How loud is an A-iPower generator?
On the half-load pages, 60 to 63 dBA at 21 feet.
Most A-iPower inverter pages carry a Decibels row in the spec table, and on sixteen current models it reads like the GXS2300i's: "62 dBA @ 1/2 Load", then "21' / 7m", with a dash between the two that we leave out. Half the rated output is 900 watts on the 1,800 running watt GXS2300i and 1,725 watts on the 3,450 running watt SUA4300i, so these numbers describe an engine doing real work. Other pages print "As Low As 62dB" and nothing more. The conventional generators give a bare "Noise Level (dB) 68" or "Noise Level (dBA) 78". Even the unit drifts, dB on one line and dBA on the next, so each figure here is quoted as written.
Two details do not add up. Seven meters is about 23 feet, not 21, and the sold-out SUA5000C page writes "23 ft. (7 m)", which pairs the same metric distance with a second figure in feet. The sheets are the bigger problem. For most of the half-load models the linked sheet keeps the number and drops both the load and the distance, as it does for the GXS2300i. An "as low as" figure is the quietest a generator gets, a floor rather than a reading at a stated load.
The ranking below therefore uses the product page spec tables, the only A-iPower documents that give a condition for most models, and notes the sheet's wording beside each figure. Printed numbers run from 52 to 78. By the rule that every 10 dB sounds roughly twice as loud, a 26 dB spread would be enormous, except that the two ends were not stated the same way. The decibel chart puts 52 and 78 dBA beside familiar sounds, and comparing decibel ratings covers why an unstated figure cannot be weighed against a half-load one.
Page, sheet and description do not always agree
None of these is ranked except the GXS7600iRD, whose spec table and sheet match. If you are planning around any of them, use the higher number.
| Model | Spec table or page | Description, feature list or sheet |
|---|
| SC2000i, Yamaha engine, 1,600 running watts | "62 dBA @ 1/2 Load" and "62 dBA @ 50% Load" at 21' / 7m, in three places | "62 dBA" at "1/4 Load @ 7M for Very Quiet Operation" (sheet) |
| SUA2301i and SUA2301iD, 1,800 running watts | 62 dBA at half load, 21 ft | "as low as 52 dB" (description) |
| SUA4300iD, 3,450 running watts | 62 dBA at half load, 21 ft | "as low at 52 decibels" (description) |
| SUA7600iED, 6,100 running watts, 120/240V | 62 dBA at half load, 21 ft; "As low as 62" in the feature list and sheet | "Operating at as low as 66 decibels" (description) |
| SUA3800iEDP, 3,500 running watts | 62 dBA at half load, 21 ft | "Noise Level (dB) 63" (sheet) |
| SUA3800i and SUA3800iP, 3,500 running watts | "As Low As 62dB" | 63 on the sheets; "just 63 dB" in the SUA3800i description |
| XOS2600i, sold out | 61 dBA at half load, 21 ft | "as low as 52 decibels" (description) |
| XOS2300i and XOS2300iD, sold out | "As Low As 61dB" | "as low as 52" (description) |
| XOS4600iDF, sold out | "As low as 65" (table and sheet) | "as low as 62" (description) |
| GXS7600iRD | As low as 66 dB at 25% load, 21 ft (table and sheet) | "As low at 65 dB" (feature list) |
The SC2000i is the oddest case: the number holds and the load changes. Its page and sheet also disagree on the warranty, 2-year against 3-year. The SUA7600iED shares a 322cc engine and its output with the GXS7600iRD, the one that lists "As low as 66 dB at 25% load @ 21 ft".
Ranked at half load and 21 feet
Each of these spec tables reads "dBA @ 1/2 Load" with "21' / 7m". They rank against one another, not against the quarter-load or "as low as" figures further down.
| dBA, half load, 21 ft | Model | Running watts | Spec sheet and notes |
|---|
| 60 | SUA1500i | 1,200 | 28.5 lbs; sold out on A-iPower's site; the sheet gives no figure |
| 62 | GXS2300i | 1,800 | Sheet: "As Low As 62" |
| 62 | GXS2300iD, dual fuel | 1,800 on gasoline | Sheet: "As Low As 62" |
| 62 | GXS2601iD, dual fuel | 2,000 on gasoline | No spec sheet linked |
| 62 | GXS4300i | 3,450 | Sheet: "As Low As 62" |
| 62 | SUA4300i | 3,450 | Sheet: "As Low As 62" |
| 62 | GXS4300iD, dual fuel | 3,450 | Sheet: "As Low As 62" |
| 63 | SUA3800iED, dual fuel | 3,500 | Sheet: a bare 63 |
| 63 | SUA5800iED, dual fuel | 4,500 | Sheet: "As Low As 63" |
One figure covers 1,800 to 3,450 running watts on 80cc and 149cc engines, and the 223cc and 224cc models list 63. A-iPower's numbers barely separate any of them.
Each of the three is stated a different way, so none ranks against another.
| Figure as stated | Model | Running watts |
|---|
| As low as 66 dB at 25% load and 21 feet | GXS7600iRD, dual fuel, 120/240V | 6,100 |
| As low as 68 dBA at 25% load, no distance | SUA4600iF, open frame inverter | 3,600 |
| 62 dB at 25% load, no distance, on the spec sheet (the page gives a bare 62) | XOS5200iD, dual fuel, sold out | 4,200 |
Inverters that give only a floor
These pages print an "as low as" figure, or a bare one the sheet calls "as low as", with no load or distance. They compare with one another and with nothing else.
| dB | Model | Running watts | Note |
|---|
| 52 | SC2500i, Yamaha engine | 2,000 | |
| 62 | SC2300i | 1,800 | |
| 62 | SUA2600i | 2,000 | Table reads "As Low As 62B" |
| 62 | SC2400iP, Yamaha engine | 1,900 | Also "62B" |
| 62 | GXS4301i | 3,450 | |
| 62 | GXS2301i | 1,800 | Sold out |
| 62 | XOS4300i | 3,450 | Sold out |
| 62 | SUA2000iD, dual fuel | 1,800 | Sold out |
| 63 | GXS5800iRD, dual fuel, remote start | 4,500 | |
| 65 | GXS7100iRD, dual fuel, 120/240V | 5,700 | Sold out |
| 68 | GXS12000iRD, dual fuel | 9,100 | Description only: "as low as 68 decibels" |
That 52 on the SC2500i is the lowest number A-iPower prints anywhere, 10 dB under every other small inverter in the group. Neither page nor sheet says how it was taken.
With no condition, the gap means nothing you can plan on.
Conventional generators print a bare number
Without an inverter, A-iPower's spec tables give a figure and no condition. Quietest first:
| dB | In stock | Sold out |
|---|
| 68 | GXS8200D, dual fuel, 6,500 running watts, 120/240V | GXS5000, GXS5000RD and GXS5000D, 4,000 running watts; SUA7500, 6,000 |
| 76 | None | GXS11300RT, tri fuel, 9,000 running watts; GXS11301R, 9,000, whose table says "As Low As 76" |
| 78 | AP10000E, 8,000 running watts; AP10700E and the dual fuel AP10700ED, sold as 10,700 watt models | AP10000ED, GXS11300R |
The AP10000E and AP10700E feature lists phrase theirs as "As low as 78 dBA operating volume". One more conventional page names a distance instead of a load: the sold-out SUA5000C, 4,250 running watts, lists "Noise Level: dBA at 23 ft. (7 m)" of 68.
Where the noise figure belongs, the GXS1500i spec table holds placeholder text: "[Approved sound level and measurement method]". The GXS1700i and the tri fuel AIQ13000iRT pages give no figure at all.
Two groups are left out on purpose. The AT10-260001 sells on A-iPower's site under the A-iTech name, with an A-iTech warranty, and the models in A-iPower's separate Discontinued Products collection are not covered.
Does a bigger A-iPower engine make more noise?
Barely, going by the half-load figures. The 80cc and 149cc inverters list 62 at 21 feet and the 223cc and 224cc models 63, so the larger engines cost at most a decibel.
Inverter against conventional is a question A-iPower's numbers cannot settle. Its conventional models list 68 to 78 dB with no condition at all, while the inverters it states most carefully give half load and 21 feet, and two figures with no shared condition cannot size a gap. The enclosure is in the same position. The SUA3800iED feature list credits a "double-insulated acoustic enclosure, asymmetrical cooling fans, and low tone mufflers to reduce operating noise", yet no figure isolates what any one of those parts does.
Load is the variable most likely to catch an owner out. A half-load figure describes a working engine, but A-iPower publishes nothing at full load, so expect more noise than any number on this page when something large such as an air conditioner starts.
Does low idle make an A-iPower quieter?
Low idle is the feature A-iPower points to. In the GXS2300i manual, "LOW IDLE minimizes fuel consumption and noise by adjusting the engine speed (RPM) to the minimum required for the current load," and owners should turn it off "when powering large surge loads such as an air conditioner or electric pump." The SC2000i page makes the same case in other words: "The engine speed varies depending on electrical demand, which also significantly reduces noise," and the AIQ13000iRT page says its Low Idle technology "automatically reduces engine speed according to the connected load to help minimize fuel consumption and operating noise."
What is missing is a number. No figure is given with low idle on and off, and nothing says whether the half-load figures were taken with it on.
Never move it closer to cut the noise
Most current A-iPower models list a CO sensor; the SC2000i lists none. On the GXS2300i, "If the CO sensor detects increasing levels of CO gas, it automatically shuts off the engine." That manual is just as firm on placement: "ONLY use outside and downwind, far away from windows, doors and vents." A garage or a shed is never the answer to a loud generator. Campground rules, local noise limits and where to park the unit are covered in generator noise and neighbors.
