Ways to Reduce the Noise of Your Generator

Even if they are some of the more useful and convenient household tools you could own, portable generators could be quite noisy and irritating. Especially if you use it for camping, a noisy generator could scare the wildlife and potentially disturb your fellow campers. Luckily, there are ways to lessen that noise that are simple and safe and will help you to avoid hearing that annoying roaring sound ever again.

Before buying a portable generator, besides the price and type, try looking up in the reviews how much noise each model makes. It could be crucial for minimizing noise impact on your neighbors, as it could disturb them in their moments of peace. Some smaller models are significantly less loud than their larger counterparts, and unlike them, offer easier portability. However, if you need a bigger power source and a smaller one just can’t fit your needs, there are ways to minimize its sound.

This is perhaps the easiest and the most obvious way - put a distance between your place of being and the generator. It will be less intense, and you will save yourself from the buzz of it. However, it won’t help you not disturb the people or the wildlife around you. If you are using it as a backup power source for your home, it is best to install it in the garage or the basement, as those are probably the rooms that are the most isolated from your living space.

You could either build or buy the soundbox for your generator. If you have the time and are a handy builder, you could turn it into your own DIY project. It is important to make an acoustic enclosure through which sound will be unable to travel. Install it over your generator, and it will prevent the soundwaves from exiting it. The outer shell is commonly made of wood and is padded with a noise insulator like plywood or foam. You could even add a handle to make the box with your generator portable and more convenient.

It is a concept similar to making a sound box, but it could be less convenient at times. You could put up boards with insulation around it, or you can cover it with a cloth of some non-flammable material. Try insulating the edges with noise absorbing foam. Plywood could also be a good sound absorbent, and it is probably the least expensive option. Those surfaces will either absorb the sound waves or block them out completely. The important thing is to surround it completely so the noise won’t get out as much. 

Mufflers could probably be able to guarantee you the highest form of noise reduction. They work on generators the same way they work on cars. Most of the noise probably comes from exhaust, so adding a muffler will help a great deal. If you already have a muffler and your generator is still making an unbearable noise, you should consider upgrading it to a bigger and better one. It is a more costly option, but it pays off the most in the long run.

Sometimes the vibrations of your generator placed on a harder surface as concrete will make unbearable noise. Concrete will amplify the noise instead of softening it, and you are sure to end up with a headache. It is easy to do when camping because there are probably plenty of spaces on grass or dirt on which you could put it. If that is not the case, there are anti-vibration mats made out of rubber, which you could invest in, or some cloth that you are 100% sure is not flammable.

This trick is not permanent, but it will do the job until you decide on the best solution. The way to do it is by putting some sort of hose on the exhaust of your generator and dunking the other end of the hose in a bucket full of water. The water will muffle the sound coming out of the exhaust, but if the problem is the vibration on a hard surface, this trick will not help. To prevent the water from entering the exhaust, you should drill a hole on the part of the hose or put the generator on higher ground.

Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid the sound completely, but any of these solutions will make it more than bearable. Be careful when tinkering with your generator because if you cause it to malfunction in any way, you could be dealing with very dangerous fumes. Generators are quite a necessity for your home, even only as a backup source of power, so you should find which way works best for you to reduce the noise it’s making.