Compressor Quiet-Box

glenn bradley

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I have been stalling on this for a year. I was going to get a bigger compressor, I was going to build a quiet-box for the compressor and shop vac both, I was going to mount the gauges and the drain outside the box, blah, blah, blah. In the meantime I was always leaving the shop when the compressor was on. I was always being startled when it kicked on, etc.

I finally took a little time after work and quickly cut up some particle board and some foam. The reduction in noise is amazing. This truly inspires me to build something better and build one for the shop vac too. In the meantime I won't get startled and put a brad through my hand ;-)

Compressor-Muffler-002.jpg Compressor-Muffler-001.jpg

The piece on the wall added a lot of reduction. There is a three inch gap between the cover and the wall/wall-foam for air circulation and it is still a big improvement. I guess the moral is that just because you can't take the time to do it the way you REALLY want to, there's no reason for a stop-gap to make your shop time more pleasant.
 
I believe that a piece of thick carpet on the floor cut to fit inside the compressor box would improve it even more--or so I've been told. I haven't built one of these yet, but after seeing yours and you saying it really works, it is moved to the top of my list of shop improvements.
 
I never thought of the foam. Mine sits in a base cabinet that I lined with acoustic ceiling tile. You can by the ones at the Borg with the broken corners for about a buck. And, you're right - the noise reduction is incredible.
 
I had draped the foam (before I cut it into pieces) over the unit and proped a board against it. The reduction was pretty poor so if you try this experiment, don't be discouraged. The reduction with the slam-bang box was quite a pleasant surprise. I think I'll take what I've learned and target the shop-vac/seperator next.
 
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Looks like a workable solution, Glenn. :thumb: I should have done something like that when I was using a loud compressor.
 
I just posted on the other compressor thread how much I hate my oil less compressor because of the noise. I need to get the energy and time to do the same thing you have. I have to do something. Funny thing is, I have lived with it for over 8 years.
 
One major thing that has to be considered here is HEAT. Enclosing a compressor because of noise, also enclosing the heat generated by the compression of the air. This will, in effect, increase the heating of the compressor more.

If you want to cut down the noise from your compressor, mount it outside your shop in a weather shelter, but allow plenty of air flow to keep it cool.

Just my advice, but at least a little more information to go on.

Aloha, Tony
 
I agree Tony, but if put my compressor outside my neighbors would lynch me and wouldn't blame them. My compressor only runs occasionally and I think if the enclosure was built properly and maybe with a small fan built to move the air inside, it would work.
 
Yeah Bill, I have to agree with that. Well, Maybe as long as you only run it for short periods and leave it to cool well between runs, it might not get too hot. As to the fan moving air inside the enclosure, that probably wouldn't do much to help. If you could fabricate a maze of baffles that air could pass through easily, but would be acousticly quietening (wow, did that come out of me? ) It's amazing how just by making sound have to bounce off sound absorbing walls while bending its way around an open maze, how much sound reduction is accomplished. Same idea as a car muffler. Now there, you are talking about big noise reduction, right?

Aloha, Tony
 
My concern would be the heat buildup inside the box, The gaps and spaces may provice enough circulation for getting enough air for compressing.

I built a cabinet for my son's garage and made a sliding shelf inside the base that a compressor similar to yours sits on. We used it inside the cabinet and it was quiter but when we opened the door, you would not believe how much heat it contained.

My compressor sits on an old Truck Mudflap. It really made a sound dampening difference.

My friend has his computer in his garage and right next to it is his Hugh Black Max compressor, and some times he forgets to turn it off. and whilst concentrating on "Business" :type: sometimes it kicks on...:eek: soon after he has to go to the house to change...:eek::D
 
There are 180 square inches of opening around the bottom and and about the same at the wall opening. I ran it pretty good and the temp inside the box seemed about the same as outside of it. Certainly anytime we box in any motorized tool we need to keep ventilation in mind.
 
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I wish I was good enough at Sketchup to draw something like what I was talking about. I think it would be fairly simple to build a "quiet box" for a compressor with the aound deadening and airflow needed to git-r-done.

I'll try doing a pencil sketch and scan it. That's about par for my "sketch - Up" capabilities right now.

The thing I was referring to is that a compressor within an enclosed space/box, without sufficient fresh, cooler air supply, will just keep getting hotter & hotter running in that environment. I sympathize with everyone who has to live with one of those compressors, but there are even oil type that are really noisy too. (I have one, er, ah, two actually)

Aloha, Tony
 
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