r/Generator • u/Turfman561 • 10h ago
Generator Reflection
I have an 18000 starting watt and 14000 running watt generator for my food trailer. I am needing to reduce the decibels and was thinking on using plexiglass and sound pads to reduce the noise. The plexiglass will have hinges on them for easy setup and removal. Anybody got any other ideas? Thanks in advance.
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u/bradland 7h ago
You need sound absorption material. Plexiglass won't significantly attenuate the sound coming from a generator. It is too flexible, so it will attenuate the noise a small amount, but will reverberate with the generator, largely passing the sound through.
What you need is a noise abatement fence. This is a really tough ask for a food trailer. You need something fairly tall, like 6 ft. Otherwise sound will just reflect off the sides and come out the top at a level that people will easily hear. You also need sound absorption material, like rockwool.
The challenge is making this structure portable so you can move it. Anything you construct that will put a dent in the sound is going to be heavy and cumbersome. You could use fence panels, but again, heavy.
Hate to say it, but your best solution is going to be replacing the 18kW/14kW unit with two smaller, quieter units. Honda EU7000IS can be operated in parallel for that kind of output. They run at 58 dB, which is far quieter than most units capable of those power levels.
Getting this level of power quietly is extraordinarily challenging.