Mounting an air compressor 18" from all walls?

[Kilroy]

It's time for me to get a real air compressor at the new shop, and I was reading the install instructions... I was hoping to install an 80 Gal vertical compressor in a corner next to my garage door, but in reading the installation directions, I noticed that they all say that it must be 18" from all walls.
If I do that, it'll be blocking a big part of my door.

Do you guys really mount them 18" away from all walls?

 

[isb cornbinder]

No. My compressor is about 12 inches off.

 

[sparky 1971]

Mine is a 60 gallon. I set it in a corner and it is as close to both walls as I can get it. It's lagged down to a plywood platform that isn't bolted to the floor. That way, I can walk it out when I need to change/adjust the belt.

This is just a guess but...Maybe the 18" is for a skinny fella to get behind it assuming it's bolted down to the floor? If it had to get unbolted and drug out, it would probably be a ***** to get the holes all lined back up.

 

[matt_i]

I would also offer that the person installing it (mechanical, millwright, rigger) may not be the person piping it (pipefitter) or wiring it (electrician).

So they don't want the first person to inadvertently screw the next trades.

In our residential shops its probably just a single jack-of-all-trades doing the work and all of the issues are the responsibility of one person and my opinion is that you should feel free to modify to suit the "site conditions"

 

[Mr_B]

air flow is pretty important so you need make some effort that it can disperse air through motor fan and the belt fan .
When my compressors in shop they about 6 to 8" off wall, I had 2 small fan units help circulate air that triggered by compressor and would over run using a timer relay .
Now they in a small lean-to off the buildings back wall and have vents and extractor fan .
If can do a lean-to off the shop it works best for noise, good environment conditions and space .

 

[pbon]

Mine might be 6” off the wall at the most. The compressor is still on the wood shipping pallet it came on over 10 years ago. That plus the baseboard might give me the 6”. The motor assembly is probably a little further depending on how you measure.

 

[MrSurly]

Mine is bolted to the concrete, no doubt closer to the wall than is 'correct' but even after adding the aftercooler, it works well and the after cooler gets sufficient air to do its job just fine. The belt cage is about 3.5" from the foam. The mfr's recommendation is 12".
If it ever exhibits any heat issues, I'll just add a fan.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200620/788c88efa39a69302b61c150271f2c2a.jpg

 

[Kevin54]

Mines away from the wall but no where near 18". I'm guessing 10-12". And don't bolt it to the floor. Set it on some rubber pads. I move mine out of the way every once in a while so I can clean the dust and dirt out of the corner.

 

[isb cornbinder]

In this city, I am required to have my compressor tied to a secure wall with a chain or cable. The cable or chain need not be tight. This is for safety on the off-chance we have an earth quake.

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

In a 'perfect world' everyone would have 20,000 sq. ft. shops, so 18" off a wall would be no big deal, but since we live in reality, we must deal with what we have. The main reason for the clearance is air circulation, but it's also nice to be able to get behind the machine for maintenance ESPECIALLY if it's a monster and bolted to the floor (read 'earthquake'...I see you're in Orange)

If you actually have it positioned at a 45° angle in a corner, it will allow more room for air flow. If the belt guard is 36" long and you kept the ends 6" off the wall, you'd be 42" at the center of the belt guard to the corner. I actually mounted one like that for a friend with limited space.

 

[Kilroy]

Good points all.
I really want to mount it outside in some sort of enclosure... That was the original plan. I live on an alley and can mount the compressor on the alley side. I just don't have a gate back there yet and I'd be worried about someone unbolting it and taking off.
So I might keep it on the skid in the corner for now and then look to move it outside later.

 

[nadogail]

Mine is a 20 gallon (US) vertical tank on wheels with factory rubber pucks under the part that is away from the wheels and is in a corner of the garage. It is easily moved when I want to.

Earthquakes have had no effect on it.

 

[Kilroy]

Mine is a 20 gallon (US) vertical tank on wheels with factory rubber pucks under the part that is away from the wheels and is in a corner of the garage. It is easily moved when I want to.

Earthquakes have had no effect on it.

Yeah, I actually was looking at something like this. It was a 27 gallon vertical portable, and did like 6.7 cfm @ 90.
That's a little low for me on the CFM because I do a lot of D/A sanding and rotary cutting... But I also have an old Campbell Hausfield made in the USA compressor that has a bad tank... It produces about the same CFM and I was thinking about mounting the pump on the wall above the portable, as a sort of booster pump if I really needed it.
Then maybe look for a big tank to mount outside.

But it'd probably be easier to just get a bigger one to start with.