Generator Shed Build 

This is the best generator shed build video I've seen, and I have watched hundreds! I really appreciate the detailed material list!

Good looking shed! I see you incorporated a few ideas from my own shed videos, like the use of the blast gate to pass cables and propane hoses in/out of the shed, Kilmat on the lid, etc. Love to see everyone sharing their ideas and innovations, and then seeing them incorporated and improved into new builds. That's definitely what this whole RU-vid community is about. Thanks for sharing your design. I see the generator exhaust is located under a window. I'm inferring that the building might be another shed, but just a caution to be careful to close that window when running the generator. If it is a house, you should run the exhaust away from the window for safety reasons.

Fireproof foam, rubber flooring, kill mat, radiant barrier foam insulation, and caulking every little area. Very detailed. That giant 6” un insulated plastic hole for cables though. Hmmm.

Excellent, detailed vid! I will be building one of these this spring for my Duromax 13000E. I will definitely be using some of your ideas. Thank you!!

Nice job. I am going to incorporate some of your items in my build. Thanks for the inventory list, very helpful.

You can quiet it further by directing the sound to the ground. 4 pieces of plywood tee-pee style... leaving a 3 inch gap for exhaust. 1 piece of plywood atop the tee-pee... basically soundwaves travel out, the tee-pee allows sound waves to bounce off the plywood and is absorbed into the ground.

Excellent video. Well prepared project and great notes for others (me) to follow.

Very nice build! It looks very clean

Thank you for this video and detailed list And hello from Canada !

One of the best generator sheds I've seen on RU-vid and an excellent video. The only thing I would have liked to see is the generator running to hear the sound difference with the lid and doors open and shut

nice clean build. I'm in Katy with a 17500 Generac in a larger shed build with mineral wool. Dude in Houston it gets 116 in the summer with no generator on. My fans shut off at 130 and I have 3. Just so you know the fireproof 3m foam is not fireproof. I used that and the shit melted like butter when it got hot. I like the thimble and dual furnace pipe and the wrap. I will use the thimble and dual pipe if I switch from Generac to Westinghouse. Get you a micro air soft start so you can run that central air in Tx.

Nice clean job

Nice build, I would put some type of protection from the exhaust heat getting to the tank. My tank gets warmer than I like even with the guards in place.

After some hard November rain, I found out that the 3M fireproof caulking that I used IS NOT WATER PROOF. The area around the thimble and duravent pipe had almost all of the caulking dissolve and disappear. I think this type of caulk is for internal use only. I then used regular outdoor caulking and hope that it can tolerate temperatures of the outer wall of the duravent pipe. (~130 degrees)

I might try to run the exhaust out above the air circulation fan to avoid pulling the hot exhaust back in

Awesome job! Was wondering if you can provide where you purchased the bug screen kit used on the exhaust. Also the thimble that supports the 3” double wall vent pipe

Instructions: 1. If building a pad is applicable for you, level the dirt and apply leveling sand. Install the 18” pavers in a 3 blocks wide x 4 blocks long. 2. Assemble the shed 3. Use a jigsaw to cut out the openings for the Vent intake and Vent Exhaust 4. Move your generator into the shed so that you can mock-up the exhaust exit cut out. Make sure the hole is slightly below the exhaust port on your generator so that any water intrusion will always drip out of the exhaust. 5. Separate the thimble and trace the hole and then cut it out 6. Use the fireproof foam to fill the shed wall around the thimble hole. Use the remainder to seal the space around the vent, exhaust vent and blast gate holes. U can use regular sealing foam around the vent, exhaust vent and blast gate if you want. 7. Once dry, use a jigsaw/hobby saw blade to trim the excess foam from the holes. This works better than a razor blade on the foam. 8. Install Silverboard using the fender washers and self-tapping screws in all areas except where the exhaust will exit and the general location of the blast door. 9. Measure the floor with the doors closed to ensure correct measure of floor space 10. Cut the rubber mat to size of choice and place on the floor 11. Mount the thimble and anchor with self-tapping screws about ¾ inch in length 12. Determine the location of the blast door. Trace outer diameter of the circle of the blast door tube. Cut out the hole. 13. Mount the blast door using self-tapping screws 14. Mount the intake vent using self-tapping screws. 15. Finish the Silverboard insulation around the thimble and blast door. Make sure you leave space to allow the blast door to slide up and down. 16. Use the almond caulk to seal the exterior of the intake vent and blast door 17. Use the fireproof caulk to seal the exterior of the thimble 18. Cust the Type B Vent Pipe to about 10” in length using a cutoff wheel 19. Cut a piece of stainless screen about 5 inches wide by 15 inches long using cut off wheel 20. Cut a circle of stainless screen about 3 inches in diameter so it can fit into the finished end of the type B vent pipe 21. Caulk in the circular bug screen using the stainless screen as a base to help support the bug screen and act as rebar for the caulking 22. Insert the stainless screen into the thimble by winding it up into a tight circle and the letting it loos and the tension will cause the screen to expand into thimble. 23. Insert the vent tube into the thimble and the screen will provide support and tight fit. Allow for the screen to stick out on both sides of the thimble. 24. With the vent pipe finished end (with bug screen) on the outside of the shed wall, let it extend out about 3-4 inches. 25. Use the fireproof caulk to caulk the exterior of the vent pipe between the thimble and pipe. 26. Cut the PVC pipe to approximately 2.5 foot length (2) 27. Attach the Kilmat to the lid starting at the back of the lid. Once you get to the front section of the lid, you will need the PVC stays to hold up the lid as the weight increases. Insert into the hole on the lid just before the bracket and the other end of the PVC should go in the notch on the side panel that the lid brace will set in when closed. 28. Use the vent pipe material that was left over after trimming the vent pipe by cutting in a 1 inch by 7 inch strip to strengthen the notch in the silver board where the support bracket o the lid rests in. Bend the strip so that it fills the notch and top of the Siverboard. Reinforce the area with Kilmat. 29. Place the generator into the shed and mock-up the proper length needed for the flex exhaust extension 30. Trim the flex exhaust to length using a cutoff wheel 31. Consider installing the spark arrester and cover from the generator to the tip of the exhaust flex tube 32. Wrap the flex exhaust in titanium heat shield wrap 33. Install the exhaust extension onto the generator and then insert into the vent pipe so that it extends to bug screen on the exterior end of the pipe.

I'm looking for the second part where it shows the decibels? Can you please reply with the link

Neat looking job. My only comment is on your fan. I did a similar project for a 5kw Honda generator. I started with a 12" fan and migrated to a 16" AC Infinity fan (16S) that pumps 3000 cfm. You want to keep the inside temp to 10-15F above ambient. You want that propane tank outside the compartment. Also consider a bimetallic normally open switch inside the compartment (cheap on Ebay0 In my case I got one for 50C and connected it to the low oil level circuit and it shuts off the generator if the fan fails.

Wonder if you can cut a notch on the blast cate door the same width of the 50 amp cord girth. So when you have your cord in you can slide the door down and it would have a better closed fit?

Great video. Since i have the same model generator as you show, how much CFM did you select for your fan to move (exhaust)? That’s all I’m stuck on.

How is that silverboard work for sound proofing? Love the build.

Odd my 50amp plug fit through an RV Hatch, at least the ones I bought! Are there 2 sizes? I also didn't use a exhaust pipe like you did and instead lowered my my fan to the center of the shed and just let it suck out the heat, I've been using it for every little power outage since the Texas freeze and haven't had any problems. I didn't insulate mine either and the inside never has got too hot.

I like your design, very well done! Are you concerned with the proximity of your exhaust to that window? Is that maybe a garage and not the house? Again, nice work!

Love your build. What tool did you use to cut the rubber mat?

Modified the build by adding a 120 degree temp switch into the low oil cutoff circuit. This will provide a safety should the exhaust fan fail, or temperatures rise in the shed for some other unknown reason. This will ensure that the generator won't keep running if temperatures approach risk to the propane tank and/or the generator and engine component failure. How To: I simply cut the low oil sensor wire and added a molex connector to each piece of wire. Then made a harness from the temp switch with one ground wire to the engine block and one wire that is split into two with a molex connector on each end. These plug into the original low oil sensor wire. Part number is: www.amazon.com/dp/B07L95FMMG?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details I tested the harness first on the bench with voltmeter and then on the generator. I just plugged a heat gun into the generator and started it up. Then I fanned the temp switch a bit and sure enough, the generator shut down. I waited a few minutes and the generator started back up without an issue and I repeated the test. Same result. All Good. Using Molex connectors is optional as it allows for removing the temp switch from the oil cut off circuit very quickly if needing to debug engine that does not run. Also makes swapping out a new temp switch very easy as it can be done from the workbench instead of on your knees in the shed. YT has many videos on how to install molex connectors and the tools you need. Amazon has lots of Molex connector kits. You could just crimp your connections if you don't want to go the Molex route. Also added 40lb propane tank with a 12-foot propane hose extension so that propane tank can be placed outside the shed on very hot days.

Question..I use my Westinghouse same as yours , but for rv-ing, my 50 amp cable is tough to plug in because tire is in the way, I have to force it over the tire to plug it in..what do you use for a 50 amp plug

What tool did you use to cut the square for the fan on the shed?

have you had any issues on your rubber mat due to extreme heat from the generator, such as melting.

Yeah, you probably should have flipped your design 180 degrees, so you're not exhausting fumes into your house window! Texas ingenuity!

The thimble says fits 4 to 7 inch walls how did it fit on shed walls which are maybe 2 inches thick Thanks.

I live in Houston Texas and I built this shed. it is june 10th 2023 the temperature right now is a warm 86° I have tried and tried to get the temperature below 104 and I can't do it when I'm running the generator. How do you have your generator in a shed and control the temperature so that it doesn't ruin your machine? please let me know

I know the interior insulation is popular but doesn’t it trap heat. Here in Florida hurricanes hit in the hot steamy months and extra heat may not be good.

Very nice build. But you know the law of averages. After going through all that work, you will never need it. However, had you not did all this, your power would've shut down within a couple days for some reason. Kinda like all the insurance we buy.

How big is the the shed?

Is the fan bringing air into it or out ?

Why use all that Culk to seal small seems? When the box itself isn't a sealed box. The lid, the doors, etc not of that is water sealed and can't be for functional reasons

I was trying to be cheap and get a smaller shed, but I have a benchmark 11k / 9k generator, so a larger shed would give me alot more space to work with... no point in spending 250 for a shed that you can't close the doors with the cords on eh

For performance results, watch this follow up: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-luAWRXmicG4.html

The only thing that I didn't like was the location, I noticed you really have that exhaust pointed right close to the corner of the house and the fence. The sound must really reverberate in that corner. I noticed you didn't show us how it sounded when you were done.

I'm sorry shed. It still must be loud.

What about back pressure on the gen from the exhaust?

Does the generator run off that 20 lb tank? Saw they recommend 40 lb minimum…