A couple of months ago, somebody in a boating forum described using a
modified cooler to house a honda 2000 genny. I passed on those posts to
my talented stepson and today we came up with a proto-type, that he may
eventually market for roughly $150 on E-bay. This is the first one with
more improvements envisioned before it goes to market. This cooler is a
Coleman 5 day, 100 qt. we got on sale at Walmart for $35. Only problem
with it is that it's not high enough, forcing us to cut a hole into the
top of the door.

Here are some pictures with comments in the captions. Please share all
opinions.

http://tinyurl.com/2kqwjd

Outlay was as follows....

$35 cooler
$10 ventilation pipe/exhaust
$30 padded cooler cover

Plus an hour or two of labor.

Results....this modified cooler cut down the sound about a third. Most
of the remaining noise comes from the exhaust. Also pertinant, the
gen-box looks good on the back of my upper swim platform and it
provides waterproofing for the genny, which will allow me to use it in
the rain. (We get a little here).

Again....don't hesitate to be critical and/or creative.

Thanks!

-Greg Schoenberg
"She Said Yes"
2002 Regal 2465
Kalama, Washington

"dene" wrote in message
oups.com...
Results....this modified cooler cut down the sound about a third. Most
of the remaining noise comes from the exhaust. Also pertinant, the
gen-box looks good on the back of my upper swim platform and it
provides waterproofing for the genny, which will allow me to use it in
the rain. (We get a little here).

Again....don't hesitate to be critical and/or creative.

Thanks!

-Greg Schoenberg


Looks like a clever solution to the problem. The one thing I'm wondering
about is cooling. How does the generator get enough air circulation for
proper engine cooling?

Stanley Barthfarkle wrote:
"dene" wrote in message
oups.com...
Results....this modified cooler cut down the sound about a third. Most
of the remaining noise comes from the exhaust. Also pertinant, the
gen-box looks good on the back of my upper swim platform and it
provides waterproofing for the genny, which will allow me to use it in
the rain. (We get a little here).

Again....don't hesitate to be critical and/or creative.

Thanks!

-Greg Schoenberg


Looks like a clever solution to the problem. The one thing I'm wondering
about is cooling. How does the generator get enough air circulation for
proper engine cooling?

There is some air flow from the unused cord hole, 2 1/4 in diameter,
six 1/2 inch vent holes, and the lid.....I cannot, nor need to, close
the lid completely. Ran the genny with ceramic heater for 10 mins. No
sign of excess heat.

I think (hope) Honda genny's shut down automatically if you overheat
them.

-Greg

"dene" wrote in news:1169283545.255971.200710@
38g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

I think (hope) Honda genny's shut down automatically if you overheat
them.



The inverter electronics has an overheat sensor that shuts down the
inverter, but does NOT SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE! The inverter trips out, just
like it does on overload and the engine continues to run until you manually
shut it down.....before it siezes from the heat, we hope.

Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.

dene wrote:
A couple of months ago, somebody in a boating forum described using a
modified cooler to house a honda 2000 genny. I passed on those posts to
my talented stepson and today we came up with a proto-type, that he may
eventually market for roughly $150 on E-bay. This is the first one with
more improvements envisioned before it goes to market. This cooler is a
Coleman 5 day, 100 qt. we got on sale at Walmart for $35. Only problem
with it is that it's not high enough, forcing us to cut a hole into the
top of the door.

Here are some pictures with comments in the captions. Please share all
opinions.

http://tinyurl.com/2kqwjd

Outlay was as follows....

$35 cooler
$10 ventilation pipe/exhaust
$30 padded cooler cover

Plus an hour or two of labor.

Results....this modified cooler cut down the sound about a third. Most
of the remaining noise comes from the exhaust. Also pertinant, the
gen-box looks good on the back of my upper swim platform and it
provides waterproofing for the genny, which will allow me to use it in
the rain. (We get a little here).

Again....don't hesitate to be critical and/or creative.

Thanks!

-Greg Schoenberg
"She Said Yes"
2002 Regal 2465
Kalama, Washington

That looks like a great idea to me. For my Honda EU2000i, I use a
Rubbermaid "Roughneck", #2162,
35-gallon, storage container, but I use it for storage only to keep the
mice out and discourage thieves. These cost $14.99 at Target.
http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid...d=HPProd150029

The EU2000i fits in the storage container with lots of room to spare
and no need to cut the lid. However, the container isn't insulated and
wouldn't provide any significant sound attenuation. However, you might
be able to glue some sort of insulation on the inside of it, or put
something on the outside, I dunno. If you did happen to run into heat
problems, you could mount some 12V computer fans on the container. The
problem, of course, is that the holes for the fans will also let some
noise out. People generally minimize this problem by making a couple of
U-turns in the airflow path. The EU2000i is already relatively quiet,
but it would be nice to make it even quieter.

If you cut a hole in the top, I would suggest a cover for the hole to
keep the mice and bugs out during storage.

The one criticism I would have is that you probably should do some
sophisticated heat tests and/or provide a caveat that you're not
responsible for overheating damage. I think you can buy a temperature
sensor that fits underneath a spark plug to measure heat. Or, another
idea might be to rent some good temperature measuring equipment from a
rental equipment company and measure the temperature at several
locations on the generator. I believe generator companies typically
rate their generators for operation at an ambient temperature up to
100F. That would mean you would have to heat your garage, for example,
up to 100F and then put the generator in the enclosure inside the
garage to run the heat tests.

Looks like a great prototype. A taller cooler should help a lot. Is the
genny mounted to the bottom of the cooler to prevent shifting while
underway? How hot does the exhaust vent become with high power loads?
Could it be protected from inadvertent touching? I would continue to very
carefully monitor generator cooling.

I would also recommend the exhaust be vented at the lowest practicable level
to ensure no carbon monoxide spills into the cockpit. One would assume that
prevailing breezes would place the bow into the wind at anchor and that
speed while underway would do the same. But, you never know when something
will happen and cause/allow carbon monoxide to get into people spaces.
Perhaps the most dangerous situation would be using the genny while tied to
the dock. A few carefully placed carbon monoxide monitors/alarms would
provide an acceptable comfort level.

Butch
wrote in message
ups.com...

dene wrote:
A couple of months ago, somebody in a boating forum described using a
modified cooler to house a honda 2000 genny. I passed on those posts to
my talented stepson and today we came up with a proto-type, that he may
eventually market for roughly $150 on E-bay. This is the first one with
more improvements envisioned before it goes to market. This cooler is a
Coleman 5 day, 100 qt. we got on sale at Walmart for $35. Only problem
with it is that it's not high enough, forcing us to cut a hole into the
top of the door.

Here are some pictures with comments in the captions. Please share all
opinions.

http://tinyurl.com/2kqwjd

Outlay was as follows....

$35 cooler
$10 ventilation pipe/exhaust
$30 padded cooler cover

Plus an hour or two of labor.

Results....this modified cooler cut down the sound about a third. Most
of the remaining noise comes from the exhaust. Also pertinant, the
gen-box looks good on the back of my upper swim platform and it
provides waterproofing for the genny, which will allow me to use it in
the rain. (We get a little here).

Again....don't hesitate to be critical and/or creative.

Thanks!

-Greg Schoenberg
"She Said Yes"
2002 Regal 2465
Kalama, Washington

That looks like a great idea to me. For my Honda EU2000i, I use a
Rubbermaid "Roughneck", #2162,
35-gallon, storage container, but I use it for storage only to keep the
mice out and discourage thieves. These cost $14.99 at Target.
http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid...d=HPProd150029

The EU2000i fits in the storage container with lots of room to spare
and no need to cut the lid. However, the container isn't insulated and
wouldn't provide any significant sound attenuation. However, you might
be able to glue some sort of insulation on the inside of it, or put
something on the outside, I dunno. If you did happen to run into heat
problems, you could mount some 12V computer fans on the container. The
problem, of course, is that the holes for the fans will also let some
noise out. People generally minimize this problem by making a couple of
U-turns in the airflow path. The EU2000i is already relatively quiet,
but it would be nice to make it even quieter.

If you cut a hole in the top, I would suggest a cover for the hole to
keep the mice and bugs out during storage.

The one criticism I would have is that you probably should do some
sophisticated heat tests and/or provide a caveat that you're not
responsible for overheating damage. I think you can buy a temperature
sensor that fits underneath a spark plug to measure heat. Or, another
idea might be to rent some good temperature measuring equipment from a
rental equipment company and measure the temperature at several
locations on the generator. I believe generator companies typically
rate their generators for operation at an ambient temperature up to
100F. That would mean you would have to heat your garage, for example,
up to 100F and then put the generator in the enclosure inside the
garage to run the heat tests.

Butch Davis wrote:
Looks like a great prototype. A taller cooler should help a lot. Is the
genny mounted to the bottom of the cooler to prevent shifting while
underway? How hot does the exhaust vent become with high power loads?
Could it be protected from inadvertent touching? I would continue to very
carefully monitor generator cooling.

There isn't much room for it to shift. The slot in the lid holds it
well.

I would also recommend the exhaust be vented at the lowest practicable level
to ensure no carbon monoxide spills into the cockpit. One would assume that
prevailing breezes would place the bow into the wind at anchor and that
speed while underway would do the same. But, you never know when something
will happen and cause/allow carbon monoxide to get into people spaces.
Perhaps the most dangerous situation would be using the genny while tied to
the dock. A few carefully placed carbon monoxide monitors/alarms would
provide an acceptable comfort level.

It's on the upper swim platform with the exhaust near the engine vent.
I always run it when running the genny. Also, I have CO monitors in
the cockpit and cabin.

-Greg

That might be OK in the cooler parts of the world, but a bit dodgy perhaps in the
tropics - ie as that is where you would use the genny for extended periods to run
air conditioning

David

wrote:

.... I believe generator companies typically
rate their generators for operation at an ambient temperature up to
100F. That would mean you would have to heat your garage, for example,
up to 100F and then put the generator in the enclosure inside the
garage to run the heat tests.

I would guess that use in the tropics would require a different type of
generator -- maybe one that is water cooled? Actually, I would tend to
doubt if most air-cooled generators are even suitable for use in places
like Las Vegas or Arizona for instance in the summer.

quietguy wrote:
That might be OK in the cooler parts of the world, but a bit dodgy perhaps in the
tropics - ie as that is where you would use the genny for extended periods to run
air conditioning

David

wrote:

.... I believe generator companies typically
rate their generators for operation at an ambient temperature up to
100F. That would mean you would have to heat your garage, for example,
up to 100F and then put the generator in the enclosure inside the
garage to run the heat tests.

I think you're going to need to rig a big computer cooling fan into the side
to get real air through that box.

Would I sell that on eBay? Only if I didn't mind inviting lawsuits for the
first one that catches on fire. Plastic fires are very nasty, especially
with gasoline nearby.

I do, however, think it is a promising idea. Thanks for sharing.

Bill Longyard


"dene" wrote in message
oups.com...
A couple of months ago, somebody in a boating forum described using a
modified cooler to house a honda 2000 genny. I passed on those posts to
my talented stepson and today we came up with a proto-type, that he may
eventually market for roughly $150 on E-bay. This is the first one with
more improvements envisioned before it goes to market. This cooler is a
Coleman 5 day, 100 qt. we got on sale at Walmart for $35. Only problem
with it is that it's not high enough, forcing us to cut a hole into the
top of the door.

Here are some pictures with comments in the captions. Please share all
opinions.

http://tinyurl.com/2kqwjd

Outlay was as follows....

$35 cooler
$10 ventilation pipe/exhaust
$30 padded cooler cover

Plus an hour or two of labor.

Results....this modified cooler cut down the sound about a third. Most
of the remaining noise comes from the exhaust. Also pertinant, the
gen-box looks good on the back of my upper swim platform and it
provides waterproofing for the genny, which will allow me to use it in
the rain. (We get a little here).

Again....don't hesitate to be critical and/or creative.

Thanks!

-Greg Schoenberg
"She Said Yes"
2002 Regal 2465
Kalama, Washington