reducing generator noise

crazymcnutjob

crazymcnutjob

Active member
hi, I know this topic has been brought up before and I've looked at some previous posts but none of them are very elaborate. I am renting a 5kw generator this Saturday and I am shooting a night scene at this abandoned cottage. The problem is, this generator is (obviously) going to be noisy as hell, and with a few (non-abandoned) cottages nearby (50-100 yards away), I need to figure out a way to muffle the sounds as much as possible. I was thinking of digging a hole in the ground about 100 feet away and covering the entire generator except where the exhaust comes out. Is this a good/safe way or are there more effective methods? What type of material(s) should I use to muffle the sounds, and also, specifically what type of extension cords should I use? Thanks
 
You can't cover it up without providing adequate airflow. Generators get hot and they need air flowing over them to keep them cool.

If you have a choice of what to rent, consider renting a quieter generator. Honda makes some EU2000is models that are reasonably quiet, as far as the people 50 years away the Hondas would probably be nearly silent. But they're only 2000 watts each, so you'd need at least two to even be in the same ballpark as the 5kw you're considering.
 
You may want to look at one like this. It claims to have a 'silent" muffler. Of course it's still gonna make some noise, but may not be as loud as you think.

As for the extension cords... Go with at least a 12/3 indoor/outdoor cord like these.

As for the noise....Just build three walls around it with 4x8 sheets of plywood lined w/packing blankets. and place it like this drawing...

46781889.jpg
 
You could do the above, but instead of wood, use sound blankets on C-stands. I have done that in the past, and it worked well.

Kevin Zanit
 
You COULD do as above but instead of sound blankets use some Owens Cording 703 to create a mini sound box. You can get a crate of panels for about $150 and they are multipurpose for various sound issues.

Nice diagram Sirus :)

best
 
I'll tell you what worked for me on a job my old band had to play in the middle of the woods. We went to the junk yard and got a section of cadilac exhaust (including the muffler) and stuck it over the end of the generator muffler and wrapped it with exhaust tape. It worked better than we thought it would work. Just a crazy idea that worked for me.
 
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