Going Up.........?

Well, I guess this fits in this forum....

I'm always stuck for space, and every little bit extra I can squeeze out of the Dungeon is a good thing.

My compressor has sat in the NE corner of my shop, one of of the concrete table tops I have in all 4 corners of my Dungeon (they are the tops of the L-O-N-G concrete fingers that go deep into the ground keeping the building in place). Well there is a fair bit of space above the compressor, so last night I made it levitate a bit............


This is what it looked like before (with all the usual stuff that seems to end up on any flat surface removed )

and this is how it looks now.........



The boxes are all good and solid, and they will be anchored into the concrete (later today, as I did this starting about 1 AM, so hammer drilling into the concrete was NOT going to happen at that time )

I've still got to plumb the drain again, I need to rethink that a bit, but all in all I'm rather pleased with it.

I know some of you guys are not hurting for space, but I sometimes think of my self as a submariner, in that my space is very limited, and I have to use it the best way I can, this freed up some very useful space!

Cheers!

Looks like it should give you a bit more flat surface to pile stuff up on!

Higher! Higher!
You could fit some nice sort of a storage cabinet under there with drawers and everything....

I like the imaginary outlet you have drawn on the wall there under the compressor....

Brent Dowell said:

I like the imaginary outlet you have drawn on the wall there under the compressor....

Click to expand...

They have vastly different electrical codes in Japan than we do here in the States. They use the imaginary outlets to lessen the chance of electric shock in the event of an earthquake.

Vaughn McMillan said:

They have vastly different electrical codes in Japan than we do here in the States. They use the imaginary outlets to lessen the chance of electric shock in the event of an earthquake.

Click to expand...

In my new 'garage/shop', I have very few outlets. Lot's of extension cords. I might just start drawing some of those on the walls to see how the work...

Yuk Yuk Yuk, you guys are SOOOOO funny.....

OK, OK, I never ended up doing all the wiring I wanted to do, I really should have, I'm stuck for outlets.

Nice thing about the Sharpie outlets is they are cheap and easy to install, and MUCH safer than any GFI outlet

I wish I could have gone higher, but from there, I can still reach everything without a ladder.

Cheers!

Even though I have a very large space I understand Stu. I am very careful with my space and I always looking to make it better/more usable. The compressor always seemed to take up a lot of space and I have been looking for a better home for it too.

I discovered something by accident that might be useful to someone else here. I have a small compressor similar to yours. It's on wheels and likes to walk around the shop till it hits something. I had it under the electrical panels since that was useless space. Then I installed the RPC and had to put the idler motor there. Well the compressor had to move and there is gas line close by. Didn't want it get against it and of course that is where it wanted to walk too.

I installed a piece of the puzzle matting under the RPC to quieten it up and then decided to try that on the compressor. No more walking! It stays in place now and the cure was dirt cheap. And now I don't hear the compressor running up stairs anymore either.

You know, it is funny, the compressor is quieter now for me, I guess the "pumping" part of it, is up higher, and out of the direct line of sight, or line of sound.

Say Stu...

I like to think outside the box a bit. Wouldn't you gain more useful space if you sold that compressor and replaced it with a vertical tank unit? The kind with the compressor on top.

(I know, easier said than done.)

Stu,

I looked at what you did and my thoughts immediately went to the earthquake prone area you live in. Is the compressor tied down? If not, what is it going to hit as it falls over and then down from the large cement block? Is it likely to tear up anything and create a larger hazard, or block your egress?

Trying to keep you safe....

Warren

.........

Art Mulder said:

Say Stu...

I like to think outside the box a bit. Wouldn't you gain more useful space if you sold that compressor and replaced it with a vertical tank unit? The kind with the compressor on top.

(I know, easier said than done.)

Click to expand...

Once about 4 years ago, I saw a vertical tank unit, a Coleman unit at Costco, it was cheap too (for here) I did not buy it, as we had a full car (friend without a car went with us to Costco). Went back the next week.........sold out.......

I've yet to see another one here, by any maker, they just don't "Do" that kind of thing here, or a least I've not found one.

This compressor I bought on New Years Day 2005, I think I paid around $500 for it, which was a steal, it is a 16 gallon unit.

Warren White said:

I looked at what you did and my thoughts immediately went to the earthquake prone area you live in. Is the compressor tied down? If not, what is it going to hit as it falls over and then down from the large cement block? Is it likely to tear up anything and create a larger hazard, or block your egress?

Trying to keep you safe....

Warren

Click to expand...

Thanks for the concern Warren.

The boxes under the unit are now screwed down to the concrete with big screws, and the wheels are chocked with big chocks so it cannot roll around at all, but you are correct, I think I'll put a chain on it to the wall or ceiling, just to make sure it don't come unmounted

Also, if an earthquake is big enough to shake the basement of my building bad, I'll have more things to worry about than the compressor. Here in Japan, when you are on the 8th or 10th floor and a quake comes, the whole building really sways, but often on the 1st floor, or the basement, you hardly notice.

Cheers!

Good access to more horizontal space for accumulating important materials and salvagable matter.

I might interject.... you spoke of the hammer drill etc. and how it would have to wait till daylight hours , consider an adhesive. for the most part you will not be pulling in any direction and the need is to secure a good footing. the weight of the compressor might be enough to hold itself down and the adhesive would secure the Boxes in place. Just a thought....

Stu

That looks good, but I was thinking along the same line as Art -- only a little more "out of the box". Why does that thing have to be the shape it is? Could you take the compressor off the tank, hang the tank up really high, with a drain down lower so you could reach it, then BOLT the compressor onto the concrete block (maybe have it sitting on some hard rubber) and cover it with a box with sound asorbing material inside it. Then, you could build another cabinet with shelves on the remainder of the concrete block

Jay

pretty cool there stu! I too will be thinking vertically when I get the roof on. I'll have loads of room above head/eye level. I'm thinking lumber racks up at about 7' and up for long term storage and drying. I'm 6' 3 so I will be able to reach the first level w/out too much effort and I can always use a step stool to reach higher. My eventual compressor and DC are going to go in a lean to shed/bump-out, along with a drop box ala Todd and Marty. More for space than noise control.

Yeah Jay, I could do that, but I will, get to a point of diminishing returns. For now, it took less than an hour to clean up, build the boxes and raise the SS Redtank enough that it is much less in my way, and gave me the space I needed, heck, I still have some bare spots on top there that I've not covered up yet, with stuff

Bill, you idea about an adhesive is a good one, thing is, I don't have any (I will add it to my list) while I do have the hammer drill and screws.

Cheers!