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Compressor Enclosure

Posted by 141drew Posted onOct 28, 2016 at 12:19 PM and filed under Featured Spaces
Updated onUpdated on May 20, 2021 at 6:33 PM


I was farting around on the internet the other day and ran into a pretty smart outdoor compressor enclosure that utilizes a smart muffler of sorts.

You can see the details here.

It’s a hell of a lot of work for a cheap pancake compressor, but the idea seems pretty sound to me.


See Comments on the forum.

View thread (34 replies)
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Farmall450

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That's a pretty elaborate set up for that baby compressor. Nice though. Hopefully no water ever gets in there and he drains it frequently.
 
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krcoomer

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Farmall450 said:
That's a pretty elaborate set up for that baby compressor. Nice though. Hopefully no water ever gets in there and he drains it frequently.
Click to expand...

That is what I was thinking too. Would not work for me for sure with our humidity. I don't think that is a pancake. Seeing how deep he dug it it is probably a vertical 30 gallon or so. Makes more sense about the size and noise he described. I would hate to lift that in and out, especially with about 10 gallons of water in the tank.
 
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LS6 Tommy

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That oiless compressor is doomed to death by overheating. That is if the light switch he's feeding it from doesn't burn the house down first. If he lives in a climate that has winter, the filter dehydrator will burst the bowl the frost time it freezes, too. I also can't believe he spent all that money and time for that little compressor.

Tommy
 
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F

Farmall450

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krcoomer said:
That is what I was thinking too. Would not work for me for sure with our humidity. I don't think that is a pancake. Seeing how deep he dug it it is probably a vertical 30 gallon or so. Makes more sense about the size and noise he described. I would hate to lift that in and out, especially with about 10 gallons of water in the tank.
Click to expand...

I think it is like 30 but oilless 30 still isn't much air! :willy_nil
 
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ZipSnafu

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LS6 Tommy said:
That oiless compressor is doomed to death by overheating. That is if the light switch he's feeding it from doesn't burn the house down first. If he lives in a climate that has winter, the filter dehydrator will burst the bowl the frost time it freezes, too. I also can't believe he spent all that money and time for that little compressor.

Tommy
Click to expand...

Overheating may be a problem, he's in Arizona, Freezing not so much I would think.
 
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dave*99

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LS6 Tommy said:
That oiless compressor is doomed to death by overheating. That is if the light switch he's feeding it from doesn't burn the house down first. If he lives in a climate that has winter, the filter dehydrator will burst the bowl the frost time it freezes, too. I also can't believe he spent all that money and time for that little compressor.

Tommy
Click to expand...

Yup, nice coffin for a dead compressor :beer:
 
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bochnak

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For the amount spent on that hole, he could have bought a 2 stage with a low RPM pump that puuuurs.

Here is mine that function as a pegboard:

 
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bullnerd

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Pretty neat.
Compressor is under ground
Ground cools the block
Block cools the air
Air cools the compressor

It says in the article its been running that way for 12 yrs, that's pretty good.
 
B

bullnerd

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bochnak said:
For the amount spent on that hole, he could have bought a 2 stage with a low RPM pump that puuuurs.

Here is mine that function as a pegboard:

Click to expand...

I worked in a shop that had a compressor in an un-ventilated closet! I mean 4 by 4 closet! Took about ten yrs for it to finally have an issue. And it could have more from neglected oil changes than heat.

Did you look at your compressor? On my antique craftsman the main sheave has a fan built into the spokes. I don't think you'll have a problem, plenty of air circulating around it.
 
B

bochnak

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bullnerd said:
I worked in a shop that had a compressor in an un-ventilated closet! I mean 4 by 4 closet! Took about ten yrs for it to finally have an issue. And it could have more from neglected oil changes than heat.

Did you look at your compressor? On my antique craftsman the main sheave has a fan built into the spokes. I don't think you'll have a problem, plenty of air circulating around it.
Click to expand...

The top to my enclosure is open. Given my low duty cycle, the thing barely gets warm, so I think I am OK. I could always install an aux fan somehow.
 
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ThrifyGarage

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Love the concept. As mentioned there is definitely room for improvement. I'd also be concerned with ground water issues with drainage. But overall I think it was a great idea and it hides the size of the compressor well. Looks to be about a 30 gallon compressor.
 
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BreeStephany

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I saw a similar concept at a family friend's shop. They used a large pre-cast septic tank and put their compressor, h2o booster pump and h2o pressure tanks (house & shop) in it. Definitely cut down on mechanical room space in both their house and shop.

I would definitely have some concerns regarding condensate draining and overheating with this particular build, especially in Arizona, but the concept is pretty cool.
 
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RSVRMAN

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Bought the loudest direct drive compressor and spent the most to silence it?:headscrat

Should have spent the money on an old slow turning air compressor. I can have a normal conversation over my quincy 208 and actually enjoy the thump noise of it.
 
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Nexussian

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He mentions 22 80Lb bags of Sakrete, in the pictures they look like these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/SAKRETE-80-lb-Gray-Concrete-Mix-65200390/100350291

So, $3.55 X 22 = $78.10 + Tax.

I've no idea what he spent on conduit, wire, boxes, etc, but he's not into the pit for a huge amount of money.

While all concerns about heat and tank drain are certainly valid, in Arizona, away from bodies of water the humidity averages what, 12% ?

I'm not justifying his not addressing a remote drain in the article, but a simple auto drain, plumbed out of the box would cure one of these concerns.

While I fully agree with the idea of buying a better compressor, I can't fault his idea of improving what he had.


I have to admit, I like the idea Bree S. mentioned of a large buried precast septic tank as a mechanical room. :)


Gotta love this place, great ideas, in almost every thread. :D
 
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M

MacMcMacmac

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At least one cinderblock compressor room was seen slowly imploding due to the vacuum the vane compressor inside it was producing. Customer was complaining of low air production.
 
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95riosnake

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Probably not a huge issue in AZ, but I know if I dug a hole in the ground that deep with no drainage it would end up with water in it before long, and it would be a ***** to get out. All other issues with this install aside, I think I would have formed a sump area somewhere in the bottom with an automatic sump pump, then coated the interior with Drylok or other waterproof coating. Like I said though, that may not be a problem in AZ, but I know there would be multiple issues here in the Northeast.

As others have said, a lot of work for a 30 gal, but I do appreciate how much effort he put into it though. It's always nice to see someone give a **** and really try to build something out nicely, even if they had a few errors in their design. Of course that hole would have been gigantic if it was for an 80+ gal, and lowering the compressor down into the pit would be quite a process for sure.
 
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radrush

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dodgepolara500 said:
What about one of these off the shelf cabinets? Anyone have experience with these?

http://www.sears.com/california-air...iL9TQZ-1myd8Ye46RVht-BoCSkLw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Click to expand...

Those guys at California Air Tools (CAT) appear to have problem with understanding that words mean things.

The description reads," The CALIFORNIA AIR TOOLS SPC03 Air Compressor Sound Proof Cabinet is designed to reduce the noise from an air compressors by at least 40%."


In my book 40% less noise is not "sound proof".
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Good thing CAT doesn't sell water-proof tents to campers...I'd be pretty pissed off if only 40% of the rain were stopped...
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R

radrush

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And another thing, why go to all the trouble to relocate the 30 gallon into the ground? That tank doesn't make any noise. Just remove the noise-maker motor from the top and relocate it.

I've often wondered why more people don't do that.
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R

RSVRMAN

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radrush said:
And another thing, why go to all the trouble to relocate the 30 gallon into the ground? That tank doesn't make any noise. Just remove the noise-maker motor from the top and relocate it.

I've often wondered why more people don't do that.
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Click to expand...

:thumbup:
 

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LS6 Tommy

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radrush said:
Those guys at California Air Tools (CAT) appear to have problem with understanding that words mean things.

The description reads," The CALIFORNIA AIR TOOLS SPC03 Air Compressor Sound Proof Cabinet is designed to reduce the noise from an air compressors by at least 40%."


In my book 40% less noise is not "sound proof".
Click to expand...

It IS soundproof. You can't hear anything when you're inside it with the compressor running... :bounce:

Tommy
 
R

rbunch4468

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I am an audio hobbiest in addition to my mechanical interests. In the audio world, for subwoofer enclosure construction, one creates a rigid box and installs acoustic foam to manage resonance an audio 'discoloration' of the native vibration of the woofer cone. Many of the qualities of a properly designed subwoofer enclosure would seem to apply to noise management of a compressor. I have a contractor compressor that I always wished was quieter when it cycles on. I will combine my hobbies and post here with my ideas... and prototypes. This will live in my garage space with workshop. More to come!
 
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LS6 Tommy

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Not to bring back an older thread, but an associate called me yesterday. He said the State Inspector failed one of his compressors for having an "inaccessible drain line". Apparently the OEM condensate line comes down the side of the receiver to an autodrain his people installed. The inspector failed it because that line is facing the back wall of the boiler room which is only 2" away. This made mee look up the OSHA regs for pressure vessel installation and I found this:

"1910.169(b)(1)

Installation. Air receivers shall be so installed that all drains, handholes, and manholes therein are easily accessible. Under no circumstances shall an air receiver be buried underground or located in an inaccessible place."

I know this guy isn't overseen by OSHA at his house, but I wonder if this enclosure would be considered "buried". It's definitely inaccessible without removal form the pit.
 
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Nexussian

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That's a valid point, I wonder what his county or state home inspector would say about that.

Or his insurance adjuster for that matter. :scared:

Kinda **** to have to buy home owners insurance through Lloyds of London. :shocking:
 
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dtbingle

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dodgepolara500 said:
What about one of these off the shelf cabinets? Anyone have experience with these?

http://www.sears.com/california-air...iL9TQZ-1myd8Ye46RVht-BoCSkLw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Click to expand...

This seems nice, but it would be awesome to see something that fits a 60/80 gallon vertical compressor. Then again, the price would probably be outrageous and you could just frame it into a small room for much less.

As a general question, how would you determine the required surrounding space, air intake, and exhaust when boxing in a larger compressor such as a 5hp 60 gallon unit?
 
H

HotrodHR

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I'm sorry but this overkill... should have built an above ground room large enough to accommodate a larger compressor down the road.

Auto drains are great... when they work! When the fail you end up with a tank half full of water before you realize it.

I had a similar compressor and sold it because of the noise. Moved up to the 80 gallon quadzilla that sits in my shop now. Yes, it's a little noisy when it's running, but so is grinding metal and running power tools... ear muffs work great!
 
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