Ideas for a compressor enclosure?

[Aussie Mike]

Hi All,

I recently upgraded my mill to a CNC machine and I'm running a mist cooling system on it. The mill is great but with the constant air supply required for the misting system my compressor runs pretty regularly. It's a good sized compressor reservoir and does 16CFM so it keeps up OK. I'm just concerned about the noise at night and annoying the neighbors.

Has anyone got any ideas for building a quiet enclosure for their compressor. I was thinking about making some sort of enclosure for it and lining it with sound deadening foam.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Jarnipman]

I had the same concern and starting helping the neighbors and becoming friends with them because of my noisy tools. Look online for how they do basement movie theaters in 10 million dollars houses. They have it all figured out. There is special foam board, sometimes double to triple drywall, etc, etc. I tried it and the problem is the air intake, the noise still comes through the air intake, but you can get it pretty quiet. I put baffles in my air intake in my room and lined them with foam.

 

[Fretters]

Hi Mike,

I suggest getting a sheet metal fabrication shop in your area to make you an insulated enclosure (Unless you intend to make one your-self?)

I suggest a basic box using .75 or 1mm sheet-metal for the outer, then .55 Perforated metal for the inner, with some kind of acoustic insulation sandwiched in between the 2. I would suggest using 50mm or 75mm acoustic insulation.

Mick

Steel would be the last choice, IMHO. Either ply, chipboard or MDF would be preferable. Good ventilation is needed for an enclosure, and run an intake through a baffled enclosure.

 

[drink]

It is the first time I have encountered anyone trying to sound proof a compressor enclosure. Years ago I tried to find a company that manufactured compressor enclosures and found nothing available. From my experience with large air compressors it is a must to have proper ventilation. During the warm season a compressor can heat up quite a bit so it is good to have plenty of air around it. Another thing to take into consideration is being able to service it and not just being able to work around it. A good idea for an enclosure is to design it for forklift servicing. I have seen an entire enclosure get totally destroyed when the compressor had to be replaced. Then I saw a service technician have a really difficult time rebuilding a compressor that was enclosed kind of tight.

I have seen enclosures made out of 2 x 4's, plywood, and wire mesh with roofing shingles on top. Some people make them out of steel also. Years ago I think it was a local IR that had a compressor enclosure service available. You might try contacting a local compressor company that has enclosure services and ask them what they recommend. By now they might have some enclosures available that are cost efficient. Your compressor manufacturer would be a good place to start. If you enclose it properly you should have a good running compressor for years to come.

I have seen some high cost enclosures on roof tops and other places but I don't think you would want to pay the price they cost. Here are some places and websites with some information on enclosures. I would suggest contacting IR, other manufacturers, and/or your compressor manufacturer and ask them what they have available or suggest to do.

http://www.enoisecontrol.com/applications/air-compressor-noise-control/

http://www.nickpower.com/diy-soundproof-box-for-noisy-air-compressors/

https://acousticalsolutions.com/soundproofing-small-loud-widgets/

http://www.ingersollrandproducts.co...ium-rotary-air-compressors/90-160kw-125-200hp

http://www.ekpowerproducts.com/enclosures

https://www.google.com/search?q=com...2&ved=0ahUKEwjWy62Q1b3KAhXGOT4KHSySBUUQ7AkILg

 

[sberry]

This is old but I took re-mesh and laid a fiberglass batt over it. This certainly could be improved but it worked super well. It has since been replaced with a simple foam board, not quite as good but it is well tolerable to work around and I like to be able to hear it some. The primary to the left is under it.

 

[beakie]

2x4 sill and top plate
2x3 inner and outer walls, stagger each stud so 1 is inner wall, next is outer
drywall inner wall
sound deadening insulation
drywall outer wall
drywall ceiling, add insulation above drywall, OSB top (OSB so you can store stuff on top

 

[sberry]

Drywalling the inner may contribute more than it solves.

 

[Alexbn921]

I got the box as scrape from work. It is weather tight and vented. The steel is around 10 gage. To start I leveled the area with pavers and set the box in place, all 100+ lb’s of it. Then I cut an old 2 inch pipe and a stub of PVC. I wanted the connection to the house to be a slip fit. This was if something moves it won’t hurt the house. I already had most of the hose in place, so I just added another line outside. There was already a dedicated outlet for the compressor that I moved up and installed a switch in it. This will control the compressor from inside and give me a power source for the bench that I am going to build. I was going to put a plug, but decided to just wire it directly. Too bad it’s on 115v and not 230.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Eaton has a product that reduces the noise from the air compressor. https://www.eatoncompressor.com/whisper-100

I bought one approximately a week ago, along with a new 2 stage pump, but haven't got it connected yet, probably won't for another month. But they do have a video of it on their website.I stopped by the factory to pick up my pump and Whisper 100, and they were really nice people. They have a five year warranty on all of their pumps, and they don't make you jump through a bunch of hoops, buying a factory approved maintenence kit, and then still that other company won'twarranty their pumps.

The Whisper 100 comes with everything you need to connect it to your air compressor.
I'm not sure, but you might be able connect 2 of them together to further reduce noise, but chech with them on that.

Good luck, Bill

 

[Aussie Mike]

Some good ideas, Thanks guys.

I'm thinking I'll relocate the compressor to the other side of the shed (as far from the neighbours as possible. It's a section where I haven't lined the walls yet so might build a dedicated enclosure and add some sound insulation to the wall behind it.

The heat is probably going to be the big problem but I think I could make some kind of baffled air intake and exhaust with a fan to circulate air.

Cheers

Mike

 

[59 wagon man]

my 60 gal hf upright compressor is in one of those rubbermaid sheds . it snaps together so it went up quick, then i bolted it to the garage wall and drilled a hole for a 1/2" copper line which i ran into the garage. you can barely hear it in the garage or the house

 

[jkwilson]

I saw one that was just a shed like an outhouse that was hinged at the outer edge. Bolt went through the side of the building to hold it in place. The whole thing laid over on the ground for unobstructed service access.

 

[jgorm]

I made this in maybe an hour. Works super awesome! I think it was over a 10 db decrease.

The holes point into the space between the studs.

 

[JoeFin]

Same problem here

I run a CNC and got tired of the constant cycling of the compressor in my shop. I moved the compressor outside and built and enclosure out of 2x4 lumber and 5/8" siding. I then lined the enclosure with 2" Styrofoam insulation

 

[jonjon1]

Really you only need to insulate the pump/motor...


I would grab some aluminum angle line (tractor supply homedepot lowes) and rivet or bolt it to the compressors base plate.
Then build a frame off of that also out of aluminum but now you can weld it.

Then bolt on some sheet metal so now our unit is in a box.

Then cut in a register in front of the fan and run flex duct from that register to fresh air, 7" flex duct should be fine and inside that flex duct run a smaller hose to feed the compressor air filter...

Use dynomat sound dead on the inside and outside of your box, under the pump and motor, etc...

put a muffler on the hose feeding the air filter, and you are done.

I could do it in 5 hours or so with $200 of materials

BUT I tend to over do things... May be a lot easier to buy a quieter compressor, but will cost much more, lol...

 

[Packard V8]

The best redneck shadetree compressor enclosure I ever saw was a defunct commercial freezer he got free for hauling away. It all cost next to nothing and was infinitely better insulated and constructed than anything one could build oneself. He stood it on a sturdy pallet, put a plywood shelf in the bottom, set the compressor in, cut in a double wall furnace intake/exhaust duct and put a heavy duty bathroom exhaust fan to come on whenever the compressor ran. Could hardly hear it outside

jack vines