Silent Compressor: yay or nay?

[GorgonGal]

I have my own little fossil prep lab in my home (hubby let me convert one of our spare rooms into my own prep lab  find someone who loves you as much as you love fossils and dirt!) with the compressor out in the garage. It's a 50L tank (approx. 13.2 gallons) and is a belt drive, which is slightly quieter than direct drive and cycles every 5-10min. I'm wanting to upgrade to possibly a 100L tank so there are less cycles, but also looking at the compressors that come with a "silent" motor. One of our dogs has weirdly become afraid of the compressor when it turns on (but to be fair, she's also afraid of the wind but loves the vacuum cleaner ) so I was looking at one. I was just wondering what others out there have done with regards to reducing the noise? If anyone out there is using the supposedly "silent" compressor, how do they compare? I have had a look on Google but of course, no one knows compressors like preparators  

[RJB]

Wish I could help, but have never had one or looked into a silent compressor.  Been working with a loud 80 gal for years in the garage.  Working in the house seems real nice though.

 

RB

[Ludwigia]

"Silent compressors" are...hmmm....somewhat more silent than a normal one, but most of them still do make some noise which can be heard with no problem, and if you need one that performs well enough to run your equipment, then you're paying quite a bit more for it than for a normal one. If you are wanting to run or are planning to run an air abrader, then don't forget that you'll need to find one that can produce at least 8-10 bar pressure. Tank capacity is not the only parameter. The more power you need, the louder things can get. Another solution is to get a padded sound-proof box built around a normal compressor as I did. I was quite happy with that solution. I don't have a dog, but at least it doesn't bother the neighbors Here are building instructions for one in our Steinkern Forum. Sorry that it's in German, but google translate seems to be working relatively well nowadays.

[Doctor Mud]

I had a Chicago Air Hush70 which seemed to be quite quiet, well compared to the air tools anyway! I looked it up and it was 80 decibels. A bit louder than a vacuum cleaner. It is currently $1000 Australian dollars. 
 

The air tools I was using then ended up being much louder than the compressor. My garage was right up against the neighbours property. I managed to contain the noise by putting sound insulation foam in all the windows and over the garage door. I found some websites directed at garage bands and they also mentioned moving blankets as a good way to keep sound in. 
 

So if you get a silencer compressor it will contribute to keeping the noise down, but if indoors you will still need to consider the tools you have plugged in. 
 

hope you find a way to prep with a clear conscience. Great to know you can prep to your hearts content and everyone else (dogs included) are happy. 
 

 

[ParkerPaleo]

I use a Kobalt 4 gal with 'Quiet Tech'.  But I can only run Microjacks with it.    An Aro/clone/CP or anything bigger needs too much cfm for this kind of compressor.

[Phevo]

On 12/30/2022 at 9:29 AM, Ludwigia said:

"Silent compressors" are...hmmm....somewhat more silent than a normal one, but most of them still do make some noise which can be heard with no problem, and if you need one that performs well enough to run your equipment, then you're paying quite a bit more for it than for a normal one. If you are wanting to run or are planning to run an air abrader, then don't forget that you'll need to find one that can produce at least 8-10 bar pressure. Tank capacity is not the only parameter. The more power you need, the louder things can get. Another solution is to get a padded sound-proof box built around a normal compressor as I did. I was quite happy with that solution. I don't have a dog, but at least it doesn't bother the neighbors Here are building instructions for one in our Steinkern Forum. Sorry that it's in German, but google translate seems to be working relatively well nowadays.

 

I might make something similar, have you ever run into overheating issues with this setup?

[Ludwigia]

1 minute ago, Phevo said:

 

I might make something similar, have you ever run into overheating issues with this setup?

 

No. As you can see in the photos in the link, things are built in which guarantee for a good ventilation if you build it properly.

[Phevo]

30 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

 

No. As you can see in the photos in the link, things are built in which guarantee for a good ventilation if you build it properly.

 

I diden't notice the electrical fan the first time and thought it ran on natural venting  My mistake 

 

The little container for the water is a nice touch

Edited December 31, 2022 by Phevo

[GorgonGal]

On 12/30/2022 at 4:29 PM, Ludwigia said:

"Silent compressors" are...hmmm....somewhat more silent than a normal one, but most of them still do make some noise which can be heard with no problem, and if you need one that performs well enough to run your equipment, then you're paying quite a bit more for it than for a normal one. If you are wanting to run or are planning to run an air abrader, then don't forget that you'll need to find one that can produce at least 8-10 bar pressure. Tank capacity is not the only parameter. The more power you need, the louder things can get. Another solution is to get a padded sound-proof box built around a normal compressor as I did. I was quite happy with that solution. I don't have a dog, but at least it doesn't bother the neighbors Here are building instructions for one in our Steinkern Forum. Sorry that it's in German, but google translate seems to be working relatively well nowadays.

The "silent" compressors are certainly very pricey and that was another thing that occurred to me, is it worth the price, but thank you for the info! I also noticed the ones available locally seem to not have the same capabilities (less max pressure) and I definitely need it to go to 8 bar. I only work with scribes for the moment so no abrasion pressure required. I will look into building a box around it! For some reason that hadn't crossed my mind yet. Fortunately Afrikaans can be quite similar to German so I think I should be able to decipher the instructions  

[GorgonGal]

On 12/30/2022 at 2:01 PM, RJB said:

Wish I could help, but have never had one or looked into a silent compressor.  Been working with a loud 80 gal for years in the garage.  Working in the house seems real nice though.

 

RB

The huge downside is all the dust and the mess I make on a daily basis  

[GorgonGal]

On 12/31/2022 at 12:08 AM, Doctor Mud said:

I had a Chicago Air Hush70 which seemed to be quite quiet, well compared to the air tools anyway! I looked it up and it was 80 decibels. A bit louder than a vacuum cleaner. It is currently $1000 Australian dollars. 
 

The air tools I was using then ended up being much louder than the compressor. My garage was right up against the neighbours property. I managed to contain the noise by putting sound insulation foam in all the windows and over the garage door. I found some websites directed at garage bands and they also mentioned moving blankets as a good way to keep sound in. 
 

So if you get a silencer compressor it will contribute to keeping the noise down, but if indoors you will still need to consider the tools you have plugged in. 
 

hope you find a way to prep with a clear conscience. Great to know you can prep to your hearts content and everyone else (dogs included) are happy. 
 

 

Thank you! She has found a safe space in the house (under my husband's feet) that she goes to when I turn everything on. But it still hurts my heart that she's afraid in the first place! She never used to be which is the super weird part! That's a good point about the noise of the tools though, so even if I got the compressor quieter I wouldn't be able to get the tools quiet unless I moved outside (where I started, inside was meant to be an upgrade from sitting in the cold garage! ). 

 

I'm sure I will figure something out! I will have to see what is available locally, importing would just be far too costly. 

 

Thanks again though for your reply!

[Doctor Mud]

9 hours ago, GorgonGal said:

Thank you! She has found a safe space in the house (under my husband's feet) that she goes to when I turn everything on. But it still hurts my heart that she's afraid in the first place! She never used to be which is the super weird part! That's a good point about the noise of the tools though, so even if I got the compressor quieter I wouldn't be able to get the tools quiet unless I moved outside (where I started, inside was meant to be an upgrade from sitting in the cold garage! ). 

 

I'm sure I will figure something out! I will have to see what is available locally, importing would just be far too costly. 

 

Thanks again though for your reply!

Hope it works out for you. The smaller air tools like the micro jacks are a lot quieter and would be better inside. The only downside is they are more for detail and don’t remove much rock. But if you worked on smaller fossils.

you could still use the louder ones in doors behind a closed door too, poor doggo could get some dad time and treats and a cuddle afterwards 

 

Ive been looking after my sick mother so no loud tools for another month or so. I get my fix with soft rock. Just a needle and brushes required. Minimal, dust, fuss and noise.

[Welsh Wizard]

I used to have one of these.

 

It was pretty much silent with the only noise being the solenoid clicking on or off every now and again.

 

Trouble was it struggled to keep up with the air flow I needed for running the pen. In addition the compressor didn’t like being on all the time and overheating and would then cut out. More modern pens do use very little air in comparison to the one I’ve got. This compressor model is about $500. 
 

I looked at the larger model but they start approaching $1000.

 

Excellent compressors but then the air tools start sounding really noisy.

 

 

 

[GorgonGal]

10 hours ago, Doctor Mud said:

Hope it works out for you. The smaller air tools like the micro jacks are a lot quieter and would be better inside. The only downside is they are more for detail and don’t remove much rock. But if you worked on smaller fossils.

you could still use the louder ones in doors behind a closed door too, poor doggo could get some dad time and treats and a cuddle afterwards 

 

Ive been looking after my sick mother so no loud tools for another month or so. I get my fix with soft rock. Just a needle and brushes required. Minimal, dust, fuss and noise.

 

I specialise in micro-preparation, so I do tend to primarily use our quieter tool (I make my own micro scribe) and always close my door to my "lab". I think part of the problem is the dog doesn't quite know what's happening behind the door, she just knows it's noisy and so is the garage! But nothing wrong with some cuddles and a treat for being a brave girl! 

 

Sorry to hear about your sick mother! Hopefully the soft rock fix (this sounds like code for something a little more ominous to an outsider ) helps. My matrix is never soft enough for a needle  

[Doctor Mud]

13 hours ago, GorgonGal said:

 

I specialise in micro-preparation, so I do tend to primarily use our quieter tool (I make my own micro scribe) and always close my door to my "lab". I think part of the problem is the dog doesn't quite know what's happening behind the door, she just knows it's noisy and so is the garage! But nothing wrong with some cuddles and a treat for being a brave girl! 

 

Sorry to hear about your sick mother! Hopefully the soft rock fix (this sounds like code for something a little more ominous to an outsider ) helps. My matrix is never soft enough for a needle  

Wonderful! You must have a steady hand! I’d love to see the micro scribe you have made. what tiny wonders are you prepping?
 

I was just house sitting at a place with 2 dogs. They didn’t like it when I was in a particular room in the house with the door closed. Managed to barge in one time 

 

 

 

 

[GorgonGal]

4 hours ago, Doctor Mud said:

 I’d love to see the micro scribe you have made.

This is the scribe we made/make, which works wonders for small stuff! It has very similar capabilities to micro jack 3/4 but I don't have any problems getting into the really small areas (my forte is teeth). The fossils I work on are from Late Permian to early Triassic and all therapsids (mammal-like reptiles) from the Karoo in South Africa. They all require mechanical prep, although I would love to learn how to acid prep and do air abrasion too, just as a new skill to learn and see how it works on the fossils here. 

 

4 hours ago, Doctor Mud said:

what tiny wonders are you prepping?

This is the most recent treasure I prepped:  

This is a procolophon found on a farm out in the Karoo, unfortunately the nodule had been split to see what was inside so I had to glue together first (I didn't find the specimen) which caused all sorts of chaos when I got to the line it was split along. This one isn't too tiny as a whole but there was a lot of detailed and tiny bones and teeny tiny teeth!

 

Now that we have gotten completely off-topic  shows as preppers we always just want to see what others have done! 

[FranzBernhard]

3 hours ago, GorgonGal said:

Now that we have gotten completely off-topic

Showing off a spectacular fossil is never off-topic in this forum .

Btw: Spectacular fossil!! Thanks for sharing!
Franz Bernhard

Edited January 4, 2023 by FranzBernhard

[Doctor Mud]

Thanks for sharing your scribe and latest prep.

 

That scribe looks really well made. Do you make them to sell or just for your own use?

 

He he - all that talking about prepping made me want to see your handy work. 

 

Lovely fossil. Some delicate bones for sure! Amazing that was all mechanical prep without air abrasion or acid prep. It will be interesting for you to explore those options in the future. 

[Yoda]

On 1/4/2023 at 7:43 AM, GorgonGal said:

 

 

This is the most recent treasure I prepped:  

This is a procolophon found on a farm out in the Karoo, unfortunately the nodule had been split to see what was inside so I had to glue together first (I didn't find the specimen) which caused all sorts of chaos when I got to the line it was split along. This one isn't too tiny as a whole but there was a lot of detailed and tiny bones and teeny tiny teeth!

 

Now that we have gotten completely off-topic  shows as preppers we always just want to see what others have done! 

Wow, this is fantastic. 

Very nice 

 

I have just ordered the newish publication on Karoo fossils

[GorgonGal]

On 1/4/2023 at 1:40 PM, Doctor Mud said:

That scribe looks really well made. Do you make them to sell or just for your own use?

 

Thank you! It started off as a fun project to have my own (my fiance's idea and his creation) because South Africa has no local suppliers of scribes and importing was just out of the question financially and three years later (thanks Covid!) now we make it to sell!