silence an air compressor?

[Phaihn]

i just got an air compressor does anyone know a good way to silence it or just try to isolate it?

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

its a 2 gallon (7.6 L) Mastercraft model

[Topcat]

Re: silence an air compressor?

just have to isolate it. 2 gal? thats a little one....just out it outside when you're using it and run a hose back inside if it really bothers you

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

just have to isolate it. 2 gal? thats a little one....just out it outside when you're using it and run a hose back inside if it really bothers you

its not me who i am worried about its the neighbors i live in an apartment building and i run it on the balcony

[Junk Parts]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Check and see if you can put some sort of intake silencer/muffler on the unit. A great deal of the noise always happens on the intake side. Putting a rubber mat under the unit also will help. A rubber truck mud flap will work well for this. It stops the unit from pumping its vibrations into the surface that its sitting on. What is the exact model number of the unit? If I knew this I could then look it up.

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

i think its 058-7000-2

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

[shovenose]

Re: silence an air compressor?

You could just not turn it on?
Those things are freaking loud and I don't think there is anything you can do about it.

[eccerr0r]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Return it and get one of those belt driven compressors... You might have to find an old, big one as these are more expensive to make but considerably less noisy.

The direct driven compressors noise is coming from the vibration due to the motor. It's running at full speed, oscillating the compressor piston equally as fast which generates the noise... The belt driven ones also generate some noise but the piston does not oscillate as fast and the belt absorbs some of the vibration.

I also have a direct driven compressor and it's noisy as well, but I live in a single family house and it's well insulated in my garage...

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

You could just not turn it on?
Those things are freaking loud and I don't think there is anything you can do about it.

doesnt do me any good if i dont use it i needed it for my bussines and cleaning mine and other peoples computers out without always spending money on canned air.

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Return it and get one of those belt driven compressors... You might have to find an old, big one as these are more expensive to make but considerably less noisy.

The direct driven compressors noise is coming from the vibration due to the motor. It's running at full speed, oscillating the compressor piston equally as fast which generates the noise... The belt driven ones also generate some noise but the piston does not oscillate as fast and the belt absorbs some of the vibration.

I also have a direct driven compressor and it's noisy as well, but I live in a single family house and it's well insulated in my garage...

cant return it it was a gift from my mom and dad. and we would have to go to hinton

[Blargh523]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Maybe build a cabinet for it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOpB6oD2lt4

Just make sure you have adequate ventilation.

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Maybe build a cabinet for it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOpB6oD2lt4

Just make sure you have adequate ventilation.

that might work what kind of materials did you use?

[Blargh523]

Re: silence an air compressor?

that might work what kind of materials did you use?

Well, it wasn't me, it was random internet finds.

The one I attached as an inline pick was made out of 3/4" plywood lined with sheetrock and acoustic foam and the compressor insulated with a few inches of foam underneath it. He removed the petcock and ran it with a hose to a valve the outside of the box for easier purging.

IMHO, I'd add ventilation. A couple of carefully placed 120mm fans would do a lot for it.

- - - - - -

Before going so far as building an entire box, you may first want to just try a muffler for the intake, maybe something like this:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#pneumatic-mufflers/=kpo144

And for insulating it from the floor, some hardware stores carry rubber blocks or you can do a board-over-foam under it.

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Well, it wasn't me, it was random internet finds.

The one I attached as an inline pick was made out of 3/4" plywood lined with sheetrock and acoustic foam and the compressor insulated with a few inches of foam underneath it. He removed the petcock and ran it with a hose to a valve the outside of the box for easier purging.

IMHO, I'd add ventilation. A couple of carefully placed 120mm fans would do a lot for it.

- - - - - -

Before going so far as building an entire box, you may first want to just try a muffler for the intake, maybe something like this:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#pneumatic-mufflers/=kpo144

And for insulating it from the floor, some hardware stores carry rubber blocks or you can do a board-over-foam under it.

yeah.. not entirely sure how i would attach the muffler ill have to have a better look at the intake.

[Jack Crow]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Mr P,
Some ideas.

Way back when I had less bucks than I do now. (Now is no great shakes either)
I had need for compressed air and sporadic vacuum. (had a home made de soldering station)

Could not afford an air compressor in the usual sense.

So I made one. It was cheap, but it worked well enough.

Out from a mini refrigeration compressor, the kind recovered from those small 1.1 cubic foot college room refrigerators.

I made a tank for it from a 30 pound freon tank, some hoses, pipe and connectors.

There is no reason why you can't hang a second compressor on to your existing tank.

There will be a need to separate the two sources.
A check valve is a 'diode' for air flow.

Check that there is a 'check valve' on the existing one to prevent back flow into your OEM compressor.


From the refrigeration supply company, get a second back flow valve for the recycled mini fridge compressor.

Pick up the small parts from the local refrigeration house.
Sweat solder it all into the existing fittings.

Add a selector switch from the pressure control circuits to select the fast OEM compressor or the slow refridg compressor.

The big difference is piston size.
The big one might be an inch or two.
The refrigeration one might be as much as a half an inch in size.
So it will be slower to fill the tank, on the plus side it will also be much more quiet in operation.

If you kill the refrigeration compressor, they are not all that hard to find.
Most use the same size pipes.

You can leave the whole thing inside your shop, for all the noise it will make.

Yeah it's a plumbing and wire work project but it will prevent the nosy neighbors from bitching.

Much luck
Jack Crow in VA

[redwire]

Re: silence an air compressor?

While small and kinda cute, I have a similar air compressor, a Husky from Home Depot and it is the loudest POS. I measure 100dB SPL and so much vibration because it is a single-diaphragm type (unbalanced). You need ear protection running it.
It takes 4 minutes to fill to 100psi and blasting dust from a keyboard or PC empties it very quickly, then you wait a few minutes to re-fill... I laughed trying to fill up my car tire, it took about 15 minutes to bring it up and my ears hurt afterwards.

You would need a brick sound box to stop neighbors from complaining.

The good 'old twin-piston 1-HP clunkers are so much more quiet.

[KeriJane]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Maybe suspend it from bungee cords within a box?

The box could be made of 1-1/2" thick rigid insulation or maybe 2 inch thick stuff.

The box should have a single, baffled air inlet. The baffle could just be another piece of insulation with enough space to allow air in and access for the power cord and air hose. You would overheat it with constant use, but for blowing stuff off it should be OK.

You wouldn't even need a door.... just have the top sit upon the sides which can be fastened together and attached to the bottom. For better cooling but more noise, make cutouts on two sides so the top doesn't seal it completely off. For even better cooling, do the same at the bottom.

If the thing is really heavy, maybe forget the bungee cords or use a lot of them.

It would certainly reduce the noise. This thick stuff can be bought at Home Depot or you might be able to find some scrap pieces someone doesn't need.

Good luck with that! Those things are noisy.
I use my airbrush compressor for blowing things off. Not a lot of pressure but pretty OK and nice and quiet.

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

Maybe suspend it from bungee cords within a box?

The box could be made of 1-1/2" thick rigid insulation or maybe 2 inch thick stuff.

The box should have a single, baffled air inlet. The baffle could just be another piece of insulation with enough space to allow air in and access for the power cord and air hose. You would overheat it with constant use, but for blowing stuff off it should be OK.

You wouldn't even need a door.... just have the top sit upon the sides which can be fastened together and attached to the bottom. For better cooling but more noise, make cutouts on two sides so the top doesn't seal it completely off. For even better cooling, do the same at the bottom.

If the thing is really heavy, maybe forget the bungee cords or use a lot of them.

It would certainly reduce the noise. This thick stuff can be bought at Home Depot or you might be able to find some scrap pieces someone doesn't need.

Good luck with that! Those things are noisy.
I use my airbrush compressor for blowing things off. Not a lot of pressure but pretty OK and nice and quiet.

thank you i am considering the box idea but i have to have acces to the on and off switch so i can turn it off before it over fills and blows the pressure release valve.

[Blargh523]

Re: silence an air compressor?

thank you i am considering the box idea but i have to have acces to the on and off switch so i can turn it off before it over fills and blows the pressure release valve.

It doesn't have an auto-cutout? Add that to the list with the intake muffler

You can either do what the guy did with the one I pictured and install a switched outlet in the box or (cheaper, but less fancy-looking) plug it into a power strip with a switch.

[Phaihn]

Re: silence an air compressor?

It doesn't have an auto-cutout? Add that to the list with the intake muffler

You can either do what the guy did with the one I pictured and install a switched outlet in the box or (cheaper, but less fancy-looking) plug it into a power strip with a switch.

it does have one but its not working for some reason.