I’m about to go deaf running two machines next to each other and I’d like to be able to start a little earlier in the mornings on my residential. I pulled a db sample today off my phone from 4 feet away the machines are 104.4 db. I didn’t check what it was near the house but I’d love to cut that way down. A motorcycle muffler maybe?
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I have an actual car muffler on my machine - vanguard, not a Honda. Reduced noise by maybe 25%?
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Wow, cool, mind sharing a pic? I definitely need to do something.
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I want to see it too
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Around the 2:00 mark. Not the most detailed view but it’s something. When it was running, walk around to side of van and you could barely hear it. Very useful when working near drive thrus.
This year i will be running it off an open trailer, so I’m interested to hear how it sounds.
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The original builder put a performance muffler on it. I later had my guy put a regular muffler and it reduced noise better.
Not sure how much this will help but I installed an 18hp clone in our golf cart. The original golf cart muffler and the muffler that came with the engine were both crazy loud. I can’t tell you how many different mufflers I bought and tried but it was a bunch. I even cut mufflers open, packed them with fiberglass, steel wool, made baffles, and welded them back up. I still couldn’t get it as quiet as what I was looking for. I tried tractor mufflers, quad, and automotive mufflers. I finally found a small car muffler that really knocked the sound down. I know it’s a Walker but I can get the part number off of it if interested.
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I would appreciate the part number when you have time
The part # woukd be awesome, thanks!
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Is there anybody OUT there? there? there?
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Why are you standing so close to a running machine? I’m always 100-200 foot from mine and the only reason I know it’s still runyis because water is still flowing…
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Both the inlet and outlet on this muffler are 1.5". If you have trouble finding the right size adapter to connect the muffler to your header let me know and I’ll weld something up.
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You must have a really long pull cord to be able to start it that far away… I’ll bet refueling is tough from that distance 
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The permissible noise exposure at 104db is roughly 7 minutes 30 seconds in a 24 hour period. Your phone also has a ±2db variance according to NIOSH research. This also could be greater if you are not using a NIOSH approved app.
I would suggest keeping a set of ear muffs by the rig and throwing them on when you are working that close.
That’s very informative and all but it doesn’t negate the fact that I want quieter machines regardless of “permissible” limits.
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Then put a muffler on it brother man! I do not know if you will have negative side effects? I would think adding back pressure and more muffler would “trap” heat and may cause premature engine failure. But I do not know for sure!
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Try some flex pipe and run it under the trailer
That’s a good idea in theory. But the sound will reverberate between the road and the trailer and may make it louder. Kind of like putting your phone in a cup when listening to music on it. It bounces the sound out and is much louder. Give it a try!
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