Portable Generator Temp Sound Shield??

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

OK, I have one of my daughters getting married this summer on our property (same as house) but far enough from power that I need to think how to power the party tent.

A) Prefered choice is a temporary power pole from the garage service with wire that will be used for my shop build in the future. But will run some serious $$

B) Other option is to run my portable generator behind the tent with a temporary sound shield. It is a Generac 17500 so will give all the power we could possibly use but would be noisy.
Idea would be to build a three sided and angled roof deflecting sound away from the tent / party. (Think band shell, but pointed away from the party)

Framed up with 2x material sheated in OSB with air gap then 2" foam.

Thoughts???

Yes I WANT Option A also, but thinking this through before I try to get the go ahead for the wire from the better half.

 

[toomany]

What about some cubical panels from craigslist? They are designed to absorb sound, should be able to find a few cheap.

 

[rlitman]

Deflect the sound up. Roof is not necessary, just the three walls. I'd fill the walls with dirt, not use foamboard.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Just park a minivan where ya want it, 'n put the generator inside the van, with a couple windows cracked open on the side away from the party,....

 

[Radio Ron w4ron]

We use generators to power our ham radio setups when we go out for field day,
we've found that the best thing is to deflect the sound, we use a 4x8 sheet of plywood
cut in half and hinged together, just set them about 2 feet from the generator
between it and where you don't want the sound. It'll bounce the sound away, it
works great.

LLAP

 

[tymbo]

hay bales

 

[Bigbandguy]

Depending on how much power you need in the tent, you could bury a direct burial wire with a ditch witch (one of the little slitter types) with a wire big enough to handle everything in the tent... bury it just deep enough to avoid easy breakage and then pull it up when finished...

This is a temporary installation, not something you are planning to leave in place.... this would be a heckuva lot quieter than listening to a gen set even muffled.

 

[Binrat]

http://www.alpharubicon.com/altenergy/gensetquiet.htm add a muffler to your generator

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Need more than one circuit is the thing.

Food heaters
Coffee pots
DJ Equipment
Lights
Etc.

We did a couple graduation parties with running one or two temporary circuits to the tent and I spent more time resetting breakers than anything else. Not playing that game again.

I suspect I will do the wire for the shop on a temporary installation basis, just exploring options since I have the generator already.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Binrat,

I read that site this morning, the muffler would be something in addition to a sound deflector for the generator if I go that route.

 

[rockwithjason]

Check with your local rental yard. I would bet that you can rent a sound dampened generator and the cordsand spider boxes for a reasonable price. The sound dampened units wont need any barrier except some distance

 

[theoldwizard1]

Deflect the sound up. Roof is not necessary, just the three walls. I'd fill the walls with dirt, not use foamboard.

+1 !

I would stand the 1/2" OSB on end so it is 8' high or maybe cut them to 6' and use the other 2' sections for one wall.

Dirt would be good, but building a double wall, strong enough to hold it, and then filling it would be a pain.

Some times you can find used 2" foam board on CL.

 

[bczygan]

Combination of quiet generator and sound deflection as the Ham (W4RON) mentioned above.

You could also make your own temporary pole or poles out of dimensional lumber and string wire(s) or extension cords. Multiple lengths of smaller wire can be used for the garage later.

Or do a combination of both.

 

[brewchief]

How far from real power would you be?

Sunbelt has 6-4 cords and spider boxes for rent, either use them to move your gennie farther away or use them to bring big power out to the tent.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Tent will be around 200 feet from the 200A panel in my garage.

 

[toplessHO]

Tent will be around 200 feet from the 200A panel in my garage.

go for the temp power with cord
or rent a couple of the little Honda ones that can parallel
they are so quiet you can stand next to them and talk

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

I will have to look into the rental option for running larger temporary lines from the garage.

I had not considered renting the cable required.