Bolt Down Air Compressor Or Not & Antivibration Material ?

[427HISS]

I've had my 60g Campbell Hausfeld Air Compressor for decades and I finally want to cut out as much noise as I can. I have thin carpet squares under each leg, which I think are 3. There are hundreds or more of types of pads I could use, soft rubber, hard rubber, plastics, shock absorbers etc.

The legs have hole, so should I bolt each leg to the floor or leave the compressor float ?
If so, what type of antivibration to use above and below the leg ?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ingersoll-Rand-Retail-Install-Kit-for-Horizontal-Tank-Air-Compressor-47693671001/316618686#overlay

Industrial-Grade Black Rubber Anti-Vibration Pads (50/100/200mm) ，10-50mm Thick，Heat Resistant，for Machinery, Gym Equipment & Noise Reduction: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Industrial-Grade Black Rubber Anti-Vibration Pads (50/100/200mm) ，10-50mm Thick，Heat Resistant，for Machinery, Gym Equipment & Noise Reduction: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com : technoflex anti-vibration pads

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Powermate-4-in-x-4-in-x-1-2-in-Vibration-Isolator-094-0137RP/202593096?MERCH=REC-_-pipsem-_-304844275-_-0-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a

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[jimkinney]

My 35 year old 60 gal is still bolted to it's shipping frame 2x4s. I did wrap carpet around the ones that touch the floor, but that's it. It hasn't moved in 35 years unless I help it, which I did the other day to get to the valve easier.

 

[mm08822]

Anchoring it to the floor would require isolators way beyond the carpet you have. Anchors in contact with the steel legs would transmit into the concrete.
I would leave it as it. Mine has been on 2x4's for almost 45 years, only b/c I worried about water in a basement originally.

Unless you can relocate it, I'd leave it. Insulating it will impact heat dissipation.

 

[engineer2]

I mounted mine on 3 hockey pucks. They work fine.
Do not screw it to the floor. Vibration can cause stress where the legs are welded to the tank.

 

[carlaisle]

The noise is coming from the intake.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I mounted mine on 3 hockey pucks. They work fine.
Do not screw it to the floor. Vibration can cause stress where the legs are welded to the tank.

Same thing I did.

 

[tomshep]

60 gallon vertical. Mine has 3 legs. I used two pieces of 4x4. I put the back two legs on one piece and the front leg on the other. That gave me more clearance to the valve at the bottom of the tank. The wood just sits on the concrete.

 

[micromind]

I've had good luck using 3 or 4 inch long pound-in anchors with no nut. Just the stud sticking out of the floor through the hole in the foot.

 

[nadogail]

my compressor has two rubber tires in back and two rubber feet in front, the rubber feet and tires dampen the vibration; yet still allow me to reposition the compressor so i can sweep the floor.

 

[gtae07]

The noise is coming from the intake.

This.
I put my old compressor on isolators from McMaster, but the real noise is from the intake. A good muffler there that doesn't restrict airflow will help but it's not easy to put together, especially when the intake isn't a nice round connection.

 

[racecougar]

I went with these 6-1/2 years ago for my 60 gallon vertical. I did the typical pound-in studs and used Nyloc nuts, left loose to the compressor tank feet.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I've had my 60g Campbell Hausfeld Air Compressor for decades and I finally want to cut out as much noise as I can.

Bolting it down, even with the best isolated mounts, will not affect the noise much.

 

[Danno1]

.


I like these:

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

.

 

[Spareparts]

I put mine on double up 6" square pieces of the thick stall mat from TSC, removed the drain valve, replaced with a 90 elbow a short 1/4" black pipe and then the shutoff valve, easy to drain. The compressor is a 5hp 80 gal tank that I got in 1996 from North Central Air in Downs Ks. They delivered it to my shop, unloaded it, sat in place, even wired it to my disconnect and started it up. I purchased the kit to quitened the noise basically a smitty glass pak muffler, muffler clamp (2) removed the air cleaner, placed the muffler on,clamped it and placed the air filter on and done. I can talk on my phone standing next to it with no problem. The total price in 96 was $1096.00.

 

[RMERR]

My 80 gal 5hp compressor sits on 4 squares of 1/4" neoprene. No affect on noise, but keeps it from "walking" around.

 

[ericm]

Bolting it down might be a good idea if you're in an earthquake zone.

 

[engineer2]

For an earthquake zone do what micromind did, and/or chain it to a wall. You can leave the nuts loose too.

 

[ArmyVW_GuyInTX]

My big *** 80 gallon vertical IR (old enough to have been made in USA) is not bolted down. It relies on gravity and cork rubber blocks from 10+ years ago. No noticeable vibration or noise. The outhouse keeps the weather off it and and wandering eyes from any landscapers.

 

[jabberwoki]

I used chunks cut out of a tire.. been going good for 15 years.

 

[Jazz1]

Bolted to the floor with rubber belting as isolator to keep it from walking around the shop…still loud!

 

[trashauler]

Not related to bolting it down but I just bought this compressor, and man is it quiet!
https://www.northerntool.com/produc...-90-psi-150-max-psi-230v-single-phase-5899641

 

[racecougar]

Not related to bolting it down but I just bought this compressor, and man is it quiet!
https://www.northerntool.com/produc...-90-psi-150-max-psi-230v-single-phase-5899641

I've read up a bit on those boxes. Sounds like they have quite a bit of insulative material, plus baffles, to mute the sound. I wonder what material(s) they utilize.

 

[Firebrick43]

I've read up a bit on those boxes. Sounds like they have quite a bit of insulative material, plus baffles, to mute the sound. I wonder what material(s) they utilize.

The biggest reason the compressors are quiet is not the intake silencer but the fact that the pumps are oversized and only turning 730 rpm. I have the an Eaton similarly designed without the box and it’s still very quiet.

 

[racecougar]

The biggest reason the compressors are quiet is not the intake silencer but the fact that the pumps are oversized and only turning 730 rpm. I have the an Eaton similarly designed without the box and it’s still very quiet.

That certainly makes a big difference. I know the dual cylinder 5hp/60 gal compressor (background of photo below) in the main shop is way quieter than the single cylinder 5hp/60 gal in the auxiliary shop. I don't have numbers handy, but visually, it spins slower and has a larger pulley at the compressor than the single cylinder unit.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

I have an 80 gallon, 2-stage Champion.
I bought a box of rubber floor tiles from Menards, used four of them and gave the rest away.
Not bolted down and it hasn't budged an inch.
For noise mitigation, it is in a tool / storage room closed off from the rest of the shed.

 

[micromind]

I have an 80 gallon, 2-stage Champion.
I bought a box of rubber floor tiles from Menards, used four of them and gave the rest away.
Not bolted down and it hasn't budged an inch.
For noise mitigation, it is in a tool / storage room closed off from the rest of the shed.

That's one of the best compressors available. It'll outlast 2 or 3 big store models.

 

[badonk]

I bolted my 60 gallon 2 stage IR down with concrete anchors, put anti-vibration pads down as well.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Mine is bolted down on top of some commercial style rubber flooring pieces..

 

[mikedodge]

Mine is sitting on the pallet it came with, never had a noise issue with it.

I have another that will sit on rubber pads.
A lot of instructions mention anchoring it but to leave the nut loose. Which is probably to cover themselves if someone does something that might tip the compressor over.

 

[leadfoot415]

My 60 gallon 2 stage IR has been just sitting on (with gravity assist) 2 large school bus mudflaps. Works well, it's not going anywhere, and with a flexible 1" hydraulic hose connecting it to the shop black iron pipe, vibrations aren't an issue.

 

[Mike65]

I have a 60 gallon vertical Craftsman compressor that sits on some rubber pads & is not bolted down. I have had it for 3 years & it has never moved.

 

[bozlymon]

Short lag bolts into 3 hockey pucks works for me. Doesn’t move either

leadfoot415: gravity assist—-pretty funny

 

[Worsedog]

Best thing I did was put it out in the lean to I added on to the back of the garage. It's still bolted to the pallet that it came on. And it doesn't walk around. Inside the garage you can't hear it run if the radio is on.

 

[65ranchero]

3 leg tank sitting on cork isolation pads
like these https://duckduckgo.com/y.js?ad_doma...A86C6C2A36BC122759058C3A76AB5&ID=DevEx,5115.1
Bought a 4 pack and used the extra one filleted in half to shim up the low sides to make the compressor somewhat level
not bolted down, off the shipping pallet hasn't moved.

 

[Rusted Nut]

You could mount on thin fairly hard no too thick rubber pad, and then install a spring under the hold down nut. Cheap DIY version of a spring isolator.

 

[jblnut]

Mine is on its wooden shipping frame. It’s the intake that makes the most noise. I plumbed it through the wall and into my lean and moved the filter out there as well. It’s not super quiet but it’s a whole lot less noisy.

 

[gearhead1]

Like many others I left mine on the small shipping pallet it came with and been there for decades. It is also a Campbell Hausfeld 60 gallon. As someone mentioned, it makes getting to the drain valve easier.

The wood absorbs the vibration and the unit hasn’t moved. Vibration pads and/or feet are not wrong, but the wood pallet has worked perfectly fine.

I agree with others that bolting the unit down will probably not reduce the noise, the intake is most likely the biggest contributor to the noise.

 

[gearhead1]

The key too silencing is not having a straight path to the intake I suspect. The ‘shelves’ concept may be the ticket if you want to silence. Maybe it is in conjunction with the volume of the muffler also.

Building the You Tube compressor intake silencer--read before you build!

I was looking to buy an intake air silencer/muffler for our monster recip DeVilBliss back-up compressor. Sound levels in the shop when it's running vary from the high 90s to the low 80s. I hate having to wear ear protection over my ear protection when sitting at my desk. Several of the replies...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[gearhead1]

I find nerd material quite interesting even when it’s over my head. LOL

My first assumption of noise production would be the piston. Assuming most of us have piston compressors. To get the frequency of the noise (piston cycles), take the motor speed, figure out the pulley ratio, do the math to get the compressor speed. Since the piston goes up and down in one revolution, divide the compressor speed by 2. Get the units in “events” per second. This is how many times the piston is going up or down essentially. This is the frequency.

Then, you put the frequency in this formula as the WH and solve for V0 which is the volume. Build your muffler with this volume. I suspect this may be the volume of the silencer boxes on the compressors. Something like this is how they ‘engineer’ the solution instead of completely guessing.

What Is Helmholtz Resonance and How Does It Work?

Explore Helmholtz Resonance: the core principle governing how air volume and openings control sound frequency.

engineerfix.com

Helmholtz resonance - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[badonk]

Here's how mine is bolted down. It is pretty quiet but I don't think these pads really make a difference. It is the two stage compressor running off a 5hp motor w/ 3 phase 208v power.