I have had several ask how I made the Harbor Freight inverter
generator quieter.
The noise level is sightly higher than the Honda Eu2000 uit.
We have several of the Hondas at work along with the HF Predator and we have compared them side by side several times.
I saw a web posting on silencing the Harbor Freight unit by doing something about the noise coming from the carburetor which is closely coupled to the intake valve.
The pulsations from the intake is the most noticeable "rap" to the sound pattern.
The fix ix to look at the air cleaner and see how it is made.
The plastic box just has a layer of filter foam laid in it to get the dirt out of the airflow.
This filter does little if anything about this pulsations and the bottom is open where the air comes in.
What was done was the bottom was sealed with a piece of stiff rubber with 4 holes cut in it.
The holes have four small tubes installed almost to the end of the air cleaner box. These tubes act like baffles to help with the pulses. These tubes are about 3/4" od and can be plastic. The four of them flow enough air for the
generator and I can notice no running difference.
I will post some pictures when I get a chance to take some. I have some from the original post at work, but I can't seem to be able to search that out here and now.
The result is a
generator that on the APP for my Note II reads the same as the Honda at the same power level.
Of course we can't compare at the max output of the HF Generator, but it doesn't seem any louder under those conditions.
The drawback is the HF reputation and the greater
weight.
There does not seem to be a big difference in the reliability so far.
0 problems / run times for each is the same "Number" for both.
$445 delivered vs more money for the Honda means you have to make some allowances.
My advice is to add one of those hour meters like I did and change the oil regularly.
Run in the generator for about 10 hours and then drain and install a good quality synthetic oil.