I don't have a mill yet, But they seem pretty loud. Why haven't they figured out a way to really muffle the sound? To silence them to make them really quiet?
If you wanted a mill that is not loud you could. Get an electric
Mill the downside is your mill is stationary
Who makes electric? I didnt think that was an option with Woodmizer. I wouldnt had minded that as I have no intention of taking mine anywhere but where I put it. I have room for it in my building but I am worried about exhaust fumes.
Yes WM does. I think Bibbyman and ElectricAl are using electric Woodmizers.
I called WoodMizer this morning and they said that the 10hp electric is only for the LT15, I have the LT10, dont really understand why it wouldnt work for the 10 but who am I to argue.
Rob
I often complain to Wood-Mizer that they treat their electric mills like red headed stepchildren. They don't advertise them or expand the electric motor option to many of their mill models. You can also get an electric motor on the LT40 Super, LT50 and LT70. I don't think a motor is optional on the LT28 or LT35.
It's possible to make a gas engine much quieter by fitting an aftermarket muffler. Wont be as quiet as an electric, but it should possible to get the engine noise down to comparable to the blade noise, and there is no point going much quieter than that.
Why don't they do it? Cost, and the engine isn't as compact any more (with a honking big car type muffler poking out the top. But on a mill you can mount a length of pipe and big can up top out of the way
But look at those little poirtable 4 stroke Honda generators for example? Much quieter than a standard Briggs $ Stratton, or even a normal Honda stationary engine.
Ian
Quotedont really understand why it wouldnt work for the 10 but who am I to argue.
If you have any kind of mechanical ability, just put one on anyway.
I put an electric motor on my Peterson WPF mill. It's interchangable with my planer.
The latest diesel engines used on Wood-Mizer are quieter than the older engines.
Besides being quieter, electric motors are dirt cheap to run and vertical maintenance free. If you don't need mobile, electric is a winner in every category.
I wanna put Cherry Bombs on the old Onan! smiley_devil
Why let the Harley guys have all the hearing loss? :D
My mill came with a 13hp honda. I swapped it out with a 20hp honda v-twin. I had clearance issues with the exhaust so I just bought some black gas pipe and a couple screw on mufflers and fabbed up a new exhaust. It sounds just like a Harley! I always wear ear plugs.
There are Mufflers, and there are Exhaust Systems....
They may not always be the same thing... :D
I put a 10 hp electric motor on my bandsaw when I built it so I would not have to hear it inside the building,all I hear is the blade.David
I have an LT40 with the 35.9 diesel. There is an optional remote controls see (command Control)
This feature allows you two great advantages
One: you are away from the noice of the engine
Two: You are away from the dust. This engine swiles the dust back to the the front of the LT40's radiator and if you do not have the option all that dust is in your face
I love it
Quote from: Delawhere Jack on February 07, 2013, 05:38:24 PM
I wanna put Cherry Bombs on the old Onan! smiley_devil
Why let the Harley guys have all the hearing loss? :D
WHAT????
Kevin
Quote from: rockman on February 07, 2013, 07:57:50 PM
Quote from: Delawhere Jack on February 07, 2013, 05:38:24 PM
I wanna put Cherry Bombs on the old Onan! smiley_devil
Why let the Harley guys have all the hearing loss? :D
WHAT????
Kevin
Cherry bombs would be fairly quiet actually. Also extending the muffler up vertically with a flapper on top will direct a lot of the sound upwards away from you.
Quote from: Schramm on February 07, 2013, 11:47:17 AM
I called WoodMizer this morning and they said that the 10hp electric is only for the LT15, I have the LT10, dont really understand why it wouldnt work for the 10 but who am I to argue.
Rob
Electric motors are HEAVY. Have to beef up the head lift stuff...
What pineywoods said, the lt10 head is not built as heavy as the lt15 head. And a 10hp electric is much heavier than a 10 hp gas. Which is why I sort of gave up putting a bigger engine on mine, it would take a bunch of beefing up to support the weight and torque.
Most engine manufacturers have optional quieter mufflers.When I had the two cylinder wisconsin engine on my bandmill I made an add on muffler clamped to the origional mufflers output. Frank C.
Make your muff out of scd.80 pipe
The mass of metal makes the music mellower.
So the kohler 7hp weighs 39lbs and the 14hp version weighs 73lbs. That 34lb difference is almost 2 engines. I am doing the swap anyways, i dont like having to push the head down.
The 23hp Briggs Vangard is no louder than a garden tractor-- the chain saw is a much bigger issue. The best muffler is inexpensive, moves easily from one machine to another, and protects your eyes, face, & head, as well.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/12837/_Felling_02s.jpg)
Well I opted for the 10HP when I bought my mill I am hoping to set it up this weekend in my woodshop. This raises a question, when I am running the machine indoors can I simply open the overhead door or is it better to find a way to exhaust it differently? I would think that opening the overhead would be enough.
Let me know
Rob
I think the 10hp will do fine for hobby use. It just takes a little longer in the really wide cuts :) You should be ok with the door open, that's what I did when mine was in a barn.
That is what I thought as well.
Rob
Could put a cheapy box fan up by the ceiling too.
The blade doors are the loudest thing on mine. Nothing a little foam camper shell gasket cant fix.
I decided to put a CO meter in on the wall I work next to when sawing to see what happened. With both my 16ft bay doors open on the building I still get it up to ~50ppm, which will set the alarm off after a couple hours. I'm getting ready to buy a 2" exhaust hose to run it outside and into a muffler. That way I can cut with the doors open or closed, and I can cut any hour of the day with closed doors without worries of the neighbors complaining.
Quote from: Compensation on February 08, 2013, 10:22:56 AM
The blade doors are the loudest thing on mine. Nothing a little foam camper shell gasket cant fix.
You beat me to it, the doors make half the noise. What's that stuff you refer to? Looks like mine are vibrating at the door posts that fit inside the holes in the blade housing.
In Europe, the only power for an LT 10 is electric.
Quote from: Schramm on February 08, 2013, 07:49:01 AM
Well I opted for the 10HP when I bought my mill I am hoping to set it up this weekend in my woodshop. This raises a question, when I am running the machine indoors can I simply open the overhead door or is it better to find a way to exhaust it differently? I would think that opening the overhead would be enough.
Let me know
Rob
I'd be very careful about running any gas powered machine inside, even with a door open. Unless you have a flow though ventilation, and a bit of breeze, you will be breathing CO. :-\
It's not like running something for a couple of minutes to tune or move it, it's going to run for hours as you saw. You NEED ventilation, or even better, open air.
Ian
Quote from: Bibbyman on February 07, 2013, 01:42:14 PM
I often complain to Wood-Mizer that they treat their electric mills like red headed stepchildren. They don't advertise them or expand the electric motor option to many of their mill models. You can also get an electric motor on the LT40 Super, LT50 and LT70. I don't think a motor is optional on the LT28 or LT35.
I believe Cooks Saw in Alabama has some really nice offerings in electric powered mills. They are truly awsome people. Tim Cook has a wealth of knowledge and is always happy to share it with you.
Quote from: waho on February 08, 2013, 04:46:48 PM
In Europe, the only power for an LT 10 is electric.
Not to hijack the thread...but I asked Woodmizer the same question about electric on an lt10 for the same noise reasons asked about in this thread. No dice...the mill won't support the weight of the electric motor. But then they offer electric lt10 in the UK. Doesn't make any sense to me.
http://www.woodmizer.co.uk/main/index.aspx?lc=UK
A Baldor 5hp motor weighs about 79lbs, roughly the same as the 10hp gas engine. So Woodmizer is telling you that the 73lb gas is ok, but the 6lb heavier electric is not. Makes sense to me.
Quote from: terrifictimbersllc on February 08, 2013, 01:26:30 PM
Quote from: Compensation on February 08, 2013, 10:22:56 AM
The blade doors are the loudest thing on mine. Nothing a little foam camper shell gasket cant fix.
You beat me to it, the doors make half the noise. What's that stuff you refer to? Looks like mine are vibrating at the door posts that fit inside the holes in the blade housing.
If you go to kmart, walmart, autozone,.... places like that have a roll of camper shell gasket foam for your pickup truck. Nothing special just makes a tighter fit
If you could eliminate all of the engine noise from your sawmill, then you could begin working on the noise created by the rest of the mill when its working its way through a log. I am sure that its possible to build a very quiet sawmill and on the same note, the price tag would surely be very tall.
I like the idea of silencing the engines, at the same time ear protection is important and still required around a sawmill under any conditions when you are in the cut.
I suspect that it is of some importance to listen to the mill while it running also as any suspect sounds may give away potential problems as they develop.
I would want to be able to hear the engine, so I can tell if I am lugging it or if I can go faster.
You can stick enough muffler on it to quiet it down .Just don't choke it off so bad it won't run worth a hoot .
Don't think you could get-er-done with a little muffler from another small engine though .Get one off an old Cadillac or something .Large envelope made to hush down 350 cubic inchs or more it should certainly hush a little single cylinder engine I'd think .
I should think with a large intake plus all this baffles it should still breathe okay plus bouncing sound waves off the baffles which tend to cancel the effects of noise would work .Fact you could probabley get one at the local junk yard for nothing as I doubt there's much demand for a used muffler .