicle and travel with another 115W solar blanket, so the genie doesn't see the light of day much, but there have been occasions when it has proved invaluable as a back-up and used only to re-charge batteries.

Cheers, Baz

You are right there Baz,

More and more parks and campgrounds are now separating those with generators from others and that is a very good thing for us folk annoyed by such unnecessary noise.

Where, in the original post did he mention camping?
He simply asked if it was possible to quieten a 2 stroke generator!
I wonder how many of the anti generator brigade have barking dogs, kids on mini- bikes, play loud music or idle their vehicle early in the morning to have a hot shower?

If he's not thinking of camping I'm struggling to think why he is asking a forum of campers, caravanners and travellers for a solution.

Maybe because they use generators, or for the same reason someone asked about Mig welders!

Shaker, if people who ask questions on forums provide little contextual information its not unreasonable that those attempting to answer the questions make a few assumptions. Its pretty obvious that the solution to the OP's problem would vary depending on whether he was travelling (and how) or using the gennie in a stationary set-up.

Cheers

It just annoys me that they get on their high horse about their solar set ups. Solar won't get you started if you are all packed up & go to back your vehicle up to the trailer & find somebody has left something on, & battery is as flat as a poo carter's hat!
This happened to me years ago, & a little noisy 2 stroke generator had me going in the time it took to have a cup of tea.
I have a quiet Honda now, rarely use it, but wouldn't go without it.
Some people enjoy camping, but just can't afford fancy solar set ups or expensive generators, at least he was asking f he could make it quieter.

Gee Shaker,

I thing you have lost the plot with your analogies.
Why would one carry a genny and fuel around just to charge batteries?

My smallish portable solar panel array is used effectively to maintain a charge to the van battery bank when "free camping". (Cost, less than $300)
Otherwise both van and vehicle batteries are maintained by the vehicle alternator while traveling.
Oh, and in the rare event the starter battery might fail, a quick jump start from my portable thumper battery pack is all it takes.
This is very unlikely as the ignition switch on my rig isolates the starter from everything that could drain it.

It just gets down to personal choice, but I am well content with my choice of battery power over a generator. An inverter can be employed to run small 240v items if required
Effective, efficient and very very quiet sp that I am not impacting on the peace of others.

Cheers!

Bill, in the summer I camp in the shade, is that ok with you!
The generator would have been no bigger than your Thumper battery pack & the fuel is also for the chain saw.

Whilst I have a solar set-up in the vehicle and the TVAN, and carry a solar blanket for additional input when needed, I like to have a redundancy system to ensure I have the power I require, when I need it.

The generator has proved a worthwhile addition to my “kit” especially when experiencing weather that reduces the ability of the solar system to re-charge the batteries satisfactorily or if I am camped in the shade for a few days...

Now an alternative to having a generator as a back-up is to have a larger “bank” of batteries, and that might give one more time between charging – but ultimately they will need to be charged at some point of time. The other consideration is weight and storage, but with a standard type 100A battery weighing in between 25-30kg the weight of a couple of these starts to add up.

My 1KVA Honda weighs in at 13kg and based on dimensions would have a footprint not much larger than a couple of standard batteries. The 150A battery in our vehicle weighs in at 50kg…

I don’t run any appliance directly from the generator, on the occasions it is used, but simply elect to re-charge the batteries, which it will usually do at 15A per hour based on the charging systems I have in the vehicle and the TVAN. On this basis a couple of hours running the generator daily, when required, provides adequate top-up until the solar provides the necessary input.

So count me as someone who carries a generator to re-charge batteries.

But there are perhaps others who run medical devices requiring a consistent power source, and good on those people for not allowing a medical disability limit their ability to explore this great country of ours…

To be sure though, I’m neither trying to convince anybody one way or the other when it comes to generators or to be antagonistic to others with a differing view – it is a personal choice. But it is important that both sides of the "divide" are understood...

I have found tolerance is the key to a successful and pleasant camping trip and have moved on the rare occasion I have found my camping neighbours not to my liking - less energy and angst than beating my chest and insisting that other campers conform to my standard…after all, who am I to be the arbiter on other people's behaviours or habits?


Cheers, Baz – The Landy

Baz . . . "an alternative to having a generator as a back-up is to have a larger “bank” of batteries, and that might give one more time between charging – but ultimately they will need to be charged at some point of time. The other consideration is weight and storage"

Lithium are really coming into their own here, soon they will be much more viable cost wise, and with ones you can fit into spaces under seats, cavities in tub drawer systems etc, having a few would give good flexibility in those situations.

I am sure when my 100amp/hr AGM goes, there will be a lithium (or two) going in to fill those duties.

Hi Les

Without doubt, Lithium are an option in terms of usable power and weight compared to standard batteries, but they don't have the ability to generate any power, only store it. So whilst they are potentially more efficient they still need to be charged at some point.

Trust all is well for you...

Cheers, Baz

Thanks Baz, all good here, hope same for you :)

For sure, you gotta charge em :)

Another good thing about lithium ?
They have a much great amount of amp hrs they hold that can be used.
I think DOD (depth of discharge) for AGM is about 50%, while lithium is around 80%.

My AGM charges in no time daily driving, a matter of a couple of hours, I usually drive / tour daily, so this suits me fine.
Still have 100w and 150w briefcase type folding solar blankets I can use if camping more than say 2 days, which I can manage fine on the 100 amp/hr I run.

Great that you have found an alternative solution, although, you did have one previously that worked for you, it just seems others demanded that you find a solution to their problem of intolerance.

If others showed your level of tolerance you wouldn't have needed an alternate solution...

Now, just need to sort out all those other campsite and overnight rest stop noises…!

Today a generator, tomorrow a barking dog, not to mention the poo you stood in, and those Swedish backpackers may well be easy on the eye, but hell, the decibels their party noise creates after quiet time is off the scale and relegates the noise from a muffled generator to the back of the noise que!

And what about those noisey refrigerated trucks that pull into the truck stop overcrowded with vans and RVs for their mandatory rest in the middle of night...

Geez, talk about inconsiderate, don't they realise George and Mildred in the Millard claimed their prized site bang-in-the middle of the lot at midday, had a few wines until bed-time,before George was back out for a few more whines with Bluey just as he's about to climb into the bunk of his B-Double for a bit of well-earned kip!

LOL and all intended to be tongue-in-cheek, but your comment did get me thinking about tolerance, or lack of it, in camp grounds and other overnight places of rest!

Seemingly, not all the "whining noise" come from generators.

If only we could walk in another's shoes for 5-minutes each day!

Just musing...

Cheers, Baz