muffler noise

[David414 289]

I reviewed many past threads about mufflers; for a new Toro replacement  (which are terribly expensive), substitute mufflers, and stack mufflers. Has anyone tested their muffler noise level with a decibel meter? What registers as loud or quiet is in the ear of the beholder. 😊

 

The only way to judge sound is through a decibel meter. You can down load a free APP for your smart phone and do a test, which I did on 2 tractors.

My 1989, 414-8, Magnum Kohler 14 hp with factory muffler which is in very good condition, registered 90 decibels at the operator seat.

 A new to me,1991,  312-h, Magnum Kohler 12 hp with a very rusty, factory muffler but with no holes, registered 95 decibels at the operator seat.  I can tell It is louder than the 414.

 

Curious as to what readings other Members are showing with stack mufflers or existing mufflers from the operator seat? Just how quiet is a new muffler, stack, substitute or factory?

Thanks!

[ebinmaine 67,717]

Excellent topic!!

 

Could you please PM me the link for the decibel meter?

 

I'd like to test the 4 we have. 

 

Patriot Horse is much more quiet than Cinnamon Horse. 

It would be VERY interesting to see the difference on a scale. 

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,609]

[Achto 27,624]

Interesting topic

[Maxwell-8 4,277]

I got a glass pack on one of my non WH mower. more for show then silencing it, does kinda sound like a loud atv. 

 

And not to forget, a muffler can only do so much, i found that a big percentageof noise comes from the engine block. If it where to be water cooled the sound waves would be damped by the water.

 

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,609]

4 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Excellent topic!!

 

Could you please PM me the link for the decibel meter?

 

I'd like to test the 4 we have. 

 

Patriot Horse is much more quiet than Cinnamon Horse. 

It would be VERY interesting to see the difference on a scale. 

 

I have the NIOSH SLM app. Free.

Works well. 

[Stepney 2,325]

After many a mile on a 60's snowmobile .. no WH is loud..

 

I have a C160 muffler in nice original shape on my Electro, and it's quite tame. Friend has an old Donaldson off a snowmobile on a C145 that is whisper quiet, the majority of the noise being mechanical rattling. 
Those old Donaldson's are a half decent replacement for the old WH front mounted mufflers on the B and C series, FWIW. Old sled mufflers never rust out on account of all the oil they burnt.

[Roger R 448]

Great topic to consider.  After years of loud equipment, mowers, chain saws, shooting etc. with no hearing protection I have a continuous ringing in my ears.  I do nothing without protection now (70 next Mo)  "We get old too quick and smart too late"  Loud exhaust sounds great, but the results can be rather unpleasant. 

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

7 hours ago, David414 said:

noise level

 

I don't call it noise.  it's MUSIC to my ears! 

 

(my tinnitus is from 35 years of pickin' at the banjer... ever measure the sound level off the head of a good 5 string?  LOUD!)

Edited January 12, 2021 by Jeff-C175

[Lee1977 6,673]

9 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Excellent topic!!

 

Could you please PM me the link for the decibel meter?

 

I'd like to test the 4 we have. 

 

Patriot Horse is much more quiet than Cinnamon Horse. 

It would be VERY interesting to see the difference on a scale. 

 

Patriot has just half as many horses as Cinnamon.

[ebinmaine 67,717]

4 hours ago, Lee1977 said:

Patriot has just half as many horses as Cinnamon.

Oh yes. Quite true. 

 

I've had that same muffler that's on the 8 HP mounted on a 12. It was also nice and quiet there. 

 

I'd be interested to see what the difference would be between the existing muffler and that one on Cinnamon at 16 HP.  I doubt I'll take the time to adapt everything over though. 

 

 

[AHS 1,443]

my power king is the loudest, no doubt!! But my 8hp Kohler is pretty quiet though!!

[ebinmaine 67,717]

6 minutes ago, AHS said:

my power king is the loudest, no doubt!! But my 8hp Kohler is pretty quiet though!!

Any kind of a muffler on that?

[squonk 41,169]

I have identical mufflers on 2 tractors. My 953 sounds like a Farmall Cub (quiet). My 1467 Special (K321) barks. No other mods to the engine.

[953 nut 55,372]

22 minutes ago, squonk said:

953 sounds like a Farmall Cub (quiet). My 1467 Special (K321) barks. No other mods to the engine

            Ignition timing?    ?    ?     ?

[ebinmaine 67,717]

9 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

            Ignition timing?    ?    ?     ?

I've had that thought on Cinnamon in the past but I refuse to mess with it because it runs and drives quite well.

[AHS 1,443]

51 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Any kind of a muffler on that?

Just a can muffler.  I’m actually thinking about running the exhaust under the frame and thinking about one of those stack type mufflers. Sometime! Kinda like a Ford 8N.

[squonk 41,169]

32 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

            Ignition timing?    ?    ?     ?

One of my thoughts Richard. The 14 I got used and just bolted it on the tractor. Starts right up  and runs excellent so I've been afraid to even mess with it. Now that I'm retired and have time, I may put the timing light on it this spring.

[squonk 41,169]

Just remembered, The 14 is a newer engine with the older engine shroud for the starter/Genny. I will have to put the timing hole in it. good thing I have the time now! 

[tom2p 2,394]

13 hours ago, Stepney said:

After many a mile on a 60's snowmobile .. no WH is loud..

 

Ain't that the truth ! 
 

I always wore earplugs when I snowmobiled - even when wearing full face helmet (which I used most often).  And still had ringing ears (and continue to this day).

 

For me it was the mechanical rattling / whirl (as you mentioned above) from the transmission / drive unit more than the exhaust note. 

And I never used earplugs riding dirt bikes (although I did use earplugs riding street bike due to wind noise).

 

[formariz 11,987]

9 hours ago, 953 nut said:

            Ignition timing?    ?    ?     ?

Great comment. Usually no one thinks of timing as an influence on exhaust/engine sound. It is also a hard one to judge or compare since not many have identical engines with identical mufflers side by side. I have 10 k91 engines all running and being used on a regular basis, some not on tractors but used for other functions. I have adjusted timing on every one of them using different methods, sometimes intentionally deviating from the specified settings. The sound changes dramatically when settings are altered. Quite honestly I many times leave a certain setting because I like the way the engine sounds and performs that way rather than having a "specifications correct" setting. Just as sometimes listening to some I say to myself, it does not sound good and proceed to increase or decrease timing. It is many times the solution to an engine one does not feel able to adjust by changing carburetor settings. 

[Maxwell-8 4,277]

I have a mower, where i made the exhaust come out the back of the machine. on the way to the back, i could install multiple mufflers, we did that also on utv for hunting, quite that down a lot

I mentioned it somewhere else: the more pipe you have after the muffler, the more work the muffler will do.

[RJR49 129]

I tried a spliter and two muffin mufflers. Didn't do any good. I also had a 1.75HP air cooled outboard motor. The exhaust was underwater. It wasn't as loud as a 10HP Kohler but still loud. My 3HP Merc is water cooled with an underwater exhaust don't need sound suppressors  with it. Im guessing the guys saying the noise is mechanical are right.  If anyone has a solution I would love to hear it.

Edited January 12, 2021 by RJR49

[Pullstart 62,923]

On 1/11/2021 at 2:18 PM, Maxwell-8 said:

I got a glass pack on one of my non WH mower. more for show then silencing it, does kinda sound like a loud atv. 

 

And not to forget, a muffler can only do so much, i found that a big percentageof noise comes from the engine block. If it where to be water cooled the sound waves would be damped by the water.

 

 

I’d like to see that glass pack some time...

 

 

[Pullstart 62,923]

22 hours ago, Stepney said:

After many a mile on a 60's snowmobile .. no WH is loud..

 

This WH is loud...