How loud is too loud

Personally I would ask my wife if she thought it was too loud. If she did think it was loud then I would quieten it down. I don't go too much for figures myself. But then again we don't like loud bikes or cars.

Phil

I think the Hondas and Kipor claim 54 to 59 dB at 7 metres. A few of our Caravan Club members use tham and they are never offensive at that level, so aim for around that. Remember every 9dB increase means you are doubling the sound pressure level.

If you were playing music at night, 75Db from 7 Meters or more you are breaking the law so that might give you some idea. Anything over that and it is classed as harmful to your hearing. Exposure to noise longer that 1 hour above 75Db at 7 Meters is harmful to you and others. By your readings it looks like your are harming your ears already.
Andy

Sorry Bill,

What the hell do you need a 5kva generator for?

I go into the outback to get away from noise.
Therefore, no sound at all is acceptable to me.
It is not just the sound of a generator chugging away (no matter how "quiet" it is) but also the kind of equipment often plugged into it.
Halogen floodlights, boom boxes, etc. have been experienced by us from time to time at campsites along the Murray and coastal areas of our State and there is nothing peaceful about being camped close to a caravan with its aircon blasting away 24 hours, supported by a generator, which always seems to be on our side of their campsite.
The folk themselves you rarely see because they are cooped up inside watching television. They must get really stressed out if reception is bad or non-existent.

Now we head bush and try to pick campsites that are elusive to the genny brigade.
Our friends that often travel with us are like minded and we all get away with nothing more that silent solar panels to add a charge back into the batteries.
We find no need for an air conditioner in the great outdoors. There is always a shady tree to sit under during the hottest times and with no noise besides the laughter amongst good company.

Place the generator beside your TV next time you're out camping & if annoys you then it's too loud ;-)
Cheers Craig..........

When you buy the noisy generator, also buy a big hammer, that'll fix the excessive noise problem.
OJ

My lawnmower says its 75db, i guess that for the operator.. I would definately say it too loud!! let me know where you are camping and i'll make sure i'm not there. LOL!! Michael

In answer to your original question:

It is too loud if fellow campers can hear it during the day over the noise of the water trickling down the river, or the sea, or the birds in the bush (which is why we go there)

And if it is on at all after 6pm, it is too loud. Sound travel at night, nothing worse than listening to a generator never mind how soft the hum.

CJ

My 2 cents worth. If you need to ask how loud is loud, it is too loud! We carry a Honda 2 kva and also only use it in emergencies and then if we are near anyone I ask first. (Have solar back up power.) We have also come across heaps of quite camping places, bush camping type, and then a group will turn up and start up a noisy generator, mainly just to run a huge bank of bloody bright lights! It does ruin the whole experience.
I don’t have a problem with generators, but we all must follow common courtesy. 5 kva does sounds a bit overkill, what do you need to run?

Hi Bill,

Regardless of what your meter says its the relative levels that count as well. If I am camped in some quiet spot with just the sound of the wind and the birds then ANY mechanical noise will be an unwelcome intrusion.

As others have said, put the thing as close to your camp as possible then see if its too loud for you. We have often seen generator users put their generators behind a barrier for their comfort - but facing towards other campers!!!

Was camped once in a quiet spot when a neighbour fired up the genny which then ran for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. We were proudly told later by the owner of said gennie that it was so they could cook a loaf of bread. This illustrates a need to think about options and to have a sense of proportion - was it really necessary to have hot bread while out in the bush, if so could it be cooked some other way. In the example above they had a camp fire smoking away and a camp oven. So there was no need for the noise from the genny at all.

Cheers,

Val

Bill,
I don't believe you can shut up a 5kva genset. The cost would be prohibitive + the gain in weight and size.

I will give you an idea of noise. Once built an earth bund wall on three sides of a 100kva silenced generator. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was wasting money and should not have done it by the controller of money and all things fun.

My reply was that it was dirt I had to get rid of anyway and it only took an hour or two to complete. I remember adding that you may thank me in the future.

Now this genset was a very quiet Aggreko unit but a couple of months later I was there and a few of the residents thanked me for the bund. They had there barbie site on the northern side of the bund and noticed the difference the wall made.

I believe any man made noise is annoying in a peaceful place except if you are full of turps. Bill not judging just stating what I have found.

Have a good one and may you hear the Nissans rusting on a quiet day. LOL.
RA.

Having read and enjoyed the above posts I must say that a 5kva sounds a bit over the top for camping. Why on earth that big. Are you trying to supply the whole camp ground.

If it was me I would NEVER use nor need one that big. Before getting a modern quiet replacement I would really look at my needs.

A bit of side interest: The one and only time I ever took one that size out into the bush was for an amateur radio three day long weekend contest running five HF transceivers at maximum allowed power of 400 watts with a bunch of UHF and VHF radios as well, including supporting kitchen, computing assets and lighting for a group of 20 operators plus mums and Billy lids up in the Brindies on a competition weekend. We were not near any campers and had permission to be in an isolated spot away from anyone. The generators exhaust was extended with a length of flexible metal pipe into a hole in the ground and fully covered with rocks. It was as quiet as a mouse. For the hams it was a John Moyle Field Day weekend.

Halley's comet was in the sky and there we, who were not on shift, were with dates, chips and peanuts, jatz and dips, with many a drop of wine laying back looking at the Halley's. Wow of a weekend. Nah we didn't with. The big mob up at Melaney beat us.

Phil

Presume you have that gennie for other purposes and have decided to take it travelling - it's not a travel gennie - more like a municipal power facility ! - I've got a 1K for battery tops ups - 2k's are often used for air cond - even the 2.4
's etc, but 5k's - seems way over the top.

Hmmm ...... what am I thinking?
06:43 - been a bit quite lately - why don't I stir the place up a bit.
Now what gets people going? Ah - generators and their use at campsites
5kva should get them going I reckon ;-)
And lo it was thus ......
bill f - are you sitting back and enjoying a beer or three and a quiet chuckle?
Or are you serious - in which case we are in deep doo doo
Cheers
Andrew

To be fair to Bill F he did say he was checking the gennie "with a view to travelling" so maybe he has owned the large gennie for other purposes?

Peter

Hi All, THanks for all the replies. To clear things up. We too prefer the silence in the bush. Haven't turned the TV on in 12 months & all lights are 12v LED. Gas for cooking (outside only) & refrigeration. Have made do in the past with a very quiet 900w Mitsubishi running a 10amp charger. Have now backed that up with 160w of solar panels. Small things i.e. phone are charged thru inverters The question re the 5kva gennie was to gauge reaction as the cook said she would like to use some of her home appliances some of which need 2000w. The big gennie is sitting there doing nothing. Just waiting for the next power outage. Hate to see things not being used. If anyone is wondering what happens in an outage while we are away. The only thing left on is one small freezer & the mitsu will handle that.. THanks to all again Bill

Gday,
It all depends where and when your running it.
Not everyone is in the same place for the same reason.
If you pull up some where to camp and everyone is sitting around knitting and listening to the trickle of the river.......its too loud.
If you find a place away from anyone and you want to use it....use it?
If someone pulls up and doesnt like it they have the option to move on.
Buggered if I know why everyone wants a set of rules for everything? Just use a bit of common sense and consideration for others and it might become contagious.

Cheers

This whole discussion of hearing annoyance caused by generators is pretty wooly with lots of dB numbers being quoted, some quite wrong and most rather meaningless.

I have, sitting at my elbow, an audiologist (my wife), who, whilst she can recite the numbers, tells me that they are rather pointless as they are very subjective and in any case the human tolerance to sound levels varies considerably between individuals. This is particularly so with the perception of annoying noise. And this is not necessarily because of their rational behaviour but can be physiological to some degree. Therefore they cannot simply "Harden-up".

It is also pointed out to me that whilst objective sound measurements such as dB Sound Pressure Level are employed in audiological assessments, subjective loudness perception becomes the final criteria to the listener.

So whilst a generator (or any other noise source) may be ascribed with a noise output level, probably in dB-A, it remains entirely relative to similar sources and can only be somewhat indicative regarding comfort of the listener.

So what myself, not my audiologist wife, would say is if you find it annoying, then it is offensively too loud for you. Now what you do about it depends on your demeanour....... you either negotiate with the noise producer (No, that does not mean an axe through the genny!) or you move on to a quieter location, or you grin and bear it and complain continually to your spouse.
My wife would probably say "Oh shut up and pour me another chardonnay".