Air Compressor Questions & New Garage

[Dixie_Flatline]

A little back story here to kick things off. I have moved a lot over the years, partly work related and partly because we needed a larger home for the family. Long story short, we close on the sale of our home on the 4th and hope to close on the new home on the 17th. The first project to be tackled is the basement/garage. It is a small space since we are downsizing. Single car and room for work space is a bit flexible. Since this is hopefully the last move for us I want to do it right the first time.

I mention that because it is important. I want to add an air compressor and plumb it in properly, but noise is the biggest issue/hurdle. Part of the basement will be our den, and someone can't watch television over there if I have this large compressor just hammering away. Insulation and noise abatement will only get me so far, the rest comes down to the compressor itself. My first thought was to divorce the compressor/motor from the tank. Keep the tank inside, build a small enclosure outside for the rest. The wife will probably complain about this since its going to be ugly in her opinion, and that got me looking at the "silent" compressors.

Yeah, I'd love an industrial rotary scroll compressor, but that's not in the cards and honestly I don't need that much air. I'm talking more impact use, blowing off things with compressed air, maybe a die grinder now and then. My previous setup did not have the volume to run the die grinder without hitting my duty cycle limits on that piece of quality engineering. This led me to thinking about rolling my own Franken-system. A new 100# ~EMPTY~ propane tank inside the garage, then find a compressor capable of keeping it fed without hitting that duty cycle limit.

In the past I had a York compressor mounted on my off-road rig, and it was honestly great for just about anything I needed. I could get an electric motor and have no doubt it would suit my purposes, however, this thing is going to be loud inside the garage. A Bendix off a commercial truck is also something I considered, grabbing one off a salvage truck and finding a single-phase motor with enough torque to run the thing will probably put me right back in the range of just buying an Ingersoll at the big box store.

Is divorcing the pump/motor from the tank the only solution here, or how much material will it take to make a meaningful reduction in the noise if I have to keep it all together inside the garage? Open to suggestions!

 

[Stuart in MN]

Does the air compressor need to be inside? Could you put outside, say behind the garage? Also, what you using it for? If the needs are fairly minimal I recall a discussion here on the board some time ago about a smaller compressor known to be pretty quiet. I don't recall the brand, someone else may remember or can do a search.

 

[matt_i]

How often are you going to need air (?) I pump up my 60gal tank about 1x per quarter, if that. Then just valve it off and wait for the next need. I use an M12 inflator for tires which is 10x as convenient. I put my compressor in the attic which is insulated and somewhat isolated from the shop below.

 

[manwithtools]

If the needs are fairly minimal I recall a discussion here on the board some time ago about a smaller compressor known to be pretty quiet. I don't recall the brand, someone else may remember or can do a search.

California Air Tools

 

[Sumboodie]

Tell them to shut off the TV and be productive with their time.

Problem solved.

 

[Dixie_Flatline]

My use is an impact for doing suspension work occasionally, taking off wheels whenever rotation is due, some light painting duties with an HVLP gun, using the air to clean off things, a small roll-lock grinder and the occasional die grinder being used. I'm not wrenching professionally or media blasting parts. A little 10-20 gallon isn't going to cut it when I do need to use air. That 100# tank I mentioned would be more than enough volume, it's the pump motor combo which has me stumped. Otherwise it's just admitting defeat and grabbing something off the shelf.

As far as putting the pump and motor outside is concerned I would have to make it match or at the very least look appropriate outside of a historic brick house. No attic space since it's a basement so either outside or a lot of soundproofing I guess is in order. Maybe chisel out the concrete in a small area and go underground ?

Turn off the TV? Are you nuts!?! When the wife gets home from work and wants to unwind while watching trash that's her go to some days i dont say a word. I know not to mess with something that's working!

 

[manwithtools]

Get cordless tools for work like impact, die grinding, rol-lock, etc. Then a small quiet compressor will do everything else you need.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

You mentioned a one car garage which implies limited work/storage space, then you mentioned putting a 100 gallon tank in this space and separating the compressor to be remote. Do you really have room for that tank? Separating the compressor, I would think, would introduce the opportunity of significant condensation between the remote compressor and the tank - potential freezing of lines? Do your codes allow one of those smaller storage sheds placed near or attached to the house? Based on what you have said so far, you might be better off focusing on how to house the compressor/tank separate from the work area.

 

[nadogail]

Some compressors are quieter than others, just read the specifications. Compared to the first compressor i bought, my newer one is a lot quieter.

 

[Sumboodie]

My use is an impact for doing suspension work occasionally, taking off wheels whenever rotation is due, some light painting duties with an HVLP gun, using the air to clean off things, a small roll-lock grinder and the occasional die grinder being used. I'm not wrenching professionally or media blasting parts. A little 10-20 gallon isn't going to cut it when I do need to use air. That 100# tank I mentioned would be more than enough volume, it's the pump motor combo which has me stumped. Otherwise it's just admitting defeat and grabbing something off the shelf.

As far as putting the pump and motor outside is concerned I would have to make it match or at the very least look appropriate outside of a historic brick house. No attic space since it's a basement so either outside or a lot of soundproofing I guess is in order. Maybe chisel out the concrete in a small area and go underground ?

Turn off the TV? Are you nuts!?! When the wife gets home from work and wants to unwind while watching trash that's her go to some days i dont say a word. I know not to mess with something that's working!

Me... your laziness isn't going to impede my productivity.
Don't like the compressor, tough ****.
Put ear buds in if you want to rot your life away on the TV.

Not like it's running 24x7, right?

 

[Dixie_Flatline]

You mentioned a one car garage which implies limited work/storage space, then you mentioned putting a 100 gallon tank in this space and separating the compressor to be remote. Do you really have room for that tank? Separating the compressor, I would think, would introduce the opportunity of significant condensation between the remote compressor and the tank - potential freezing of lines? Do your codes allow one of those smaller storage sheds placed near or attached to the house? Based on what you have said so far, you might be better off focusing on how to house the compressor/tank separate from the work area.

Its an empty basement more or less. Only the HVAC and water heater in there at the moment. If you are standing in the single garage door opening it is deep enough to house a long bed crew cab truck. Not gonna be jacking it up in there, but it fits, plus there is room in front of it for a workbench that's not too close to the nose of the truck. To the right is more open space I can use for storage cabinets or a workbench depending on how I lay it out. That leaves the remainder of the space on the opposite end. I am planning to make it into a den which can hold a large sectional, or a couch/loveseat/recliner combo. It'll be cozy because of the staircase, but not cramped where you are climbing over furniture to get around. Didn't have my tape measure with me on the last visit, but did sneak the truck in for size comparison.

There is also an alternative, but it would be far down the road time-wise. There is a concrete pad out back, about 12x14, where I planned to build a shed later on. After the basement is finished and a kitchen remodel that's got me trying to find appliances to fit into my design rather than the other way around. I thought about putting the compressor out there and running lines to the house, but I was concerned with freezing temps and buried line. Its Tennessee so we don't get those lovely winters like North Dakota, but it does spend time below freezing. If I bury them below the frost line will they function properly? Its a fairly decent distance to run, but I am already going to have a trencher out to do some other work and it'd be good timing to just run the lines sooner and finish them off later.

 

[CraigStu]

To me it seems like separating the motor and pump from the tank is WAY too much like work. Almost all compressors have the motor and pump mounted to brackets that are welded to the tank. Why not work at putting it outside. It's my experience that on brick houses things like porches, entranceway roofs, decks, etc are very commonly done in wood painted white. So I wouldn't see an aesthetic problem building a small storage enclosure for a compressor outside.

 

[Stuart in MN]

If you decide to put it in the basement, isolation pads under the feet and a baffled enclosure will go a long way in keeping the noise down. There's some standard designs for the enclosure out there, and they've been discussed here on the board in the past. (I'm not going to help you carry it down the basement stairs, though. )

Another thought: I've seen where the pad for a compressor in industrial situations is isolated from the rest of the floor - basically you would use a saw to cut a square around where the compressor sits, so that piece of concrete is not attached. That isolates the rest of the floor from vibrations that will work their way through the rest of the house. You can fill the saw kerf with silicone so dust and dirt won't accumulate in it.

 

[Sumboodie]

A decent commercial grade compressor isn't very loud either. Between that and it not running that often, it really an issue?

Whatever air tools you're using will likely be louder....

I put mine in a conex as I needed air in there anyhow and it would have used a fair bit of space in the shop.