my way to quiet down my oilless compressor

wannabridin · Aug 31, 2011

hey guys! here's my solution to quieting down my compressor. it's not a super fancy one, but it certainly gets the job done for me! this made a world of difference too! what you can't see is i also lined the inside of the plastic housing with sound deadener. the muffler is from a lawn mower and that's a small K&N oil breather. it's all mounted via rubber, so it RARELY falls off!

lemme know if you have any questions or comments!!

bad_idea · Aug 31, 2011

i assume that is the air intake? nicely done. might consider an elbow to turn that upward to avoid hitting it on things.

half_full · Aug 31, 2011

is that a small gas engine muffler?

wannabridin · Aug 31, 2011

It's a lawn mower muffler I found at o'reillys for $5! And the air filter was only like $10. I tried it vertically, but it was more complicated than I wanted to make it. Plus this gets the filter in "cooler" air, and I haven't hit it on anything yet.

The keys to making the compressor more quiet, as in still convesable in the garage while running, is a larger area intake tube and a way to muffle the intake pulses.

I also made a better drain system for it using a standard 90 degree swivel and some brass fittings. It's a LOT better this way, I'll snap a picture of that too

Duarte · Aug 31, 2011

Where do you get the sound deadener from? I have the same compressor it is NOISY. I need to do this also.

JerryTX · Aug 31, 2011

I've seen plans online where people built enclosures for their compressors to reduce the noise. Never seen anything bout using a muffler so that is a creative idea.

Danglerb · Aug 31, 2011

Mine vibrates like crazy as well as makes a lot of noise (Craftsman 33 gal vert), so I think I would need something flexible between the compressor and the muffler/filter. Nice idea.

illmatyk · Aug 31, 2011

I also have the 33 gal vert and would like to do this. What kind of sound insulator did you use? Do you have more detailed pics of the muffler/filter?

I did my drain a couple weeks ago with brass fittings, its way easier than reaching underneath to loosen the regular knob as sometimes it can be too tight.

wannabridin · Aug 31, 2011

insulation was just some butyl rubber backed insulation that i had leftover from sound deadening my truck. i took off the black plastic housing and put it on the inside. it helped some. seen in the picture below is my drain. it's a 90 degree fitting, a n extension, the ball valve and then another 90 to shoot the flow down. it's SO much nicer than the **** they put on there! also notice the piece of wood i put on the non-wheel side. this is a LOT better than the rubber pucks for stability!! very easy to do.

details on my intake muffler aren't much. i just took off the old intake, and make a connection to that then welded the muffler onto an adapter then screwed that on. the filter has a rubber end that would normally slip into a valve cover, so i shaved it down to fit into the muffler end and it stays put via friction. i put the muffler on the way it would normally flow when used with exhaust, so it baffles accordingly.

all this together cut the noise by more than half! it's not screw-type quiet, but it's MUCH more tolerable!!

wannabridin · Aug 31, 2011

and here are some more pictures of everything. correction to the muffler attachment: it had threads on one end, so i just stepped down the pipe size using reducers until it all fit. those reducers were a bit pricey compared to the rest of the parts, which sucked! otherall, totally worth it though!

also notice i put a piece of scotch bright on the inlet grating to the housing, this functions as somewhat of a filter for air moving into the motor housing, and it works, as the inside isn't quite as dirty as it used to be. you can tell that i the air around the compressor gets dirty, as it has a "nice" grey tint to the housing...

i also attached a picture of the "business" end of the hose. it's a 25" reel. i could have brought it farther out to the center of the garage, but i didn't quite have the room, so this functions fine. i also have a water trap and small filter from harbor freight on there. works very well! and it's far enough downstream that the air is somewhat cool, so moisture is trapped here.

illmatyk · Sep 1, 2011

Thanks. My drain looks exactly like that but without the 90* bend at the end.

i will try and see if i can find those parts here and do that to my compressor. Mine is located in the laundry room which is right by the kitchen so when I use it, its pretty noisy inside the kitchen.

Thanks :beer:

illmatyk · Sep 1, 2011

Here is a pic of my drain pipe before installation. Not too sure if I have any of it mounted already.

wannabridin · Sep 1, 2011

I'd recommend a 90 on the end, helps deflect moisture and air straight down, so if the air is wet, it's only a small circle that gets wet, rather than whatever is at the other end of the pipe... If its inside, have you considered running that vent line outside? Just to help it be even more quiet? That's what I would do if I could!! Make purging the air a lot quieter!!

illmatyk · Sep 1, 2011

wannabridin said:
I'd recommend a 90 on the end, helps deflect moisture and air straight down, so if the air is wet, it's only a small circle that gets wet, rather than whatever is at the other end of the pipe... If its inside, have you considered running that vent line outside? Just to help it be even more quiet? That's what I would do if I could!! Make purging the air a lot quieter!!

I normally have a rag or small cardboard at the end so the floor doesn't really get wet when I drain the compressor. The compressor is currently inside but once I start doing my home shop build I want to have a small room for it outside.

wannabridin · Jan 22, 2012

Next project is a wood cabinet with foam insulation. I'll have an open top, maybe angled roof to deflect the sound out the top. I'll run the intake the way it is outside of the box, maybe extend it further away. It's not that loud currently, but I'd like it to be even quieter still. I might put some exhaust fans in the case too, and try to rig them up so when motor kicks on, so will they.

Thoughts??

wannabridin · Jan 25, 2012

Thoughts on having the fans kick on with the compressor motor?

Danglerb · Jan 25, 2012

I would start by trying to isolate the source of most of the noise, then work on that specifically. Fan motor is TINY compared to compressor motor, I'd maybe just run the fan off the compressor motor power, or maybe off the master power for the compressor.

wannabridin · Jan 25, 2012

Well I'd like to run it off the compressor motor, so when it kicks on automatically, the fans would help keep it cool. I usually leave the switch on all the time, so I don't want the fans running 24/7. I've isolated most of the noise that I can, which is from the intake. I can't help most of the rest of the noise as its from the reciprocating assembly being exposed. Only other option now is absorbing and reflecting the sound away from the work centers of the garage.

luv2diy · Jan 25, 2012

Threads like this is the reason why this site rocks! :bowdown:

Who says you need an engineering degree to engineer this NRCA (noise reduction compressor assembly). :beer:

Jagmandave · Jan 25, 2012

wannabridin said:
Next project is a wood cabinet with foam insulation. I'll have an open top, maybe angled roof to deflect the sound out the top. I'll run the intake the way it is outside of the box, maybe extend it further away. It's not that loud currently, but I'd like it to be even quieter still. I might put some exhaust fans in the case too, and try to rig them up so when motor kicks on, so will they.

Thoughts??

Yes, my thought is rather than trying to re-engineer the wheel, why not sell that noisey assed compressor and buy an oil lubed one that simply is quiet?

Then you can build the shed to move it outside and you don't spend your time trying to figure out how to make it quiet with vent fans and such, it already is quiet!

1Garageman · Jan 25, 2012

Great job! I have the good old Sears 33 gallon loud piss off your neighbors compressor, like a few others on her have on this site.

I have a few questions. I have the muffler, but not have the small K&N oil breather you do, or the sound deadener. Could you please tell me where you go to buy those? I assume the K&N oil breather I might get at tractor supply company?

Thanks! :thumbup:

wannabridin · Jan 25, 2012

I don't really have the money for a new one, but I do have some extra wood and small fans laying around. So I figure if I can use up these materials and help quiet it down I'll be good! Plus I can't move the compressor anywhere else...

wannabridin · Jan 25, 2012

Also going to move the reel to the center of the garage, this has been bothering me for awhile because I'm shorted over 8 feet when trying to take it outside...

Andrew LB · Feb 1, 2012

After seeing that little muffler mod, I couldn't resist making one for my Craftsman 28gal compressor. Spent $4.30 for the muffler, $9 on the filter, and I already had the fittings needed. I decided to weld a fitting onto the muffler so the filter would screw on, and made the mistake of not checking the power and feed settings first... and ended up blowing a nice hole through the muffler. After a difficult repair due to the very thin metal, I ground it smooth and sprayed it red to hide what i had done.

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lead_foot · Feb 1, 2012

^^^So did it knock the noise down much? Definitely doing this to my craftsman eardrum smasher if it actually does some good.

wannabridin · Feb 1, 2012

I might add another 90 degree elbow to have the filter higher up. Dunno yet, space is tight for my cabinet progress...

SINISTER · Feb 2, 2012

I used 1/2" Dense-board from home depot to build a small box for my 6G porter cable compressor. I lined the inside of the box with some dynamite I had left over from a very old project. I made the front of the box hinge-able for access and drilled a hole just large enough for the hose. Though its no longer portable, I can have a conversation on the phone while I am within 10ft from it while its running.

wannabridin · Feb 2, 2012

Dynamite?? Aren't your worried about its stability with heat and vibrations?

SINISTER · Feb 2, 2012

Sorry. Dyna-mat, computer corrected it. Not worried about the heat, the unit is small and I have a 1" by 10" slot in the rear of the shed where the box is mounted to allow outside air. The machine doesn't get any hotter than it used to, though I don't use it for any large jobs or extended work, thats what my 60G is for.

wannabridin · Feb 2, 2012

Ya I was just messing with ya on the typo. I'll probably leave the roof of mine open, or at least the back corners. Maybe get a cheap tower fan and put the compressor and fan on a HD timer so the fan runs for a certain time frame each day regardless of the compressor cycling. This might be easiest and cheapest.

my way to quiet down my oilless compressor

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