Silent compressors

[fuff66uk]

I'm sure i am going to make myself look and sound really stupid here but here goes anyway.What makes a silent compressor so quiet?I have got a small clarke tiger compressor which is as noisy as hell.I am starting airbrushing so could do with something very much easier on the ear,can i change any parts on my comp to make it a silent running one?

 

[madkayaker]

the quality of the build makes a big difference and the tolerances in the turbines

 

[rtbcomp]

If you mean those like the Shhhhhhhhhhhh ones by Clarke they use freezer motors which are very small pumps and fully enclosed in quite a thick steel enclosure. They make quite a bit of noise once you cut the lid off.

The only way you'll quieten your compressor down is to make a soundproof enclosure for it, a few members have done this, try searching this forum.

 

[NTwoO]

Dampening the input line also helps alot.

 

[fuff66uk]

Yes i did mean like the shhhhh one's rtbcomp,i'll google for homemade ones from freezer motors

 

[NeilH]

has any of our members found a definitive way of lowering compressor noise?

my personal idea which i have not tested yet was to box it off completely, lengthen the intake as much as possible to a vent in the box, then fill the box with sound absorbant material such as sponge, egg boxes, polystyrene etc

 

[fuff66uk]

There is always one smart ar*e,my mate says he has found a way to make his compressor silent,,,,,,,,,,,, he switches it off

 

[brightspark]

trouble is with an enclosure u will cook the motor and pump through lack of ventilation .

 

[tigler]

A large air filter reduces noise quite a bit, and using resilient mounts between the receiver and floor kills some resonance too. Problem is with modern piston compressors is the pump is lightly built and radiates sound from the cylinder and head fins, which obviously cannot be covered. Older, heavy cast iron pumps are better damped so don't radiate as much sound but also cannot be called quiet ! There is alot of energy and work involved in compressing air with pistons so making them very quiet isn't possible without a sound proof enclosure. Vane or screw is the only way to have a fairly quiet compressor with good air output.

 

[fuff66uk]

I have been looking on google and it seems pretty easy to swap the motor on a compressor for one from a fridge or freezer

 

[rtbcomp]

I have been looking on google and it seems pretty easy to swap the motor on a compressor for one from a fridge or freezer

Out of the mouths of innocents....................

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=9710

Basically use a motor out of a freezer, the smaller fridge motors don't really have enough starting torque.

 

[jaykay]

hydrovanes are quieter,but cost a lot more.

 

[fuff66uk]

Cheers guys

 

[NTwoO]

Here is my thread on making a box. http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=13183 It might give you some ideas...

 

[burrows1980]

Ive just built a silent compressor, 2 aircon 1300w compressors plumbed into a 50ltr receiver builds up to 120psi in 1min 20 seconds and holds 80psi when using air tools perfect. Upgrading to 4 air con comps this week, managed to aquire 10 units ranging from 720w to 1400w, needs a bit of tweaking but looking good.

Running to 2 motors per regulator and safety swt, got so fed up with my old 2hp direct drive wolf unit, way to loud.

Just need to have a good filter in the lines, they kick out a fair bit of oil, every half hour just add a teaspoon of oil to each comp, may seem a hassle but really worth it.....

Finally buying a mig welder this week to make a proper unit for it....

Gaz

 

[rtbcomp]

Seems a good plan, using big compressors is the way to go.

I'd fit cooling fans too if you're going to run them continuously, I had quite a few fridge compressors seize up due to overheating, the oil gets to over 80 degC quite easily.

 

[MG David]

I put mine in the shed behind the garage to reduce the sound. Then I built a box around it with a Z shaped air path into the box. The air intake for the pump is still in the box so as to provide some air change. There have been no overheating problems but the pump never runs for more than 10 minutes at a time and generally much less.

 

[rtbcomp]

You'd be much better moving the air intake outside the box and adding a fan. This means you'd be sucking cooler air into the pump which will keep the temperature of the compressed air down and so its density up which gives more mass of air at the airtool &c.

 

[eil]

Ive just built a silent compressor, 2 aircon 1300w compressors plumbed into a 50ltr receiver builds up to 120psi in 1min 20 seconds and holds 80psi when using air tools perfect. Upgrading to 4 air con comps this week, managed to aquire 10 units ranging from 720w to 1400w, needs a bit of tweaking but looking good.

Running to 2 motors per regulator and safety swt, got so fed up with my old 2hp direct drive wolf unit, way to loud.

Just need to have a good filter in the lines, they kick out a fair bit of oil, every half hour just add a teaspoon of oil to each comp, may seem a hassle but really worth it.....

Finally buying a mig welder this week to make a proper unit for it....

Gaz

Any pics of your setup then ?.

 

[burrows1980]

This is the 2 comp prototype setup:

Need to make a new frame etc, going to mount a 20" fan on the front as well to drag the heat out, im wiring it so only 2 comps run if needed too, only all 4 if needed.

Got a few to choose from, well 12 now, got another two today, picked the four im going to use and in total its 4910w apparently 6.6hp when calculated, will be interesting to see how it pressures up...

Will post up again when its it development stages..

Gaz