Reducing Compressor Noise

[QwikKotaTx]

86dB is not really that loud if a true measure. My old pos Craftsman direct drive oilless makes me jump out of my skin when it comes on next to me. Please die you old son of a bits!

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

 

[HyperPete]

Yes, it's not bad. It's not a harsh sound, either. As with my bikes, I enjoy modifying. There is always room for improvement!

 

[Falcon67]

It's air compressor day LOL

Closet with 2x4s turned sideways to reduce wall thickness. Inside is lined with Quiet Brace, then pink fiberglass insulation, then OSB outside. Really cuts the noise. Static venting but it never gets hot - this isn't a production shop. Note the fancy intake filter - dB measurements in the shop at 20' showed that the intake filter/tractor muff combo on the long pipe made ZERO difference in noise level over the tiny stock thing. YMMV

 

[Spareparts]

Falcon I did mine that way almost, on the 90 going vertical I put a cheap glasspak muffler and the filter on top of that, I can talk on my phone right next to the compressor.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

It's air compressor day LOL
Falcon67
Yikes that is amazing. My buddy said I did things the over the top. I gotta show him this!

 

[Dias]

I got 4 cheap hockey pucks off ebay and drilled and countersunk them to serve as rubber foot pads. Cheap and worked great for reducing vibration and noise

 

[HyperPete]

So, here's what I decided upon for the compressor mounting solution. Remember that I said I had a spare Diversitech anti-vibration pad, because the compressor has 3 legs, and the pads come in sets of 4.

Now I'm off to go put this together to see if my idea will work.

 

[HyperPete]

This should take care on the mounting vibrations. I tried plugging the intake with my hand, HUGE difference. I got the tubing, need a 1" threaded fitting for the intake.

Yes, it's filthy. Cleanup will happen upon completion.

 

[The Cobbler]

not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but pump speed has a lot to do with noise too.
case in point,
I own a Campbell Hausfield compressor, horizontal tank I think 30 gallon, from the early 90's , when HP was severely over rated . I think it's listed as 4HP
My buddy has the same era vertical compressor, probably 60 gallon, rated at 6 HP I think.
we once compared the pumps & motors, physically look the same, his is higher amp draw and larger pulley on the pump. also higher CFM . this is only because of the higher rpm, Im sure
his compressor is way louder than mine.
I suspect if we swapped pulleys , we would have results that match .

 

[HyperPete]

This is what I have. It will handle almost everything I need to do.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-60-Gallon-Two-Stage-Electric-Vertical-Air-Compressor/1000542193

Made by Campbell Hausfeld.

 

[600SL]

Happiness is a compressor shack outside.

 

[BFBOB]

Mine's in a shed beside the garage, so no problem for me, but I worried about annoying the neighbors. As so many have said, induction noise is the major problem. My inlet filter is a canister about 8" in diameter. what I did was put a 5gal bucket over it with a strip of foam rubber about 3x3" filling the gap between the edge of the bucket and the filter cannister.

That cut the noise more than in half.

 

[HyperPete]

I ran the vinyl piping up to the ceiling to reduce the intake noise. Although the threads for the intake on the compressor are non-standard M33, I just used 1" NPT PVC fitting and screwed it in. It does not leak, and being PVC, it should not have damaged the threads in the cast iron compressor cylinder.

It helps quite a bit! After I finish with wiring and insulation in the attic, I will get back to the piping, and work on straightening out the blue 3/4" piping. It does not look nearly as nice as the setup by @Falcon67, but it will do.

 

[Citation]

I ran the vinyl piping up to the ceiling to reduce the intake noise. Although the threads for the intake on the compressor are non-standard M33, I just used 1" NPT PVC fitting and screwed it in. It does not leak, and being PVC, it should not have damaged the threads in the cast iron compressor cylinder.

It helps quite a bit! After I finish with wiring and insulation in the attic, I will get back to the piping, and work on straightening out the blue 3/4" piping. It does not look nearly as nice as the setup by @Falcon67, but it will do.

I'm glad that helped. When I did a similar setup I left the filter housing on the pump and simply slipped the tube over the intake port of the filter housing. I just had the hose off the filter. You might try it on your setup and see if it works just as well.

 

[HyperPete]

I'm glad that helped. When I did a similar setup I left the filter housing on the pump and simply slipped the tube over the intake port of the filter housing. I just had the hose off the filter. You might try it on your setup and see if it works just as well.

Now why didn't I think of that? Thank you, that would also give me the option of adding additional baffling to reduce it even further.

Thank you!

 

[Falcon67]

Falcon I did mine that way almost, on the 90 going vertical I put a cheap glasspak muffler and the filter on top of that, I can talk on my phone right next to the compressor.

Not mine - you can talk in the other room behind the insulation and sound reduction, but in the other part of the shop where the "door" is just a piece of Quiet Brace, no - it's 85+ dB over 20' away. It's loud. You can hear it outside the building, which is through the black door, 28' of air, 7/16" OSB, 3 1/2" of insulation and the siding.

 

[HyperPete]

So, I took my phone (Samsung S9+) out of it's case and decided to do a DB test. Here are the results. (Note, it's a windy day, so background noise level is higher than normal.) While I may be able to reduce this further, there comes a point of diminishing returns.
This is acceptable, in my opinion.

1) 41.4 db - Background noise level:

2) 69.4 db - Unpressurized compressor at startup, 1 foot away:

3) 68.7 db - Unpressurized compressor at startup, 10 feet away:

 

[dagofast]

Awesome results! Now that you are done, what modification did you consider to be the best bang for the buck? And what mod (from a cost or effort point of view) did you find the least worth doing?

 

[Citation]

So, I took my phone (Samsung S9+) out of it's case and decided to do a DB test. Here are the results. (Note, it's a windy day, so background noise level is higher than normal.) While I may be able to reduce this further, there comes a point of diminishing returns.
This is acceptable, in my opinion.

1) 41.4 db - Background noise level:

2) 69.4 db - Unpressurized compressor at startup, 1 foot away:

3) 68.7 db - Unpressurized compressor at startup, 10 feet away:

If you put the filter back on the compressor would you get some new readings. I would be interested in stock vs with tube.

 

[HyperPete]

If you put the filter back on the compressor would you get some new readings. I would be interested in stock vs with tube.

I will be making that change to run the tubing AFTER the filter, so I will test it before I reconnect the hose as well as afterwards. However, it may be several days before I get to it.

I have to wire in 5 more outlets, air seal the walls and ceiling, and possibly insulate the attic and the walls. I have reached out for contractor estimates to see if there is any appreciable savings in this area by doing it myself. I suspect not.

 

[HyperPete]

Awesome results! Now that you are done, what modification did you consider to be the best bang for the buck? And what mod (from a cost or effort point of view) did you find the least worth doing?

Done? What's "done"?

All I have done so far is to isolate the compressor from the concrete floor and extend the intake above ear level. I like to tinker, so I will probably never be "done", but for now, extending the intake seems to have been a big help.

Wait for the db readings when I set it back to stock intake, temporarily, to see how much change it actually made.

 

[Citation]

Done? What's "done"?

All I have done so far is to isolate the compressor from the concrete floor and extend the intake above ear level. I like to tinker, so I will probably never be "done", but for now, extending the intake seems to have been a big help.

Wait for the db readings when I set it back to stock intake, temporarily, to see how much change it actually made.

I'm looking forward to seeing the numbers. I think a lot of people think you have to build a room or do some other big project to lower compressor noise. Often just a bit of intake work and mounting pads would deliver the improvements people are looking for.

 

[HyperPete]

I'm looking forward to seeing the numbers. I think a lot of people think you have to build a room or do some other big project to lower compressor noise. Often just a bit of intake work and mounting pads would deliver the improvements people are looking for.

Yep, that was me. I had planned to put it outside in a shed. Now I'm glad that I did not go through that extra effort and expense!

 

[LX-Markham]

Solberg filters made a good difference, but what ultimately worked for my compressor noise was balancing the pulley.

 

[HyperPete]

Solberg filters made a good difference, but what ultimately worked for my compressor noise was balancing the pulley.

Holy moly! Did you purchase it that way, or did you damage the pulley? Had my compressor vibrated that badly, new, I would have returned it for a replacement.

While all mass-produced pulleys could probably benefit from some minor balancing, I would venture a guess that there are very few as bad as yours was. It's good that you fastened it to the floor because it would have "walked" across your garage if you didn't!!

 

[LX-Markham]

Purchased used, got a great deal.
The pulley was fine, it was the crank counterbalance that was way out of wack. But they added weights to the pulley because adding malory metal to the counterweight would have cost a fortune.

 

[HyperPete]

Purchased used, got a great deal.
The pulley was fine, it was the crank counterbalance that was way out of wack. But they added weights to the pulley because adding malory metal to the counterweight would have cost a fortune.

Well, it worked!