What resources to look at for building a quiet generator compartment?

[buswarrior]

Temperature monitoring for the enclosure is a good idea.

And an access port for deploying fire suppression when it catches fire.

Cooking a generator gets expensive...

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[belfert]

After my trip to Menards today I am seriously considering waiting to do my generator project until after I am vaccinated in maybe a few months.  Absolutely nobody was social distancing at Menards.  At least mask wearing is still happening both because Menards requires it and the state requires it.  I know I will be visiting Menards and Home Depot quite a few times during this project.

My original plan was to try to get most of this work done in the five or six weeks before Memorial day when the heat and humidity is not yet an issue.  The weather today is 60 degrees, but this is unusual weather.  It is typically late April before it is consistently warm enough to work outside and the ground isn't mush from the thaw.

[DoubleEagle]

I'm double vaccinated, but I still wear a mask, and I would go during a weekday, but not on Saturday or Sunday. It's best to pursue your plans while they are fresh in your mind. I have noticed that Home Depot has some sound insulation products on their website that I have not seen at Lowe's or Menards. If you have a rear view camera that might cover tire surveillance.

[belfert]

From late October to late December I was at either Menards or Home Depot almost every day and occasionally twice in a day.  People were a lot better about social distancing back then.  I was working on my solar project for my house and I kept running into issues that required buying more parts.  I've been lucky enough not to get COVID and want to keep it that way.  I tend to get very sick when I do get a cold or flu so I probably wouldn't get a mild case of COVID.

[belfert]

My plan after digesting everything that has been said here is to build a steel enclosure for the engine and generator head.  A friend of mine is going to draw up the pieces in a CAD program so I can have them cut by a shop.  It will cost me a bit to have a shop cut the pieces, but they will be much straighter than me using a cutoff wheel in a grinder or a sabre saw/reciprocating saw to cut the pieces.

I will definitely use foam with mass loaded vinyl on the inside for sound insulation.  I am not sure if I will put something else behind the foam or not.  I am not going to try to do anything fancy like I was thinking at first.

[belfert]

How do you guys deal with sealing up the sound when you build a door(s) on a steel enclosure?  Not sealing up the paths that sound could travel around the door(s) is sorta like insulating a house and then not having weatherstripping on the front door.

[6805eagleguy]

My door closes on weather stripping on each side. Hard to see but you can see the weather stripping at the top of this picture

Basically just foam with adhesive backing

[TomC]

Where you bought the generator is the best advice and Wrico has all the supplies needed. I bought two sheets of 3/4" quiet board to build my compartment-not cheap but worth it. Dick also has the insulation to line the inside of the cabinet, blowers, fans, remote radiators, etc. Good Luck, TomC

[belfert]

I'm not getting any real help from Wrico which is why I asked here.  Dick is willing to help, but he is very rarely in the office anymore and I only talked to him once.

[buswarrior]

Overlap/oversize the door, easiest way to pinch some insulating material between door and case.

A couple of nuts welded on, and some thumb screws will do a sharp looking job?

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[belfert]

I had a good discussion with Justin at Wrico after my last post here.  I mentioned having someone make me a metal box and he said you really want to find someone who makes boxes/enclosures, and is not just a metal fabricator.  He gave me the names of a couple of companies he has used locally in Oregon.  He used a different fabricator once because he needed something quick, and he said it was obvious their business is not making boxes/enclosures.  I've looked a little bit to see if there is an existing metal box of some kind that would work, but side boxes for trucks are generally not tall enough.

Justin said there is really nothing wrong with a plywood enclosure.  He recommended if I go with steel to do 14 gauge, but he also said something would need to be done to strengthen the 14 gauge to prevent it from vibrating and transmitting sound. 

I am leaning towards doing a plywood enclosure with a good grade of hardwood plywood as it is something I can easily do myself. 

[chessie4905]

make it with a multi ply plywood. has more layers. Ive seen it in oak and birch veneer. There is also marine plywood, said to be multi ply. Personally havent seen it. the others are at Lowes and Home Depot and Menards, etc. You could use perforated angle iron to reinforce the corners.

[belfert]

I will absolutely use a good grade of plywood if I go that route.  Menards sells some pretty nice 3/4" plywood for about $55 per sheet.  I have no idea if I really need 3/4" or not.  I am not worried about cost so much as reducing weight.  The box really isn't structural other than holding up the squirrel cage fan.

[bobofthenorth]

You might want to consider using 1/2 or 3/8 plywood and laminating some lead flashing between 2 sheets of plywood to end up with a 1" or 3/4" finished thickness. Personally I'd stay with the 2 x 1/2" layers to avoid any vibration in the plywood.

[belfert]

What glue would you use to laminate plywood and lead sheet?  I think contact cement would be perfect except for the fact it doesn't like much heat.  Apparently, even sunlight can cause contact cement to fail.  I wonder if epoxy would work?  My biggest issue would be clamping everything together while the epoxy cures.