What's your opinion on this practice as far as motor longevity?

Check out the extended exhaust on this generator.
Skip ahead to 15 mins.... runs at 18 mins.

(One of these days I'll figure out how to embed videos)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=...ATQc_JUHwQS2Tptr7_oo



Edited to embed video, link from comet24's post, thanks!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Excam_Man,

I can't imagine the additional back pressure is good for it. Besides that, looks to be illegal install.


-Generators need to be at least 18" from house or manufacturer specs

-I can almost guarantee that enclosure violates clearances for generator.

-Generator needs to be at least 5' from gas meter

-Fan appears to be wired with indoor appliance cord and dry location connector.

There is a lot of stupid happening there...

1. Yes the clearances are a code violation.
2. The exhaust is undersized.
3. The grounding rod is too short (should be 8 ft)
4. The exhaust fan is also a violation as installed.
5. The majority of the noise coming from these cheap generators comes from the internal components of the engine. Having the intake grill and exhaust vent on the wall does nothing to mitigate the noise level.

It would have been much better off to use a dedicated whole house generator like this..

https://www.generac.com/all-pr...-switch-wifi-enabled

Can't figure out why he used that small diameter flexible exhaust pipe... I would have used something larger and then worked on dampening the sound coming off of it with something absorbent like a high temp ceramic wool wrap.

Lot of work for a mid grade generator...at best.

To answer your question, if what was done was mechanically sound, the mfgs would sell kits to do it. He is likely impeding best performance but the damage is minimal enough to get several motor hours down the road.

Spent a lot of money for a 20 decibel noise reduction.

Roughly $200-400 for the container
Another $100 on insul board
A hundred on pipe, wrap, putty, couplers etc
$50 on events and caulk
$50-$75 on a fan
$25 on too much ground wire
$20 on a ground rod
Let's guess 6-8 hours labor

That's a long thin pipe connected to the exhaust. Assuming is creates some additional backpressure I can't see it being good for the engine.

Spend a little more for a quiet Honda eu series and a cord.

On most small engines when you change the exhaust it will have an effect on the air/fuel mixture and could cause the engine to run lean or rich. If your exhaust “modifications” cause the engine to run lean you are asking for trouble. An engine can run a little rich but it doesn’t tolerate running lean nearly as well.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
It would have been much better off to use a dedicated whole house generator like this..

https://www.generac.com/all-pr...-switch-wifi-enabled

Did you do one for your home?

I think that's what I will need to do for hurricane season when I buy my own house.

Seems the cost isn't too bad according to the link.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
What's your opinion on this practice as far as motor longevity?

Check out the extended exhaust on this generator.

As others have noted: Too narrow for the length.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
(One of these days I'll figure out how to embed videos)

Go to karmanator.com, select Tube it!

Or use this link: http://www.karmanator.com/tubeit.pl

^^^ Thanks for the info.
I cheated and had already copied the info from comets post.

Nice tools , nice work ....I am very "iffy" about whether this is a good idea.

I would definitely worry about engine longevity. Don't like that exhaust pipe.

If this were my set-up ... I would feel better if I could monitor cylinder head temps (CHT) and exhaust gas temps(EGT). You can find these gauges at very reasonable prices in catalogs for experimental aircraft builders.

I don't have the attention span time or patience for a 21-minute video. Routing the exhaust to the outside of the enclosure appears a lot less of a problem than enclosing the engine itself, if the engine is air-cooled.

I'm not going to comment on whether it's location is legal etc.

The sound enclosure is pretty big in comparison to the generator and has vents, you'd have to run the generator under load for an hour, 2 hours and measure the air temp inside of the enclosure. If it doesn't get over say 110F, it's probably ok. The exhaust mounted remotely wouldn't be a problem if it was sized appropriately for it's length (oversized) as not to create any back pressure.

Every yacht I run has at least 1 generator and some have 2 (equally sized, redundancy), and the yacht needs to be on generator anytime it's not connected to shorepower to power a lot of the yachts equipment. Sometimes I run them 4 days straight without shutting them down. Most are installed in insulated enclosures that are only 2" away on all 6 sides of the generator to reduce noise, and it doesn't hurt longevity at all and temps get at least 120F inside most of them. BUT, the box the guy built looks plenty big enough and has a few air vents so "should" be ok for air cooled if the temps inside don't get too high. The engines on yachts are all water cooled and have water cooled exhaust that is routed at least 10' usually and through a remote muffler. Most you cannot hear them run inside of the boat or on the outside, unless you're standing 5' from the exhaust, they're that quiet

The enclosures quiet the generators down some, maybe 10-20 decibles but ARE NOT the primary source of noise reduction, the exhaust is. If you put a moped, small motorcycle muffler on a portable generator, it makes them super quiet. My friend does that on a few of them (has a motorcycle/atv/jet ski repair shop). Just adding a better muffler makes a HUGE difference and he usually has a bunch laying around from upgrading peoples offroad stuff.

The RV industry has been using generator exhaust extensions for years. Here is an example:
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-4...xhaust/dp/B000BUU5XG

Jimmy are the generators on yachts the same ones you go to home Depot and buy or are they designed to be used on a boat inside of am enclosure?

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
It would have been much better off to use a dedicated whole house generator like this..

https://www.generac.com/all-pr...-switch-wifi-enabled

Did you do one for your home?

I think that's what I will need to do for hurricane season when I buy my own house.

Seems the cost isn't too bad according to the link.

The generator is the smallest cost in installing generators (my former profession).

Typical cheapest cost:

8/10kw -$7-8k

12/13kw - $8-9k

16/17kw - $9-10k

20/22kw - $10-$12

Greater than 22kw - you don't want to know.

Above cost are average in Metro DC area, one of most expensive areas in country. Cost include all costs, equipment, transfer switch/other materials, labor, permits (plumbing/electrical). Cost are for ideal setup. Gas source, electrical meter/panel, and generator are all in close proximity (<20' from each other).

Does not include long gas/electrical runs; repairs or upgrades needed to gas/elec equip; more than a few feet of trenching; drywall/paintwork,; concrete pad; fencing; landscaping; leveling; or hidden costs.

I sold generators for 20 years. Rv, home standby and portable. The exhaust pipes were all pretty small. Big 8kw rv generators used 1.25” diameter pipe and some of the smaller ones used 1”.

I would never encase a portable generator like that, it’s a bad idea. My guess is that I would overheat if ran long enough. It’s just a bad idea. Just put it outside and let it run. If you want quiet buy an real enclosed home standby generator, it will cost more money but it will last many times longer. Look for Onan, you can get them from your cummins factory stores, they are in every major city.