Relocate compressor above staircase?

[wanderer]

I have a basement wood shop with a staircase from the garage, and as typically the case there is a lot of wasted space overhead in the staircase. Lately I've been thinking about redoing my compressor so that it can go up there. My compressor is a 3hp with a 2 stage T50 compressor running at low speed so it's pretty quiet.

I'm wondering about vibrations being carried through the walls though - I could easily build a platform up there. I'd like to put piping throughout the garage and the wood shop that would stay pressurized all the time so I wouldn't want loud vibrations being carried through the walls. It's adjacent the kitchen and bathroom, no bedrooms.

Just looking to see if anybody has done anything like this. Any thoughts?

 

[johnre]

My 4 HP 30 gallon hot ********* compressor is up on a platform in the crawl space back of my garage, for the same reason - i.e. preserve precious floor space. One side of the platform is bolted into the 2 x 6 wall studs that separate the crawl space, the other side is suspended from the floor joints for the living space above through long 3/8" threaded rod.

This setup does transmit more noise through the frame of the building, though, compared to setting it up on a concrete pad. So I only start it up when I need it, and don't keep it charged all the time. I would think that rubber mounting blocks under the support points would help, though.

Forgot once to turn it off, and it fired up in the middle of the night. That will stand your hair on end. Now I have a large red light on the panel to tell me the switch is on. You learn.

If you do set it up like this, I recommend significant overdesign - there's a lot of vibration from a compressor and you don't want it to shake the platform apart.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Do you have a plan for the tank drain ?

 

[driftpin]

I'd think as Eric said, that any service the system needed at the compressor, it would be a pain in the *** to do.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Commercial HVAC systems are typically hung overhead using vibration isolators, either a spring or a rubber bumper thing. The same sort of support should be able to be used for an air compressor, although I suspect it's still going to echo through the rest of the house when it's running.

 

[larry_g]

Consider splitting the receiver from the motor/pump. Put the receiver above the stairs and the m/p tucked away some where else.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[ToolsRCool]

Small'ish garage here as well, so also hating the floor space my traditional 60g Sanborn unit takes up, Considering to do the same, but a combination of few items mentioned above. Detach motor and pump to mount them on a shelf or in the attic, and then stainless or aluminum tank(s) with drain hose(s) that hang down with a small ball valve on the end. That's how I have my drain hose now, work perfectly. I have a smaller oil-less unit I did that with for a dive system for our pool, works fine.

Maybe I don't maintenance it enough, but honestly it has never needed a single thing since new 25 years ago. If it was in an un-accessible area, it would have been fine this entire time. Oil has always been at proper level, air filter reasonably clean, no belt or pressure switch issues. Magnetek motor. Seems all decently made, so that would increase my confidence in hiding it away.

 

[firebirdparts]

Mine is above the stairs, and I would say the sound that's blocked by the walls is much more than the sound that is transmitted by walls. Compressors are noisy. the noise is the reeds mostly. It doesn't need the floor to get that noise out.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Your framework will amplify the sound, and your daily and monthly maintenance (Changing filters, draining down the tanks) is a real PITA.
Ours was at our job, so I had no say in how it was mounted or not (really stupid), but there was no way I'd do that voluntarily to myself.

 

[firebirdparts]

"Amplify" is definitely not the right word for that sentence. I guess you know that.

If OP moves the compressor out of the basement and upstairs, then it would certainly be more audible to people upstairs just based on location.

Here's another thought - if the shelf is structurally part of the basement then I don't think any noise gets transmitted that way at all. Mine's not, but still very quiet, because the NOISY part of compressor is not its feet.

 

[johnre]

Do you have a plan for the tank drain ?

This panel works for the power switch, air regulator and filter, air reel access, and tank drain. The drain is brought out through a short whip; since the platform supporting the compressor is above the top of this panel, gravity works in my favor here - as long as I keep it drained, the standing water is always in the hose whip, never in the tank. If the hose suffers from this, I'll replace it for $10, as opposed to the tank rusting.

And this isn't a recent image BTW; there is now a bright red warning light I mentioned in post #2 that is next to the power switch.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Make sure you extend the drain to where it can be drained without using a latter. Some rubber/cork plates will help isolate the noise and larger holes for noise isolating the pipes everywhere it goes through walls/floor

 

[fteufert]

Mine is up on a shelf, with the drain coming down against the rear wall. It is mounted on small rubber idolators and does not shake the shelf. Its been up there for years with no issues. Examples
https://vibrasystems.com/rubber-mou...q4Ehwx70M33vhPEGiGmMIiLBif4l7cPaCzqEYb0&gQT=1

 

[Craig Balzer]

I placed my compressor (Campbell Hausfeld 5HP) in the loft of my hobby shop.

Regarding isolation, I bought 4x hard-rubber hockey pucks, screwed them to the wooden floor. Then mounted teh 4x feet on the compressor to them.
Regarding noise, I bought a bunch of 1' x 1' sound-proofing panels and glued them to a sheet of OSB. Piut T-crosses on each end and mounted casters on them

 

[no704]

Route the intake to outside if possible. That is the noisy bit.

 

[johnre]

Route the intake to outside if possible. That is the noisy bit.

Wouldn't that take in a lot more moisture than what you would get indoors, and you'll then have to get that air dry again?

You can muffle the intake if needed, or build a small enclosure.