I wanted something for when it rains or snows so I came up with this.  
Question:  once I have the sides on (the front with the outlets will stay open)...do I need holes near the air intake and near the exhaust?

I would think that you may have issues with overheating if you do as you say. The exhaust definitely needs to escape without obstruction.

Looks like a great noise amplification device.  Might want to rethink materials.

Nice idea. Nice construction. Bad design. You need air space for cooling and you should have holes for the exhaust and a clean one for air intake. Make it bigger to start.

True, I'm afraid.   I like it for shelter/storage, but the noise will be at least as bad as having nothing.

you are asking if you need holes to let air in and hot exhaust out?

if you are planning on putting sides on that, it's too small.  way too small.  
after a half hour of operation you are going to have a gasoline-fueled fire.
if that doesn't happen the AVR electronics are going to quit from the heat.

an engine-generator is about 20% efficient (link).  so in the process of producing 3500W of output power, it produces some 3500W/0.2 = 17,000W of heat.  or, about 17 toasters worth.  stack 17 toasters in that enclosure, turn them all on, and tell us what happens in 20 minutes.

this will not end well.

ar-jedi

Well when you put it like that, I sound really stupid

What if I put a vent on top as shown and cut a hole in the area outlined by blue tape and a hole for the exhaust (maybe even pipe it out) on the opposite side?  Would that be enough airflow?

For rain or snow, all you need is a roof.
Make the roof bigger and leave the sides open.

The simplest enclosure for a generator is a 4'X8' sheet of plywood cut in half (2X 4'X4' squares).

Connect those 2 squares with a pair of door hinges.

Stand this up and it will make a basic lean-to.  Drill a couple of holes and use rope or bungee cords to hold the sides together at the desired distance (you don't want it sliding down and falling open).

Then staple a tarp to the top of it.

The nice thing is that when you are done it folds flat and can be leaned against a wall taking up very little space.

Set it up so that the flat part of the lean-to is facing the wind and the generator will stay pretty dry while still getting enough air to run and keep cool.

On the side with the tape that might be okay. On the other side I would think you would trap to much heat. Also the top cover is IMO to small and should over hang the sides. Otherwise the rain and/or snow is going to drip into the taped side and do what you are trying to prevent.

Actually the sides aren't fastened together yet that's why you see such a large gap...so the top will overhang a little when bolted together (admittedly I should have made the top overhang larger, but such is the peril of making it up as I go)
I may actually cut off the bottom half of the sides...
thanks everyone for the input so far...

Needs to be double that size, I would say 12" of air space around and above the unit. If enclosed I would put a vent on both ends and mount a cheap box fan to one end, plug into genny.............................

That's a great idea!

Heat rises, better to cut the bottom off one side and the top off the other, that side on the exhaust side of the genny.

So much heat is being 'generated' by the genny, as Ar-Jedi points out, that small openings and fans aren't going to be much help.

The genny is for emergency and for that reason alone, the 'shelter' needs to be designed to maximize the reliability of the genny.

We usually run a Honda 2000 in the rain and snow 'naked'. It doesn't hurt it and it's likely it wouldn't hurt the Champion either. Still protecting it from direct precip is desirable.

Like NotApproved said, extend the roof, provide some sort of snow protection from entering the bottom.  Small amts of snow that enter the shelter will likely be melted by the heat.

Sometimes designing a project around already available 'scraps' and trying to make them fit, works out poorly. Although I do it all the time...  

Since you already have the frame built and sides cut, I think, could you use the lean-to idea above, modify it, and hinge [or HOOK] them to the 'roof' and set them to extend out and down at about a 45 degree angle on the front and sides. This should allow plenty of ventilation and keep most precip off. The little bit that still gets in would be of no consequence.

With this scheme, snow that gets under would be melted to some degree, and if the storm is so bad, then brush it out ocassionally as it comes down.

There's no real reason to make a sort of complete 'hermetic' enclosure. General protection is all that's needed and abundant ventilation in my mind is more important than protection from all precip.



All this said, I give you 600 Internet Points for using METAL!!!!

I try to get across how nice metal is to work with, with a few additional, and now inexpensive and readily available tools.

Projects come out MUCH more 'technically correct' than using wood 2x4's etc, that seem to be what so much stuff gets knocked together with. They withstand the elements with modern coatings, and are impervious to pests.

It's great to use metal and wood TOGETHER for max efficiency and still get that 'Technically Correct' appearance of professionalism.  


Someone needs to start a thread about working with plentiful metal, why to do it, what tools are needed, where to get them, simple cutting tricks, how to do it on the cheap, sources of metal and tools, etc.

I use metal stud material, and Unistrut, for all kinds of things, scraps are available at most any commercial construction site, maybe for the asking, I don't know.

Code has pretty much eliminated use of wood for the most part in commercial construction. I learned to frame with metal abt 6 yrs ago building a couple 2 story self-supporting office areas inside 2 much larger bldgs, a total of abt 3000 sq feet with a 4 inch [almost] concrete floor between them. Between my SO and a contractor who also was learning metal construction and a smart guy [he cut the framing members and studs, did layouts, planning, measurements, all the easy stuff     ...my SO and I could frame one floor a week, not counting the pouring of the 2nd floor.


The experience was very useful because when we needed a room in the barn, pretty good size, for a backup shelter in winter if something happened to the container, plus just a nice room, we made it with metal. Vertical was 6" 18 ga studs mostly, to carry ceiling loads, and to provide for a lot of insulation. We ran horizontal hat channel on the outside to thermally insulate the outer sheetrock from the studs to ^ R factor. 10 or 12 inch 16 ga joists [metal studs] [I don't remember size exactly] spanned the 20 foot direction, with some 45 degree zigs and 90 degree zags, for a sort of bathroom [future if ever] area and a small lab area, esthetics, stiffened the structure and increased the load bearing of the joists [way more than necessary, we even store water tanks on top]

Self-standing inside the barn.

Even on a hot July day, with the barn closed and hot inside, the combo of the insulation and the concrete floor the temp inside is like an air condx room. In the winter, it no colder than just below freezing, the first year it didn't get below but subsequently it has. That can be corrected by adding a small blower to draw warm air from the barn ceiling and force it into the room, and would raise the ave tem, I'm guessing, 10 F at least during the winter.

[If anyone is planning on building a room with metal studs and wants a great design and dimensions for closing it on the outside to keep out pests, a good R factor, etc, start a topic and I'll give some techniques we developed [that I think are unique] that worked out well.

I'll quit now, too much distraction from the OT.

Sorry for the ramble OP, I was happy to see you use dimensional metal and would love to see more folks using it. It's wonderful fast and easy to work with once you get set up.