An air compressor that is quiet enough to live with?

[Randolph Rhett]

I have a small shop (about one car garage size) dedicated to lutherie. It is my refuge from real life, and I love spending time there. I have one fairly essential piece of equipment that is driving me nuts: the compressor. I use a Venturi system for vacuum clamping, glueing, and compressed air to run a little air spindle for inlay. Problem is I can't stand the racket the compressor makes each time it cycles on. It literally drives me out of my shop and causes me to skip or try to work around any task that uses compressed air.

I have a cheap Harbor Freight compressor with a 10gal tank. As far as I can tell, every air compressor comes from the same factory in China, regardless of the brand. They all look identical and as far as I know function the same. I don't want to spend money on another compressor just to have more of the same.

Is there an alternative? How do other people deal with the noise?

[Halgeir Wold]

Google for suppliers of Jun-Air compressors..... probably pricey also in the US, but quiet, quiet......

[Waddy Thomson]

Google quiet small shop air compressors. There are some options. California air has one that is a 220v, 2 hp one that runs at 70 db. Pretty quiet for a piston type compressor. Not a whisper, but also not in the thousands, cost wise.

[Bob Gramann]

Or, put your compressor outside and pipe in the air.

[Stephen Neal Saqui]

That's what I do...it's in the garage with a long hose...but a nuisance. A friend build a great baffled box for his. I don't have details but it cut the noise in half.

[Aaron Helt]

Randolf, is it an oiless compressor? Those are notoriously loud. Get an normal, oiled compressor and you'll be thrilled with the difference.

[Michael Lewis]

A larger tank will cycle less frequently. Many if not most commercial shops that use compressed air have the compressor either in another room or outside.

[Randolph Rhett]

Randolf, is it an oiless compressor? Those are notoriously loud. Get an normal, oiled compressor and you'll be thrilled with the difference.

There is a place to top off the oil, so I'm guessing it is an oiled compressor. I suppose I could drain out the oil and refill it to see if that helps.

My shop is a little shed outside. The only "outside" I could do with the compressor is literally outside in the elements. Can I do that? I live in Southern California, so there is no snow and little precipitation. In fact I was beginning to wonder if it would ever rain again ! Still, it would get some rain and morning dew. I'm guessing that is not a good idea.

Putting it in a box lined with foam might be a solution. Is there any airflow considerations? Does the compressor need good circulation to keep from overheating, or does it need a good source of fresh air to compress? I had a friend that had a small studio and needed to put his computer in a quiet box. Total hassle because computers get hot really quickly and need fresh air to run properly. Any such considerations for a compressor?

[Steven Smith]

The compressors are air cooled and require air circulation.

[Barry Daniels]

You could set it outside on the side of your shed and build a small roof to keep the rain off of it. That would be sufficient to protect it from the elements.

[Ryan Mazzocco]

You could set it outside on the side of your shed and build a small roof to keep the rain off of it. That would be sufficient to protect it from the elements.

But not from thieves. ..

[Bob Hammond]

In the basement shop, I have a small oil-less Gast hotdog compressor/vac that pumps about 2-3 cfm @90PSI. It has a muffler on the intake port that reduces the noise to a quiet putter that is not at all noisome. It also has rubber feet that prevent noise transmission to the floor.

[Dan Smith]

I have an oiled compressor that is so freaking loud I cannot be in the shop when it is running.
If possible, do a sound check before buying a compressor.

[Stephen Neal Saqui]

Randolf, You have just inspired me! As I said above I have a very loud compressor which is in the garage and a long line to the shop...the whole thing is Mickey Mouse!
Then Waddy Thomson above suggested California Air Tools so I looked into them and found they've just come out with a new 2 hp quiet model which looks like it will do everything I need.

http://www.amazon.com/California-Air-To ... B00QFH5NCM

They also make Quiet Cabinets which knock about 40% off the volume of your compressor.

http://www.californiaairtools.com/sound ... cat-spc03/

[Barry Daniels]

Just make sure to use a good filter on it because oil-less compressors throw off small particles of graphite as they operate.

[Stephen Neal Saqui]

Barry, thanks for bringing it up. My current noise maker was doing just what you said and I bought a good inline filter system that stopped the little silver flakes from imbedding in the finish.

[David King]

I have used dental compressor from Copelandair and it's pretty darned quiet but very heavy. I got it on Craigslist for pennies on the dollar. I put rubber hoses and little air filters on the intakes that eliminated what noise it did make. It puts out 9cfm at 90PSI which will just run a sander or spray gun. Not too shabby for just 2HP.

[Gordon Bellerose]

I use to have an oil-less compressor that drove me crazy with noise.
I got rid of it, and now I have an oiled 3 horse 60 gallon that is a lot quieter. Still, the noise is such that I wear hearing protection.
I live in Canada, so moving it outside is not an option.

I got used to wearing sound earmuffs at a young age as a heavy equipment operator, and wear them whenever any of my power tools are running. Even the shop vac is noisy without the muffs.

I am at the age where hearing starts to degenerate naturally, and some of my friends that did not wear hearing protection when they were young, are now having to use hearing aids.

I recently had my hearing checked, and it is very good.

I know Charlie is really enthusiastic about shop safety, and this is just one more aspect of it.
You do after all, want to hear the beautiful tones your instruments produce.

[Todd Stock]

Pick up a dedicated vacuum pump (used/rebuilt frequently under $100; good condition industrial system under $200 used) to cut run time on the compressor and drop $500-$600 on a 60 gallon 135-150 psi two-stage from the big box stores...should run infrequently.

[David Boehnker]

Regarding the California Air Tools compressor, I have a 1HP oilless Californai Air compressor that is so quiet I could have it running in the dining room while having my morning coffee. Thye claim that air brush artists like it for that reason. Not the cheapest, but I really like it becasue of the low noise level.