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Ace-high
 
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Default Noise and generators

Suggest you buy a sound level meter from Radio Shack for $39 analog or
$49 digital and track down the hot noise spots and sound leaks - and
plug them. The irritation is either transmitted thru air - sound
waves, or solids - vibration. There's no other way. Use very soft
mounts. Or double mounts.

3600 rpm is harder to quiet down than 1800 - but you got what you got.

We cruised for 5 years with a 7.5 KW Onan in our engine room under
center cockpit similar design to yours. It was noisy but worse -
unreliable. I've replaced it with a 6 kw Northern Lights 1800 rpm
genset with no sound shield as I like to visually inspect often. Vast
difference in noise created. The Onan had a very noisy air intake -
check this noise source out carefully on yours - and a 2 cyl clattery
engine.

We had and still have 4 big solar panels - it's tough to find a good
spot for these - we moved them 3 times before finding a least
objectionable home.

We had a wind generator - noisy, vibrating and dangerous and high
maintenance - sold it - would not have one again. No matter who's.
When it's squall time at 3 am and the wind kicks up to 35 kts with
cold driving rain - who wants to go on deck to turn it out of the wind
and secure it. They all sound like a Cessna on the back deck trying to
do a short field takeoff. And they **** off you neighbors.



On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 16:09:40 -0400, "Skip Gundlach"
skipgundlach.sez.remove.this.and.the.dots.to.mail
wrote:

In several of the mailing lists of which I partake, there's been discussion
of generators of late, originally about using AC, but migrating to charging,
noise, space and cost considerations and other issues.

As we prepare to cut the cord for the rest of our lives, we're actively
considering an arch to carry solar and wind gear, as we'll be spending the
rest of our lives in the Caribbean, where there's ample of both. However,
the boat currently (pardon the expression) has a working generator of recent