Links to ALL products I recommend in the description of this video!

I have a Zombie Box for my Generac GP17500E generator....yes it was expensive but so was the generator but I just wanted to make sure it was quite and protected. I live in Texas and we have had some pretty severe weather the past few years...both my generator and the Zombie Box has been a life saver.....kept our whole house running and our neighbors didn't complain about the noise.

@rockyramos27542661

10 ай бұрын

That's awesome man

@soundproofguide

9 ай бұрын

Happy to hear that!! Thanks for sharing!

@BraveFart69

7 ай бұрын

Yessir I'm in the Dallas area and currently building a generator casa lol. No more snowpocalypse for us

@willworknow

22 күн бұрын

Question: I'm thinking about running crypto miners 24/7 in that box...would your neighbors be OK with your gen, 24/7 365?

You never know when you need one, until you need one. Great episode.

Very interesting discussion, interesting design considerations.

I have a heavy duty Gen tent for my S 14000 over 3 years and absolutely love it. It's been through tropical storm force winds and a couple of blizzards, didn't even faze it. Doesn't muffle the sound. Which is not a concern for me.

I can see the benefit of getting an enclosure during emergencies. You might not want to advertise that you have power when others don't. In those cases I think the zombie box makes sense. Because who cares about a warranty if you are trying not to attract the wrong kind of attention

Thank you

My quiet box is designed to be run primarily in the winter, so overheating is not the issue. Running a small heater in the enclosure for a few hours to warm the generator for an easier start is what I am designing, with the ability to open ends as needed for ventilation. Planning to use 2 x 4's and rigid insulation with magnets to hold together and pull apart.

@Honestandtruth

10 ай бұрын

But sometimes Power outage happened in Summer too

I just bought my first genny, an open frame 6.5kW unit. Was thinking of buying a second hand bike shed and adding fans, sound proofing and a thermostat.

Thanks for the video! I will buy a plastic enclosure, I could build one out of wood but I'm very much a function over form guy so don't know how it would look if I built it. :)

We live in the country and our only need is to deflect the noise away from our own house so 1st we point the muffler exit away from the house...2nd we lean a 4 x 8 or at least a 4 x 6 piece of plywood on the house side and 3rd we place a piece on top of the generator to protect from precipitation...

I have a 10 KW dual fuel generator and looking at building a cinderblock wall enclosure with rebar and concrete in the cylinders, I plan on running air intake underground with screen on the 4" intake so that I can use the 55 degree ground to cool the air year round. I thought about using fans on the air intake and also adding additional exhaust to help keep the generator cool. The regular exhaust would be connected to a separate pipe to keep all the carbon monoxide mostly out of the enclosure. I like the idea of having a remote temperature sensor in the enclosure to keep an eye on things.

@deehomer8194

3 ай бұрын

Im building a hush house for my 10500w gen using patio blocks underground for cool air intake and exhausting it out the top and Will be using a gable fan higher up in ducting as to create a venture and starts to pull air also as heat rises. We use this same idea for jets during engine runs in our hush house and you can not hear the F-18s at high power

I think I'll keep looking.

If I was building one I'd start with rubber sheets for sound proofing then use pegboard for the inside cover on the rubber with plywood on the outside with vents on both ends added dc fans with thermostat heat regulator. Leave enough airspace

Just a tip for those building their own, set you cooking fan to blow over your generator, build an air intake with offset baffles, air flows around corners, sound not so much. Same with the venting out, build a hot air baffled box. An exhaust tip, if you can get an old metal grease barrel, baffle it as well with offset metal half circles inside, insulate it with Rockwool good for 2000 degrees .... if you have to $, keep the rock wool in place with perforated metal or aluminum. Same with the interior of your main box. I used an old top load washing machine body for mine to house my champion generator. The whole thing sits on a short base inside my aluminum shed ....with the exhaust barrel outside. Bit of work and $ but well worth the effort. My next step will be to use rockwool boards on the interior of the shed which I reinforced with 2x4 stud wall framing and a beam to support my roof ridge for our Canadian winters ....

It seems like Igan could just add 4 legs to their metal frames and then you could plop it over an inverter generator. No need to set it directly on top of the generator like you would for a open frame. Sorta like a card table.

Working on building one to protect it from the elements mainly snow.

@soundproofguide

9 ай бұрын

Best of luck!

i’m going to throw my two cents in part of my personal experiences with Generators and Soundproofing has been in direct relationship with my love and lifetime Passion of Boating Marine Generators do usually have Soundproofing Cases or Boxes that work fairly well for keeping them quiet but a big difference is most of those generators or Water Cooled so i’m wondering if trying to Soundproof Air Cooled Generators in general isn’t such a great idea overall let’s face it if it was that’s what the big Generator names would use and sell they have the R&D resources like Engineering ,Money ,and everything else they need to build the best and keep their Company as being known for having the Quietest , most efficient or whatever they could use for marketing IMO. i think part of the correct Concept would be working with or around using the already very quiet Suitcase style Generator /Inverter units that already exist i personally have been using Honda Brand ones for nearly 40 years ! and i love them right out of the .box they are fairly quiet as is ,reliable ,low operating Cost, easy to find parts or info on ,and somewhat of a affordable option another fine feature is the Parelleling of multiple units being so easy to give you lots of extra Flexibilty

@soundproofguide

Жыл бұрын

I completely agree Craig about it not being such a good idea sticking a generator in an enclosure. And the companies that builds these generators would void your warranty for doing so. Thanks for leaving a comment!

@cayrick

3 ай бұрын

Wise words and well said Craig. I have seen videos of a 20kw water cooled generac and one that is air cooled. The air cooled gen is much louder. Personally I went through the brain damage of enclosing and soundproofing an air cooled open frame 5kw generator.. It sounds like a great DIY project but every part of it posed technical challenges. The enclosure is cinder block with a metal roof and metal front doors. It mimics those plastic garden sheds most people on KZread use. The technical challenges gave me lots of heartburn. - The generator is sold as gasoline and I wanted propane as there are not storage issues with infrequent use. That meant buy and install a propane conversion kit. - the lid was over 200# so that required gas struts and special fabricated lid hinges. Then you need a lid "prop" to prevent the lid from falling on your head if the gas struts fail. - Sound proofing was complicated as there can be no "sound leaks" to negate the effectiveness. Good absorbants and sound barriers are not cheap. Ouch! - Ventilation is a bitch. I ended up failing twice by installing undersized attic fans (no gen damage). On the 3rd try I got it right with a 3,000 cfm fan. This involved increasing the intake holes in the compartment from 12" sq. openings, then 14" then 16". I installed a remote thermometer and got interior temps to - Next is the issue of routing exhaust tubing (insulated for temp. control) through the compartment wall and installing intake and exhaust hoods (sound proofed) to bloick the noise by changing sound direction. Also need to think of putting a muffler on the exhaust pipe. - Then you need to think about "what if the ventilation fan fails and the compartment overheats?" This requires that you install a bimetallic shutoff switch conneccted to a control circuit on the generator (in my case the low oil level switch) connected in series. - Also you need to knock a hole in the enclosure and run a cable from the generator to the transfer switch and if you want to automate it with auto start then that will require another module. - Furthermore this is a multi step build and you tend to focus on the part you are currently focused on. That means it is a black hole project and you throw money at it until you cannot turn back. It ended up costing approx. 3x the cost of the generator and is only used in the rarest of emergencies since I also have a battery backup system. - I considered an alternate (Zombie box) but shyed away because they were evasive when I quiered them on the sound insulation product they used. The answer was "its proprietary". There is nothing proprietary about sound insulation. It is ubiquitous with many vendors over various products from MLV to foam to fiber insulation. My response was to move on. I have no experience with Zombie box products but it offers a solution that is not cheap but easy to assemble. - IMHO the only advantage of a gen on wheels in an enclosure is the fact that if portability is an issue, you can with some level of work; disconnect the wiring and exhaust piping and roll it out of its box and use it somewhere else. This is what you get yourself into when you comine a love of DIY projects and combine this with an obsessive, compulsive parsonality disorder. Don't get me wrong! It presented me with lots of challenges and problems to solve and did give me a sense of satisfaction but not a new meaning for life. Ask me, wiould I do it over again? Absolutely not. For all the reasons Craig gave, I would go for an off the shelf water cooled, enclosed Generac unit where whole team of engineers have been involved in the development of the product and you just build a pad and plug it in. Craig articulated this more eloquently than myself in fewer words. BUY AN OFF THE SHELF ENCLOSED GENERATOR, KOHLER, GENERAC, OR OTHER, PREFERABLY WATER COOLED (QUITER) AND LEAVE THE HEADACHES AND BRAIN DAMAGE TO OTHERS".

I just want to build a box with casters that holds our Honda 2000 and Champion 7000. I’ll have it in the garage and will just wheel it out. I have a sub panel the Honda plugs into to run lights, power furnace,fridge , freezer, internet and TV. The 7000 hooks to the main transfer switch and can be started with a fob to run the pump and other large loads. I want the heat from the Honda to keep the Champion warm as we live in Alaska.

I am building one with a small plastic shed and 3 1/2" thermo shield insulation and a vent and fan.

The fully enclosed inverter generators tend to pull all air in from a vent in the front and expel both exhaust and warmed air out the back. So I would think for these, you just need to make sure this airflow continues unimpeded and say focus on muffling compartments on either end if you want 360 degree sound dampening. Maybe you have a fan in the path of airflow to make sure things don't warm up too much. Just moving air around an open box isn't going to do it. You may also want to make sure your generator is on something that absorbs vibration as one of the sound transmission means is through the ground. I have seen some people replace the exhaust pipe with one they can screw on an extra home made muffler. The thing with these fully enclosed inverter generators is they tend to be pretty quiet already, so say backup power for your home nobody is going to complain as they can sit inside their home and not hear it at all, but what you still want is some way to get things as silent as possible for camping without taking up too much space. I mean you are out to enjoy nature at that point, not listen to the thrumb of a generator engine, even if it is pretty quiet and your neighbors at that point may be especially annoyed.

I always wondered how quiet generators would be if you dug a big hole beneath a shed and put it in there. A hole that would be large enough to allow for fans and ventilation. Wouldn’t you only need to worry about sound coming out of the top of the hole at that point?

I bought a bunch of Walmart pillows and just stacked them up 😌

2x6 plates for walls, 2x4 studs on 16inch centers. Stagger 16” centerson opposites sides of wall creating a gap between each side that is connected only by the plates top & bottom. Foam board on each outer portion/side of wall. On inside…. Use 1x4 length wise on top of foam boarb and line with desired matial ie drywall or plywood I used plywood & or peg board. Doubles as storage for handle tools & “longer tools” like shovels, rakes, posthole digger & etc. included also is 30 gallon air compressor @ peg board wall fir stuff not affected by heat, not commonly used but needed. Extension cords & air hoses also Generator & Air compressor mounted solid and made as a skid so I can pick up & move with tractor & forks hut can also be mounted on small trailer to move around for farm/storm use. One thing I dont see here is people taking into account shielding generators from storm. It doesnt help is generator is wiped out during storm.

It takes a special kind of gullibility to pay as much as a zombie box for a simple sound barrier. So thankful I have more sense than that.

@sages101

5 ай бұрын

Tell us you can't afford it without telling us you can not afford it 😂

@lukebrennan5780

3 ай бұрын

@@sages101 I can afford one. BUT I can make my own for 1/10 that price.

@sages101

3 ай бұрын

@lukebrennan5780 I was just trolling. I wouldn't buy that piece of junk! I could make one as well and it would probably work better too.

@mathehack1

Ай бұрын

Yeah you can build a small dog house style shed and insulate it with rock wool and some fans. It'd cost 10X's less and look 10x's better.

I’m so into generators, I made a small shed to keep my generator inside from the weather, I also build a shed to hold my fuel too, my shed has solar lights if I need to refuel my generator,

I built my and got DOWN to 57 decibel at 15 ft. With Proper Ventilation for a Shed

@soundproofguide

Жыл бұрын

That’s awesome! You should send some pics to info@soundproofguide.com, I’d like to see what you came up with!

@cayrick

7 ай бұрын

That is impressive. Good job! In my case I built a quiet box for my 5kw Honda. Could not achieve those levels but a block wall behind the generator is an added sound barrier that keeps levels very respecable for my neighbors. My neighbor in return has an elevate lot and his generator faces my house and he has no sound barrier so it blasts into my bedroom. Proof you can't choose your neighbors.

104° Faranheight is the meltdown point for my generator so a constant temp of 100° is living life on the edge. How many watts is his fan??

Idk. If my power goes out for an extended period of time, the last thing I’m worried about is the comfort of my neighbors. It would be nice to have it be a little quieter but for a temporary emergency situation I just don’t see it as something to worry about.

I'm in the process of building a quiet box inside a metal shed for a rocwood 9000w generator out of wood and sound dampening foam still waiting for deliveries to finish it but what has been delivered and built dampened the sound by atleast 50% still need to add sound dampening foam and the extractor fan. going to line the shed with sound dampening foam too just to help reduce the noise further.

@soundproofguide

10 ай бұрын

Awesome! Let me know how it turns out! Pics would be great info@soundproodguide.com

The problem with your advice to get the quiet honda is it still won't be protected from the elements. So a generator shed is needed for every type of unit.

@Chris_at_Home

8 ай бұрын

I’ve been running a Honda at our off-road cabin for years. If it is stored in the cold the low oil pressure shutdown will kick in after it runs a short time. After it resets it runs fine. I also put synthetic oil in it and this helped. It is in a foam lined box with a way to control the airflow for those sub zero days.

@user-st1my3oe2s

6 ай бұрын

I built a sound box for my honda 3000is generator 5 years ago and has been it ever since

@Chris_at_Home

6 ай бұрын

@@user-st1my3oe2s We just use a 2000 at our remote cabin. We use it to charge our batteries in the winter when we are out there. I build a box With two fans that come on one at a time. I can set the generator load on the 4 K inverter and run it at a max if 10 amp load which is about 3/4 of its continuous rated power. I’ve been running it like this for about 20 years down to temperatures in the minus 20 to 30 range Fahrenheit and it has over 1200 hour in it.

I got excited by the Zombie box until I saw the hilarious price. Building my own.

@soundproofguide

3 ай бұрын

Exactly!

I am going to build one, but have one question, should I put a fan to suck in air or put a fan in the other side to suck out air and heat

@tonyz6421

9 ай бұрын

I would draw the heat and air out👍🏼

@steelforearms8309

9 ай бұрын

@@tonyz6421 thank you, I was thinking it's better because it will draw the heat out, and air will circle across the generator from the other side

@sirpurrcival

7 ай бұрын

Definitely sucking out. It has the effect of drawing air across the components of the machinery and venting the heat out. That is how they do cooling fans in computer cases too.

What we need to build it’s an enclosure to protect from EMP attack

Just to be clear, those 7000 watt inverter generators by Honda are only rated at 5500W continuous power. They can only provide 7000w for a short amount of time.

Build it

If I wanted to put a generator in a box I would purchase an rv generator like Onan that is designed to be put in a small box......

@soundproofguide

10 ай бұрын

Great idea!

I'm in a very urban area and have to figure something out

@soundproofguide

Жыл бұрын

I get ya! Best of luck!

Probably just go buy a candle, I guess

You are very pos. on Zombie Box. I walked away from them because when I called support and asked what insulation material they used I was told it was proprietary. Insulation material of all types is readily avialiable so I moved on. Other reviews of ZB have been critical of noise levels being higher than they expected.

these zombie boxes are about 1500-2500?!

Build

An acoustic enclosure made of metal is inherently flawed. I know it's to make it more durable and resistant to the elements but it's going to transfer sound far more readily than wood. You're essentially building a sound booth - no one would build a recording sound booth out of metal.

@MPGunther1

10 ай бұрын

Good point

@hanaspa

10 ай бұрын

They have a rubber coating option - what do you think that would do?

@obbzerver

9 ай бұрын

@@hanaspa I'm sure it would help but in part you're mitigating the problems of the material of the housing. You can build a much better quiet box less expensively.

@tonyz6421

9 ай бұрын

​@@hanaspaIt would over heat and probably turn off with rubber

@hanaspa

9 ай бұрын

@@tonyz6421 But it has an exhaust vent with fan. They claim the heat isn't increased regarding operating temps.

ZombieBox ain't cheap, and the cheap stuff ain't good.

ZB

Imagine building a quiet box for a quiet generator. 🤦🏻‍♂️🙄

You showed us other DIY options but you kept talking so we couldn’t hear them.

@soundproofguide

10 ай бұрын

I have the links to those very video in the description of this video so you can go see how they built it. 😊