Cut the noise out. Air compressor upsetting others...

[mhuk]

No one has moaned yet but it's going too cause upset I think.... I have build a boxed area with a removable door in a corner part of the shed.

It's made from 19mm ply and has 25mm thick POLYSTYRENE FOAM PACKING SHEETS around the area. The noise is cut down but still it's noisy.

What have others done?

Just a simple 2hp compressor.

Thanks

Martin

 

[octo0072000]

line the inside with egg box's that will cut down the noise
or pay the price for acoustic insulation same idea remember you also need airflow around the compressor

 

[MattF]

Fitting a better intake filter, rubber mounts between compressor head unit and tank, rubber mounts underneath tank feet etc. can all make a difference. May be notable or minor, but every bit helps.

If it's a direct drive compressor, the best you'll likely achieve is bearably noisy.

 

[Rig Pig]

Glassfiber or rock wool would be better noise insulation, have you made any allowance for cooling?

 

[ukracer]

Glassfiber or rock wool would be better noise insulation, have you made any allowance for cooling?

I used carpet for damping and box section cheapo doors for the box. BUT it does overheat if you are not careful.

 

[brightspark]

ordinary fiberglass rolls dont sound deaden this is what u need if your going down insulation route http://www.knaufinsulation.co.uk/en...-wool-rolls/acoustic-rolls.aspx#axzz3DlQdR7E7

 

[CRB]

Using different sized air gaps and different thicknesses of material between them works too by breaking up the soundwaves.

Just a thought but ?would water-filled voids do the same job?

Do not know, have not thought, just asking.

 

[Rig Pig]

ordinary fiberglass rolls dont sound deaden this is what u need if your going down insulation route http://www.knaufinsulation.co.uk/en...-wool-rolls/acoustic-rolls.aspx#axzz3DlQdR7E7

It is quite effective, my workshop is insulated with it, the garage it's attached to isn't & the difference in nose inside the two buildings is massive.

 

[Maker]

Using different sized air gaps and different thicknesses of material between them works too by breaking up the soundwaves.

Just a thought but ?would water-filled voids do the same job?

Do not know, have not thought, just asking.

Do you mean like a double skinned box with water filling the gap?

line the inside with egg box's that will cut down the noise
or pay the price for acoustic insulation same idea remember you also need airflow around the compressor

As far as I know, that is just a common misconception that they work, but I might be wrong.

 

[CRB]

Do you mean like a double skinned box with water filling the gap?

Just so, I know water allows sound to travel great distances, if you are a whale, everything sound muffled, if you go back far enough to have your ears under the bathwater.

Just wondering, I am sure there will be an acoustic engineer on in a while. The rest of life seems to have a welder too.

 

[anjum]

Sound at different frequencies is damped by different materials. In general denser material absorbs lower frequencies.
There are lots of options used in buildings. E.g. there is rubber backed plasterboard when combined with some insulation is quite effective. Particular attention is required to ensure joints are airtight/ insulated. Some very expensive solutions are out there to achieve a reasonable level of sound reduction in minimal space/ thickness. you can spend more than the compressor costs.

Unfortunately there is no substitute for lots of thickness in layers, especially with something as noisy as a compressor.
Also unfortunately the added sound insulation will also act as thermal insulation and you need to provide a convoluted air path.

The upshot, just stick it a very solid (layered with plasterboard) but vented box with insulation either inside or outside and live with reduced noise, or add more layers.

 

[Hitch]

I used to make acoustic boxes to go over engines, the insulation we used was slabs of insulation, think it was a Knauf product, a fair bit denser than loft insulation. Had a fibreglass 'paper' covering. 80mm thick from memory, then a layer of steel perforated mesh covering it.
The front of the units had louvres, 25mm thick, folded from sheet and also insulated with knauf and mesh.

I doubt it would be cheap to build one like this though.

 

[julianthegypsy]

I once has to put a single cylinder diesel generator in the spare room of the house our company was using for an office. We put dense foam rubber all over the walls, built a wooden box duct from the radiator to outside the window, cut a hole in the door to let fresh air in, put another blanking piece in front of that, also covered in foam, so there was no direct line of sight for noise to escape, wound the entire exhaust system in firerope before the exit and fitted an extra muffler before it went out of the window. When the director visited he said surely it must be noisy. He was surprised to be told that it WAS running. Outside there was a quiet exhaust note, inside you could hear it if you knew it was there, otherwise you'd assume it was a fridge or something of the kind. This was in Indonesia, where such lunacy is commonplace.

 

[steve.h]

I built a wooden enclosure and lined it with carpet, I added holes at the base for ventilation, I cut a door in the wall of the shed and I put the enclosure on the back side of the shed so against the fence/hedge, you can hardly hear it in the garden let alone next door, I live in a terrace of houses and nobody has coplained so far.

 

[optima21]

many years ago I used to work for a company that manufactured metal pressings,when the neighbours complained about the noise they made some cabinets arround the presses from thin plywood and lined them with loft insulation held in place by wire mesh

 

[DanielW]

If its direct drive type? there's not much that will deaden the sound on these as the tank picks up the noise because of compressor being mounted on it.

Maybe think of remounting compressor and motor on rubber bushes? I have one of those lucky bag ones and the motor reminds me of the old record players of the 60's.

 

[mike k]

Rubber mounts on the compressor, rubber matting on the floor. Frame work with ply each side and the gap filled with acoustic insulation and worktop on top of frame as opposed to ply to make the box a practical work surface, couple of vents and a extractor fan in the left space above the garage to vent the heat and keep the air flowing. I have 2 comps in said box come workbench.

 

[awemawson]

When I had a 100kva generator at the bottom of my garden running my induction furnace I built a wall round it with sand bags. Made an amazing difference.

 

[Bearston]

I am curious what the floor is made of that the compressor sits on? If it is coupling to a wood floor, you can be sure that the entire structure will vibrate sympathetically and add to the noise with almost no chance of eliminating it. I have built a few recording studios and for absolute isolation sand is the ideal media. Make a box 6" deep, fill with sand and place a sheet of aspenite (short fibre chipboard) that does not couple to the sides of the box, place compressor here. Coupling vibration will be at a minimum and then you will be able to deal with the walls. In addition to sound insulation any drywall should be mounted on a resilient channel to decouple it from the walls and celing. Additionally, there is lead lined drywall available but in my own studio I doubled up on the drywall. Sound does not move mass very well and following standard acoustic construction principles, you will wind up not hearing a peep from your compressor from the other side of the wall.

Physical de-coupling from the structure (and from itself) is your first step, everything else falls into place when you follow proper acoustic constuction principles...aaaaahhhhh, peace and quiet!!

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I am curious what the floor is made of that the compressor sits on? If it is coupling to a wood floor, you can be sure that the entire structure will vibrate sympathetically and add to the noise with almost no chance of eliminating it. I have built a few recording studios and for absolute isolation sand is the ideal media. Make a box 6" deep, fill with sand and place a sheet of aspenite (short fibre chipboard) that does not couple to the sides of the box, place compressor here. Coupling vibration will be at a minimum and then you will be able to deal with the walls. In addition to sound insulation any drywall should be mounted on a resilient channel to decouple it from the walls and celing. Additionally, there is lead lined drywall available but in my own studio I doubled up on the drywall. Sound does not move mass very well and following standard acoustic construction principles, you will wind up not hearing a peep from your compressor from the other side of the wall.

Physical de-coupling from the structure (and from itself) is your first step, everything else falls into place when you follow proper acoustic constuction principles...aaaaahhhhh, peace and quiet!!

What about taking the decoupling to an extreme and suspending the compressor from the ceiling on trampoline springs and wire rope!