Splitter Muffler Mod - Peace in the Valley!

[oneoldbanjo]

I have wanted to put a better muffler on my splitter for a long time, and I finally got around to it this weekend. I watched eBay for a while and found a brand new take-off muffler from a 250 Yamaha Quad for $ 10 and about $ 15 in shipping - they evidently take them off to put High Performance mufflers. I tried to find a place that could bend 1" pipe around here....but I didn't have any luck so I used 1" black iron pipe and a 3/4" nipple that I ground the threads out of for smoother flow. I welded the pipe and fitting together and I had to make a flange to fit the engine. I drilled and tapped holes in the splitter tounge to hold the muffler.

Stock Muffler:

New Muffler:

The bottom line is that the muffler is very quiet and you really can't hear the sound of the exhaust over the noise from the mechanical part of the engine and the hydraulics whining. You will still need to wear hearing protection - but it has reduced the overall noise considerably. I suppose if you had an engine with a cast iron block and didn't have the overhead valves the mechanical noise might be reduced - this Honda Engine now sounds like a sewing machine as you hear the mechanical noise without the exhaust noise. I have only done a short test run and I did not let the engine get warm - maybe it will lose some of the mechanical noise as it warms up. I took the muffler off last night and painted it and will put it to use later this week. I believe the project was worth it.....but it did take about half a day to complete if you count the time it took to get the tools out and put them away again. Does it make sense that I muffler mod my saws and make them louder and then make my splitter less loud?????? Probaby not.....but it makes me happy!

 

[Slick]

I love it, I'm all about making my tools quieter.

 

[smokinj]

looks good did you you rubber bushings for the mount?

 

[Kaptain_K]

Great looking work. As long as the logs don't tear it up...
I love quiet stuff now too. Funny how I used to pay extra to make them loud!

 

[crashagn]

That looks darn good and clean looking. Have you thought of adding a guard above the muffler to protect it from falling wood? If the muffler was off of a 250 quad was that a 2 stroke and are there any issues or differances in muffler types from using a 2 stroke muffler on a 4 stroke engine? I would be interested in doing the same thing to our 8hp generator that you can hear all the way across the yard

 

[oneoldbanjo]

The muffler is from a 4 stroke Quad...so I don't think there are any performance issues. I figured a 250 CC racing quad made more than the 9 HP that my Honda engine makes.

I don't believe I need any kind of a guard to protect from falling wood. The actual splitting work is done at the other end of the machine and not at the tongue end where the muffler is. Every once in a while I will lose a grip on a piece of wood and it will fall toward the engine - and my next modification is to put a flat piece of metal over the engine, and I may put some accoustic foam on the bottom to see if I can soak up some of the remaining engine noise.

I have plastic washers between the frame and muffler to allow some movement and expansion as the muffler gets hot.

 

[howellhandmade]

I agree with smokinj, without rubber mounts, vibration is likely to crack something.

Jack

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I agree with smokinj, without rubber mounts, vibration is likely to crack something.

Jack

The muffler is currently off and the paint is curing. When I reinstall it I am going to put on bolts with a small thin spacer to allow the bolts to be tight while the washers are just snug onto the muffer mounts. There will be will be a plastic (or rubber) washer on each side of the bolts to allow the muffler some small movement. There is very little vibration or movement as the engine is mounted rigid to the frame and the hydraulic pump is mounted directly to the engine - there is no torque movement of the engine as the loads change.

 

[savageactor7]

Holy Cow that's some muffler. Nice!

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I was able to get the muffler painted and mounted again last night. I elongated the holes in the muffler mount, put thin rubber washers on the backside and front of the mount - then I put on a metal washer, compression spring and a shoulder bolt. This will allow some movement of the muffler as it heats and cools. The next step is to put it back to work this weekend!

 

[smokinj]

I was able to get the muffler painted and mounted again last night. I elongated the holes in the muffler mount, put thin rubber washers on the backside and front of the mount - then I put on a metal washer, compression spring and a shoulder bolt. This will allow some movement of the muffler as it heats and cools. The next step is to put it back to work this weekend!

Looks real Good!

 

[ray benson]

Nice clean looking professional install. I tried it years ago on an 8 hp Tecumseh and it didn't make much difference. Switched it back after a couple of seasons.

 

[7sleeper]

very nice!

7

 

[coppermouse]

That is sweet, I am going to copy your idea!!

These guys around here take off the stock muffler on their quads and put on "performance" exhaust which are loud and annoying as hell, and don't even improve the performance much. I tell them they are not allowed to ride on my property with that loud ass exhaust. Some change back to stock and some don't come back.

 

[dingeryote]

Nice, clean, and well thought out install/Mod.

Now ya got me thinking about my raspy Honda LOL!!
I have a couple Ducati Mufflers that might fit and add some class to boot!

Nice job!!!


Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Blazin]

Sweet! I rigged mine similar a few years ago, I used 1" flex pipe from the engine to the muffler for the vibration factor though. It's amazing how loud the internal workings of a 10hp briggs are!

 

[mga]

nice job, man.

i've been wanting to do something like that for a couple of years now....lol...just one of those things you never get around to doing.

 

[Shagbark]

Schweeeet!

 

[wvmudder]

Thats a nice looking splitter, that muffler gives it a unique look. Could you post a video so we can here what it sounds like? I'd love to quiet a B&S powered generator I have. Thanks, Dave.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Thats a nice looking splitter, that muffler gives it a unique look. Could you post a video so we can here what it sounds like? I'd love to quiet a B&S powered generator I have. Thanks, Dave.

I don't have the ability to record or post a video - and I have never believed that the sound of an engine comes through accurately on videos. The engines that are very loud all seem to be just as quiet as a normal engine as a result of the recording process limiting the db's.

I have used this splitter for 2 sessions lasting about 1 hour each since I made the conversion and it is much nicer than it used to be. I still wear headphones while I split - but there is significantly less noise still. I agree with you about generators being too noisy, and I think the Generac and other similar models use mufflers that are not very good at reducing noise. Space is usually a problem on generators and as long as you don't have a problem with a muffler being attached outside of the generator framework I think that you could find a muffler that is far more affective than the small mufflers that come on generators as purchased. I think as long as you get a muffler from a similar sized engine and don't mix silencers between 2 stroke bikes and 4 stroke generators I think you will be fine. In my case the engine I had was a 9 HP Honda GX270 which is 270 cc and I used a muffler from a 4 stroke Yamaha 250 cc quad.....which I am sure makes more than 9 HP.