While I appreciate quiet generators a lot, it turns out it's not just the sound level that can be annoying. I had a camping trip almost ruined because I was in a site between two sites that ran their Yamaha generators all day, even when they weren't there. (Traveling together, they had matching trailers, generators, and dog enclosures.) There wasn't an open spot for me to move to for the rest of the stay, and I couldn't abandon my husband who was off backpacking. The campground only has nighttime quiet hours, no limits on generators outside of that - hoping it will have changed for this year.
The all-day droning made me crazy. Even my white noise machine didn't help. The camp host commented on it all on my last day there.
Similar question regarding sine wave generation… In your article you said, “ the Honda and Yamaha generators use sine-wave inverters with extremely low harmonic distortion”. I’m looking into the DuroMax that you said they will be sending you for review. I don’t see, in the link that you posted, that it states that it generates a pure sine wave as opposed to a “modified” sine wave. That is one of the two main reasons that I am looking to upgrade my Champion contractor model. Since I only use it to provide backup power in case of an outage, it is providing power to the fridge, freezer, and a lot of electronics. The second reason for upgrade is to move to a dual fuel model so that I don’t need to store so much gasoline. Propane is much easier for me to store and has an unlimited shelf life.
Bottom line is, I was under the impression that all inverter generators provided a true sine wave pattern, but maybe that is not correct.
Thanks for all of the time that you dedicate to your projects and helping to educate us.
When you do the tests on different invertor generator. May be also include how the generator handles the voltage and sine wave under load and how each generator handles overload . I recall seeing a video that was showing the difference of the sine wave between the Honda and a Champion. And the Honda had a very stable sine wave & took a lot more load before going into overload.
While I appreciate quiet generators a lot, it turns out it's not just the sound level that can be annoying. I had a camping trip almost ruined because I was in a site between two sites that ran their Yamaha generators all day, even when they weren't there. (Traveling together, they had matching trailers, generators, and dog enclosures.) There wasn't an open spot for me to move to for the rest of the stay, and I couldn't abandon my husband who was off backpacking. The campground only has nighttime quiet hours, no limits on generators outside of that - hoping it will have changed for this year.
The all-day droning made me crazy. Even my white noise machine didn't help. The camp host commented on it all on my last day there.
People can be rude!
We have a propane generator slung under our van. Is there any way to make it quieter?
Probably not. It would need a total redesign for any significant SPL reduction. The latest Cummins built-in generators are really quiet with eco-mode.
Similar question regarding sine wave generation… In your article you said, “ the Honda and Yamaha generators use sine-wave inverters with extremely low harmonic distortion”. I’m looking into the DuroMax that you said they will be sending you for review. I don’t see, in the link that you posted, that it states that it generates a pure sine wave as opposed to a “modified” sine wave. That is one of the two main reasons that I am looking to upgrade my Champion contractor model. Since I only use it to provide backup power in case of an outage, it is providing power to the fridge, freezer, and a lot of electronics. The second reason for upgrade is to move to a dual fuel model so that I don’t need to store so much gasoline. Propane is much easier for me to store and has an unlimited shelf life.
Bottom line is, I was under the impression that all inverter generators provided a true sine wave pattern, but maybe that is not correct.
Thanks for all of the time that you dedicate to your projects and helping to educate us.
Tom
When you do the tests on different invertor generator. May be also include how the generator handles the voltage and sine wave under load and how each generator handles overload . I recall seeing a video that was showing the difference of the sine wave between the Honda and a Champion. And the Honda had a very stable sine wave & took a lot more load before going into overload.
If I only had a budget I would love to do that type of experiment. I already have all the test gear!