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Air compressor silencing techniques

BackinHaction

BackinHaction

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Oct 8, 2024
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Hey all!
I’m getting a reciprocating air compressor for my home shop/garage and it will be in a corner of the shop. And there will be shelves on both sides of it. I’m posting because I want to make a “sound deadening” frame around it to make it less obnoxious. I will not be building a legit separate room or anything major. Just looking for “better than nothing”!

What are you others doing to minimize the sound disruption from the compressor?

My current plan is to cover the wall and shelves with cheap foam padding (like in a music studio). And then a 3/8” thick rubber pad under the feet of the compressor.
 
Have read that getting some rubber between the motor/pump and the tank makes a big difference.
 
Silencer on the inlet made the biggest difference. I got a good one, and they're not cheap, but the thing is as close to silent as it's ever gonna get.

www.mcmaster.com

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.
www.mcmaster.com www.mcmaster.com

I went with a 1" inline high-noise-reducing muffler. Dramatic difference in noise to say the least.
 
Put a 50 cal suppressor on it.
 
Put it outside x3

Cover it from rain and call it a day.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Silencer on the inlet made the biggest difference. I got a good one, and they're not cheap, but the thing is as close to silent as it's ever gonna get.

www.mcmaster.com

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.
www.mcmaster.com www.mcmaster.com

I went with a 1" inline high-noise-reducing muffler. Dramatic difference in noise to say the least.
Click to expand...

Pricey if I were to do it on my 4 cyl emglo.

It uses this style intake/filter, which they also claim is a muffler. No problem having a conversation standing ~10' away from it. I've wanted to put it outside, but that's more for shop real estate reasons.
1728503677864.png
 
Poor people have poor ways.

This is an OLD HF pump and a very cheap close out motor from Grainger I stuck on top of my dead oilless Crapsman. Hydronic heater cut up to make an after cooler that went into a DIY water separator before the tank. It all worked, but none of it worked great.

That's a Briggs & Stratton pipe thread muffler on the intake, with threaded rod, going through it to hold the air filter and cover off the same tiller I robbed the muffler from. That worked to quiet the intake quite a bit. Sythetic oil helped, at leas placebo affect worked.

20170709165449-e5787e28-me.jpg



I eventually got a 60 Gallon Kobalt and put it outside where it belongs.
 
For noise, I have an old air filter assembly from my Cummins swap I'll rig to fit. Figure it'll never be hurting for more filter space and muffle it nicely.

I'm tempted to put mine in the small garage next to my new garage. 12 feet between them, would bury it about a foot down below a gravel parking pad. The propane line will perpendicular at ~18".

Anyone had issues with water collecting and freezing in the underground air line?

I'll likely bury 2" conduit and run some of the RapidAir stuff (HDPE-al) I already have in said conduit. I could put it below the frost line but I really don't want to dig 5 feet or more if I don't have to.

It's the little garage or the breezeway to the house.
 
Lowrollin70gmc said:
For noise, I have an old air filter assembly from my Cummins swap I'll rig to fit. Figure it'll never be hurting for more filter space and muffle it nicely.

I'm tempted to put mine in the small garage next to my new garage. 12 feet between them, would bury it about a foot down below a gravel parking pad. The propane line will perpendicular at ~18".

Anyone had issues with water collecting and freezing in the underground air line?

I'll likely bury 2" conduit and run some of the RapidAir stuff (HDPE-al) I already have in said conduit. I could put it below the frost line but I really don't want to dig 5 feet or more if I don't have to.

It's the little garage or the breezeway to the house.
Click to expand...
No idea on freezing, but I used all PexA for mine. No issues so far
 
Don't need any of that complicated or cobbled together bullshit with a proper intake silencer like I linked above.

We don't need to be hick as fuck with everything we do, just saying.
 
just shove it out in the shed
bury the least bendy airline you have
Mine lasted for years in the ground, pulled it up when I moved and it is still in use

no need to over complicate things
 
Put it in a box with some foam around it with some rubber between it and the floor. Turn a dryer vent backwards if you don't want to run intake outside. Will be the quietest you can get it without putting whole thing outside. Putting rubber dampeners between it and the slab makes a huge difference if its mounted to your shop slab.
 
Lowrollin70gmc said:
For noise, I have an old air filter assembly from my Cummins swap I'll rig to fit. Figure it'll never be hurting for more filter space and muffle it nicely.

I'm tempted to put mine in the small garage next to my new garage. 12 feet between them, would bury it about a foot down below a gravel parking pad. The propane line will perpendicular at ~18".

Anyone had issues with water collecting and freezing in the underground air line?

I'll likely bury 2" conduit and run some of the RapidAir stuff (HDPE-al) I already have in said conduit. I could put it below the frost line but I really don't want to dig 5 feet or more if I don't have to.

It's the little garage or the breezeway to the house.
Click to expand...
Never had mine freeze.

Compressor out in the shed ~75ft from the garage.

I buried the line about 3ft down. Same trench I used to run power.

Used a 30 gal tank inside the garage, though probably could have just fed right off the buried intake line.
I used 3/4" rubber line in conduit.

Did that in 2009 and worked fine till 2022 when I pulled it out due to selling the place. Buyer thought it was a "cute contraption" for filling tires. :homer:

New setup isn't fully setup yet but it'll be in a connex. Connex also has the used oil boiler that feeds the shop and will feed future house.
I may run power right off the meter panel for it, need 50 amps.
 
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Just make sure there’s no air leaks so it’ll shut off when not in use. If you’re using air tools a comp wouldn’t matter much.
 
I did some db test on mine here:

irate4x4.com

Plumbing for shop air?

Point the intake away from the shop wall so it acts like less of a ghetto-ass speaker.
irate4x4.com irate4x4.com

I still haven’t finished the enclosure.
 
Beyond intake muffler, isolate the feet with rubber or whatever to lower vibration coupling into floor/building. Putting it outside on it's own concrete pad is even better. I also built a hut around it, it helps.
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