I built a generator enclosure this summer for my off the grid hunting property. The goal was a little different, I wanted it mainly for sound reduction and for reducing carb ice in the winter.
What I learned is that fresh air flow is critical and you need a way to adjust it without redoing the whole design. The thing is you need enough fresh air coming in so the engine isn’t stuttering from O2 deprivation, but not so much that cold air is producing carb ice on the intake side.
My solution was a multi-speed cooling fan and then varying lengths of prop rod for the lid. The lid can be propped open about 12 inches in the summer and the fan run on max to get maximum cooling, but in the winter I can lower the lid and slow the fan to keep enough air flowing, but not so much that the inside of the box is below freezing and carb icing starts to happen.
It’s a fine balance I found out, just a little move air supply makes a big difference. The gold plated solution would be to have an intake duct that took in air from as far away from the exhaust as possible, but still inside the enclosure where it’s warm.
Grouse
