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Doug Dotson
 
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Default Noise and generators


"Ace-high" wrote in message
...
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.


Good suggestions.

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


That's counter to what I have heard from manufactures of both types
of generators, and from my experience with my own 3600 RPM genset
vs a friend's 180 RPM unit.

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.


Well, that's consistent with ONAN owners around here.

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.


Mine is a 1 cyl, but the air intake is a major source of noise. Mine has
a baffle that softens the noise greatly.

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 are facing the same situation.

We had a wind generator - noisy, vibrating and dangerous and high
maintenance - sold it - would not have one again. No matter who's.


SOunds like you bought an Air Marine. Too bad.

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.


I just flick a switch from inside the boat to shut the wind generator down.
Better yet, the charge controller senses the high wind situation and shuts
it down automatically until the wind calms down to an acceptable level.
Swinging the mill by hand is both dangerous and archaic.



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