I have a friend who keeps his generator in his garage (primarily for his well) and vents it through the wall (think dryer vent) via a short length of flex pipe. He has battery-powered CO detectors in the house and garage and has never had a problem. When the garage door is closed you don't have to walk very far until you can't hear it. Warning: the metal flex pipe gets very hot -- you have to know how to isolate it when you go through the wall (I have no idea).

You can also get a high-quality aftermarket muffler/resonator:

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/faqsupertrap.cfm

mugwump

Correct. I've lived here 30 years, now, and can only remember about a total of 14 hours without power. Eight of that was during the Nortridge quake. The inverter ones are much quieter but much more expensive. I'm not sure if we would get enough use out of it to make it worthwhile.

I may consider the tri-fuel option, also. It still makes it a cheap investment.

Pat

I thought I'd share this idea with all of you. Although it seems like a great project I am not so sure it is cost efficent. For the amount of money it would cost for me to buy a template, get an alternator, fan belt, and pulley, I think I'd be in the range for a good reliable generator. What do you all think. Is it worth it?


http://theepicenter.com/tow02077.html

Wow!

Redneck engineers, trying to make a homemade generator out of an old mower or edger engine, in EUGENE, OREGON!!

Who 'da thunk it??:D

TR

I just scanned the plans, that could be tie-dye engineering but good stuff just the same.

Note: The guys are using .190 of an inch thick aluminum for the main mounting brackets, that's going to be prone to wearing and cracking at the bolt holes with age and vibration.
That bracket would be better made from mild steel of equal or maybe slightly thicker dimension. Yes it will be slightly heavier to pack but much stronger.

Those plans are great for me. I just recently had a pump failure on my Honda pressure washer and it was cheaper to buy a new one than it was to get a new pump. May give me a project for the weekend since its not safe out on the lake with all the drunks!

Sir,
Unless your working for the NSA, those computer fans won't even begin to help cool anything gas/piston engine fired. Think bigger.

Understood, Mr. Harsey. The idea was to improve the air flow for a "box-in-a-box" like the one here:

http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/generator.htm

It might not even be necessary, but it gives me an additional option. I don't have the width available in the dog run to construct the 3 box enclosure illustrated.

Thanks for covering my six, sir.

Pat

A 4 inch 12V marine bilge fan would move lots of air.

So long as I had power I dont think the noise would bother me very much.

Wouldn't bother me, either. I'm just not eager to become the "Blue Light Special" in a neighborhood of the un-dead...I mean the un-prepared. ;)

Thanks for the bilge fan idea.

Pat

PSM,
Just thinking out loud, I've never seen a bilge fan but that sounds promising.
Somewhere in my industrial supply catalogs I've seen in-line fans for ducting (to assist airflow over long runs of duct) and am wondering if they are like a bilge fan.
Got Googlin' to do now.

Edited to add; After some Googlin', Bilge fans are built for marine conditions, inline duct fans are not. For year around outdoor use I'd sure be looking at the bilge fans.

X

Bill,

It's just a small 6.5hp 3500w portable. It will be stowed in the garage when not needed.

Thanks for doing my homework for me. ;) I'll look into the bilge fans.

Any opinion on the box-in-a-box idea?

Pat

The box looks like it would work. I've seen gas generators made fairly quiet by just digging a hole in the ground and putting plywood over the top and you already have the vent system figured out.

Your article about "box in box" references lead for sound insulation, we used lead lined heavy foam rubber on our logging yarder (V-12 Cummins Engine) to get the noise down to acceptable OSHA standards, also seen it used to make a Beech AT-11 twin engine aircraft(bomber trainer) quieter inside. That stuff could be used on the underside of the plywood top covering the generator in the ground.

So people who live in urban enviornments are hopelessly screwed?

I live in downtown San Francisco in a neighborhood favoured by mendicants and other n'er do wells; so if it ever came down to a lawless-type situation, I am asking my local gangbangers for a deal on whatever they have lying around. It is they who'll be doing my stockpiling of ammunition.

In all seriousness though, it comes down to an issue of space. In the spirit of rugged American individualism, it's assumed that everybody owns a house with ample storage space; combined with the inevitable fact that a car is required material, then you have the logistics and transport covered.

San Francisco on the other hand, like NYC, is an "old-city" with a high-density downtown that precludes car-buying. Plus, since I probably pay more for rent than most folk here do for their mortgages (and get less in return), it simply is not possible to store ninety-days worth of anything in my apartment; so I'm pretty much reliant on city services in the event of a major anything. As has been discussed here and elsewhere, it's believed that those'll be overwhelmed in the initial response (as was witnessed during 11 September and the Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attacks).

But this is all besides the point. The point is, modifying what is essentially a suburban-rural survival plan to accomodate urban dwellers. To wit, this is what I've come up with (mind you, it's late and I'm tired):

1.) Splitting your cache. I for one keep a moderately sized disaster preparedness kit in my apartment; it won't last ninety days, but if used properly it should last two weeks. In all sense, that should be enough to last until I get to the main stockpile. Since space is such a premium here in the Bay Area, it would be optimally located further down the Penninsula in, say, a self-storage unit(?).

I know the idea is to have it all with you, but given space requirements and the possibility of a last-minute EVAC, this seems definitely feasible, if not viable.

2.) Since everything tends to happen in close-quarters in an urban enviornment, I would second TR's recommendation of the shotgun since the idea is home-, personal defense. I doubt you'll be shooting at anything beyond 25m in the city, unless you were some sort of Evel Antagonist. I would also round it out with a revolver and a bat, an aluminum one preferably.

3.) A well planned EVAC route. Since congestion is a city-dweller's worst nightmare, it would be vital to have multiple routes out of the city planned out, falling back to each one if the previous one went FUBAR.

Anyway, that's just a couple thoughts I had. Feel free to expand upon them, or shoot them down. Or, ignore them completely. I don't mind. ;)

-KS