Quiet compressor--does one exist?

[Carlos]

I have a 10 or 12 year old compressor from Sears, typical stand-up oil-free type. Noisy as ****. And lately it seems to run much more to get up to pressure. I'm going to start looking around at options, but wondering if there's such thing as a "quiet" compressor.

[jon_ramp]

I bought a Coleman/Sandborn oil type about 4-5 years ago. It makes less noise than the oil free, but is still loud.

[atgcpaul]

I have a 10 or 12 year old compressor from Sears, typical stand-up oil-free type. Noisy as ****. And lately it seems to run much more to get up to pressure. I'm going to start looking around at options, but wondering if there's such thing as a "quiet" compressor.

How much money do you have? Our house air is on a big, loud unit, but the
air used for the specialty equipment in our lab is all Jun-Air compressors.
They are expensive but are dead quiet. You only hear a motor hum when
it's running.

http://www.jun-air.com/


Paul

[footprintsinconc]

i have a 60gal husky. it takes oil. its about three years old. its not too noisy when its on. the only time its been on when i am around is when i was spraying finish on my work table. its got a dull sound to it.

maybe you can drop by on the weekend and listen to it if you want to see how loud it sounds. i'm at germaan & gilbert. email me if you are interested.

regards,

[BobSch]

A two-stage belt-drive will be quieter, or at least seem quieter, mainly because it runs slower — more of a thump-thump rather than a raspy buzz.

I haven't found much difference in direct-drive units whether oil or oil-less.

[thrytis]

I have a Makita MAC700 Compressor that is pretty quiet. I don't have another compressor to compare it to, but it doesn't cross my mind to wear hearing protection while standing right next to it. The Makita MAC2400 is supposed to be fairly quiet too if you need a little more capacity.

[Tom Slick]

Thomas compressors are quiet for being oil-free, only 74 db. I don't know if they make any large compressors but their small 2hp contrator types put out up to 5cfm.

I know the craftsman airless 30gal that I have is exteremly loud.

[cabinetman]

I've never had an oil free unit, but from what everyone says they make a racket. The most quiet compressor was the small Thomas compressor used for air brushing. It won't drive air tools. Of the large compressors, one that has the capacity to run air tools, I've had several, mostly twin cylinders, oil lubed, the quietest being Ingersoll Rand.

If you get a large stand up that has steel legs, insulate the feet to your floor, with rubber pads, which will help a lot. Don't isolate the compressor to a small enclosure to quiet it down, they need air to circulate around the business end.
.

[ryan.s]

My craftsman 15 gallon upright compressor is by far the loudest compressor I've owned. I've been thinking about building a cabinet with sound deadening material and proper ventilation to reduce the noise. Kinda like this http://www.cianperez.com/Photo/Expos..._Enclosure.htm

Some guys where saying this compressor is on the quieter side when there was talk about it a while ago when it was sale for $150?
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-C...910712&sr=8-19

[joekj]

check harbor freight for puma compressors (blue tanks) I have a 39750 thats quieter than my airbrush compressors. pumas are not listed in the catalogs/website all the time.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...9799/39750.gif

[JimD]

I wear muffs when I am in the shop mostly because of the tool noise but it also makes my oil free compressor OK from a noise standpoint. Without it, my Bostitch is noisy. The only time this bothers me is when I am spraying. It would be nice to not have on eye protection, hearing protection, skin protection, and a respirator.

Jim

[Slik Geek]

I couldn't stand how loud single-stage, oil-free compressors are, so I bought a two-stage oil-free type from Sears (Craftsman #00916778000). That model is frequently on sale (like it is now). You might be able to get a comparison demonstration at your local Sears store.

(For those who are mighty sore at Sears at the moment - my apology for mentioning their name).

This compressor is nowhere close to quiet, but a whole lot better than the single-stage ones. I don't feel like I need ear protection next to it.

If you really want a quiet one, the previous posts gave some great ideas.

[L. D. Jeffries]

I don't think there is such a thing as a quiet a/c! I do know that oil-less are noisier than oil lube'd kind, my buddy has one of the oil-less and compared to my Campbell-Hausefeld sounds like a jet fighter. They are ALL more or less noisy.

[L. D. Jeffries]

PS: the compressor I mentioned in last post is NOT one of the small ones, just in case someone asks; its a 20 gal model. Didn't see the post on the recall until after I posted my remarks.

[Carlos]

Maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way. Maybe what I need to do is put the compressor outside and run a pipe into the garage. Obviously the compressor would have to be covered, but that wouldn't be a huge challenge. I shoulda kept the crate from the Jet bandsaw, that would have fit right over it.