mobocracy
Active Member
My 2007 310DA came with a Kohler 5ECD but no sound shield. The admiral thinks it's way too loud and I'm inclined to agree. The noise is worst in the cockpit and it seems to be just the sound of the engine running. The noise at the exhaust port is entirely tolerable and seems quite quiet and even in the cabin it's not that bad. Strangely in the water you can't hear it all (I don't make a habit of allowing swimming while its running due CO, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't totally annoying anyone anchored nearby).
I called Kohler and found they actually still make the original sound shield for this generator and got the part number (GM41781-KP1) but googling that part number brings up a really unpleasant price, like close to $2100 and I want to guess that installing it involves more than I have the skills to do.
In looking for solutions, I stumbled across Great Southern Insulation:
http://stopthesound.com/generator-soundproofing/soft-generator-cover/
I called them and was quoted a price of $1250 for the kit (metal frame with velcro-attached panels and exhaust fan), which is still a lot but less of a lot if it makes running the genny more tolerable, especially to the admiral. The catch seems to be that in order for it to be effective (and I think even mountable), I would need a platform under the generator for both attachment of the frame and for sealing the base of the panels to prevent sound leakage. I'm pretty sure mine is just mounted to a drip pan than spans the stringers. I haven't looked closely, but I suspect I could fit a sheet of marine plywood under the drip pan without re-doing all the hoses and wiring but it would probably require some effort and a winch to lift it enough. The bonus of a wooden platform might be more vibration dampening and more yet if I added some rubber bushings.
Anyone had any experience with this product or installation or other clever ideas for quieting an unshielded generator? My other cheaper idea is just more insulation inside the engine compartment (obviously the right kind meant for engine rooms), although I suspect that there's just too many places for noise leakage for this to be all that effective.
I called Kohler and found they actually still make the original sound shield for this generator and got the part number (GM41781-KP1) but googling that part number brings up a really unpleasant price, like close to $2100 and I want to guess that installing it involves more than I have the skills to do.
In looking for solutions, I stumbled across Great Southern Insulation:
http://stopthesound.com/generator-soundproofing/soft-generator-cover/
I called them and was quoted a price of $1250 for the kit (metal frame with velcro-attached panels and exhaust fan), which is still a lot but less of a lot if it makes running the genny more tolerable, especially to the admiral. The catch seems to be that in order for it to be effective (and I think even mountable), I would need a platform under the generator for both attachment of the frame and for sealing the base of the panels to prevent sound leakage. I'm pretty sure mine is just mounted to a drip pan than spans the stringers. I haven't looked closely, but I suspect I could fit a sheet of marine plywood under the drip pan without re-doing all the hoses and wiring but it would probably require some effort and a winch to lift it enough. The bonus of a wooden platform might be more vibration dampening and more yet if I added some rubber bushings.
Anyone had any experience with this product or installation or other clever ideas for quieting an unshielded generator? My other cheaper idea is just more insulation inside the engine compartment (obviously the right kind meant for engine rooms), although I suspect that there's just too many places for noise leakage for this to be all that effective.