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Tip: (Entirely) silence your air compressor!

T

ToadMan8

Member
I am building in a detached garage that sits about 20 feet from a garden shed.

A few years back, I got tired of needing a flashlight in the garden shed, so I ran a direct-bury cable underground to the shed from the panel in the garage. I also installed a receptacle, because hey, why not. It comes in handy. So after being repeatedly deafened by the compressor, I decided to relocate it to the shed. I ran the weatherproof, heavy-duty hose out of the floor, and when I am going to be working for the weekend, I connect it to a quick-connect set in the wall of the garage.

Assuming you don't mind the hose running across a bit of yard, the only complaint I have is that my pressure regulator is on the compressor, so I have to walk over there when switching to or from the rivet gun. I should just buy one to mount in-line in the garage. (Recommendations?)

I also anticipate that I will have trouble getting the compressor to start in the winter because it has always hated cold weather. (Oiled, single-stage DeWalt; blows the internal circuit breaker several times when it's cold.) Perhaps I'll figure out a pre-heating solution, or buy a compressor that isn't so cold sensitive.

And, as a final benefit, the wife really enjoys the light in the shed.
 
You say you cannot hear it? Now if a hose blows off in the shed your compressor will run until it burns out!!!
 
Well, I can't hear it from inside the garage, but when I open the garage door I can hear it quite loudly. So it's not going to go unnoticed any longer than I'm actively working in the garage. The compressor is rated for 100% duty cycle, so it shouldn't burn out in the mean time either.

Certainly something to consider though!

That makes me think, I should probably remember to shut it off when I go on vacation ;).
 
Get yourself another pressure regulator and mount inside your shop. A really good one is fairly inexpensive and will make life much easier.
 
I made a shed for my compressor

And put it outside the garage, it was well worth it. I ran the hose and power cord in the garage, plug it in when I need air, works great and is very quite.

Randy
8A flying
 
the science.... of silent!

I've also dreamed of silencing my ear-splitting shop vac and other devices...hate noise!
just one caveat; if you seal in the noise, you probably seal in the air & heat, so your compressor motor isn't going to last as long as one with good airflow!.

look up some acoustic theory, and you'll see that absorbing the sound wave energy, or blocking/damping it with mass are 2 of the main principles.
so a lead-lined concrete bunker would be good ( may be some left-over from the cold war) or a room lined with absorbent material.
I always think of my youth when we built our own speaker cabinets, and lined them with fibreglas batts, foam sheets, etc. but cut a port in the bottom to let the bass frequencies out. Lotsa fun.
hmmmm, maybe that's why my ears are sensitive now!!?! :)
 
ToadMan8 said:
...
Assuming you don't mind the hose running across a bit of yard, the only complaint I have is that my pressure regulator is on the compressor, so I have to walk over there when switching to or from the rivet gun. I should just buy one to mount in-line in the garage. (Recommendations?)
....
Click to expand...

I keep a small inline regulator with gauge on the rivet gun so I can adjust the gun for different rivet sizes. I don't even have to walk the 10 feet to the compressor (Craftsman, oiled, not real loud), and it's just a simple matter of glancing at the inlline reg's gauge to verify I'm set up properly. The reg on the compressor stays at 90 psi most of the time, so when I need the drill or squeezer, I just unplug the hose from the inline reg on the rivet gun, and I'm ready to go.

DSCN3211.JPG
 
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I purchased a 220V, 3 HP, 60 gallon Ingersoll-Rand compressor (from Northern Tool). Much quieter than my 2 HP 20 gallon compressor, and oodles more air and cheaper to run. With the large tank, it doesn't run much unless using a cut off wheel.
 
silencing the air compressor

Great idea on keeping things quiet and freeing up space in the shop as well. I did the very same thing with a few exceptions perhaps.

I built an extra large garden shed. I used two pieces of seamless black plastic pipe (ABS). It runs from the shed to the shop underground. It goes up through the wooden floor of the shed and goes into some larger grey pipe that connects it to the side of the shop. The grey pipe is the kind that your electric lines usually enter the house through. I think it's called a "P" fitting. It allows you to take off a cover with 2 screws so that you can get the wire around the corner. It looks neat and attractive.

One pipe contains the air hose while the other has the electrical. The ends are sealed with a dab of spray foam to keep out moisture and bugs. Both ends of the pipe are high enough that water can't get into the pipes.

There is also a piece of surplus aircraft cable running through the pipe that is taped to the hose in a few spots. That way, if I ever need to replace the hose, I can fish it out and pull another wire/rope/cable/ hose or whatever back through again.

:( Unfortunatly I ran my compressor in the cold weather (below freezing).:(

I think that the pump is shot now cause it will seize up at about 60 psi. Don't do what I did unless using thinner oil or preheating. I looked at the check valve which is OK, so it must be the bearings that are shot. :mad:
 
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