The air compressor in my garage is one of those extra loud 60 gal. Craftsman Professional models. I really dont even know why it's so much louder than a conventional piston type but it is. I'm going to build an enclosure to try to keep the noise down to a level that my neighbors are not bothered by it. My idea is to build a portable (read take it with me when I move) closet enclosure out of conventional 2x4 and OSB and insulate it with rolled fiberglass. Perhaps Ill even put a floor in it. The real question I have is how much air circulation Ill need and how to provide it. Any ideas about fan types out there? How about side clearance of the compressor to the interior walls?
I built a closet for mine before, i put a register vent in the roof of it and a outside air vent near the bottom. no fan, but i did monitor the heat on warm days if i was using it a lot, even ran it w/ the door open sometimes if it was too warm... VERY quiet when closed though. I could talk on the phone right next to it if I wanted. If you use it a lot, I'd probably try an attic fan of some kind, but i think the natural heat rising sucked cooler air in just fine with my setup.
it was a small closet too, only about 5" clearance on all sides, maybe a bit more on the side w/ the door on it.
We have two 60 gal. compressors set up in crates (at work) with bathroom fans on top and holes on bottom, with foam stapled to the wood inside for noise. Look for eggshell foam used in shipping, it works well with canceling noise.
Even if you put it in a closet or shed, you might get a low frequency rumble through the ground. If that rumble bugs you too much, places like Grainger sell vibration isolation feet that help out a lot. At work we had a compressor that was shaking the whole building and bugging people in an office 30 feet away. But after they installed vibration isolation feet, it made a huge difference and people quit complaining about it. If your compressor doesn't have mufflers on the inlet (little steel filter housings with snorkel tubes), then putting some of those on will help out too. A lot of the noise from compressors comes from the gulping of air at the inlet. I've seen guys adapt old snorkel type car air filters on their compressor inlet to quiet them down too.
When i moved into my house there was one of those rubbermade sheds. i moved it along side of the garage and ran the air hose and plug in thru the window. i never hear it. and the thing is so "well" built i didnt worry about air vents it has so many gaps in it that it gets plenty of circulation. They may cost more then osb and 2x4's but it looks nice out side and i have room for my yard crap in it too.
Yeah, thats what I was thinking too. Maybe if you make a cart with the inflatable type rubber tires that will help a lot too. Also Might want to use that rigid styrene insulation board that they sell at home depot. it has a higher insulation value per inch than typical roll batt insulation, price wont really be an issue since its just in a small closet. Comes in 4x8 sheets and its real easy to work with. We used it in our water heater "closet".
If its the kind that lays down, you could do what I did. I built a work bench which was basically a wooden crate of the necessary dimensions. I insulated the inside with some old carpet as well as the floor underneath. I left the ends open so air could circulate. I topped it with 4 x 4's to make the work surface sturdy. It really quietened things down. Those oil less compressors are typically a lot noisier.
I burned up a damn good compressor by doing exactly what you are proposing to do. I would not recommend it unless you have an electric fan wired into the closet so that it comes on for positive air circulation thru the closet whenever there is power to the compressor.
I changed the el-cheapo inlet filter on mine from some soggy piece of felt to a Briggs & Stratton proper folded paper filter - quieted it way down. The closet idea is good, but be sure to provide a fan for circulation - you can use a louvered door - it will cut down a lot of the direct sound, but still allow lots of circulation. The egg-crate foam is a good idea too...
Search in the forum here: http://www.garagejournal.com/ they had the same discussion just recently, check it out. Some descriptions of how they enclosed the compressor, air flow issues, all that.
The 80 gal. at one of my shops is in a little wood shed outside. Kicks ass because theres no noise in the shop when I'm painting. It has a door in front and a vent on the one side, thats it. Theres plenty of room in there to move around it and drain it and such. A very good idea.
anybody think about using A/C ductboard? Easy to set up, very light, and hey it is "polished aluminum" on the outside.
When I built mine I used gable vents on three sides. It's attached to the outside of my garage. 9 years and no problems and no noise complaints. Paul
the closet is a good idea. That way when the rod breaks and pieces of the head go flying it will be contained. Ask me how I know. I hate those noisy damn things. I know allot of people who have compressors in outside storage with no problems. Like you mentioned just monitor it and see how it will do as far as heat. If you have a side of your garage that is mostly shaded that would help too.
My standup compressor was in a corner at my old shop for 12 years with no problems. I ripped a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/4" plywood the long way in half. Nailed the 2 pieces together to form 2, 8 foot tall walls, glued insulation to the inside and slid it around my compressor in the corner, so the plywood was the # 3 & 4 walls with my shop walls being 1 & 2. The 2 feet of the plywood wasn't quit enough to reach the shop walls, and i left the top open, yet, still VERY QUIET! I could stand 4 feet away and talk on the phone
run some 2" pvc to your inlet, and the other end into the attic with a muffler/filter on it. Alot of the noise comes through the air inlet.
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