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Compressor box


longbow.1

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Afternoon folks

Well finally moved into the new house with a brick shed/garage (aka my new workshop) yay!

What I need to do is soundproof the compressor so to reduce the noise levels a bit as it will be in there with me, no real option to move it outside etc. 
I have been looking at numerous options and I need some advise on what is best, I have a load of mdf from an old wardrobe and was thinking of boxing it in with this then adding thick foam boarding to help reduce the noise. I know I need to look at ventilation etc in boxing it in.
Or the other option I was looking at was making a box from Knauf sound panels and adding rubber matting or wood to the outside an extra layer. 
So out of the two option above what do people think would be the best option. I don't want to spend loads but I have around £50 - £75 to spend.

If someone has a much better option than my attempts above please let me know or even a photo or two to give me some more ideas.

Thanks very much guys

Gary

Where are you Ichthyosaur.  

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Most of the noise from a compressor comes from the compression noise traveling out of the intake. You can build a muffler for it (ample ideas online). This is smaller, and also doesn't impart the thermal problems associated with trying to attenuate compressor noise with a box.

 

If you really want a box, you want to build it with materials that have a lot of open spaces to catch the sound waves. Cardboard and open call foam are good choices. Also, you want the air to travel through a very circuitous path on its way to the compressor (imagine a mouse in a maze). This forces the sound waves to slam into the attenuating material many times before they can escape the enclosure thus greatly reducing the noise.

 

Or, you can use the sound attenuation method that I use in my prep lab. I wear shooting ear muffs. You need to be wearing them when you use your scribes anyway so who cares if the compressor is adding some decibels.

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On 11/8/2016 at 6:58 AM, longbow.1 said:


Well finally moved into the new house with a brick shed/garage (aka my new workshop) 

Congrats on the workspace :). I found that finally having a place to keep all my tools and do dirty work out of the elements to be lifechanging.

 

I don't have any advice for compressor noise (other than hearing pro), but will now be looking into some sort of intake baffle because I've been concerned about bothering the neighbors (I usually only have time to work on my fossils late at night). 

 

I hadn't even thought of the possibility of quieting my compressors. thanks.

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I'm in the process of acquiring a new compressor right now and have just taken the opportunity to clean up the workshop, so I can show you my solution.

 

1.jpg

 

2.jpg

 

3.jpg

 

4.jpg

 

5.jpg

 

The box was built by a friend of mine for me a few years ago, since I'm not all that versatile when it comes to putting things together. I just had to pay for the material which I believe cost me around €50. Simple construction with 1" pressboard and 2x4s in the corners set in such a way that the "door" which can be seen in the 1st & 3rd photos can be fit and removed by hand and is held into place by a couple of brackets and a clasp at the top. There's a "bench" over the air intake at the bottom right (Photo 5) and a 2" wide slit between the beams with a protrusion below it to help airflow where the air exits at the top left (Photo 4). Everything is lined with 2" isolating foam. I put wheels on it as well. LWH = 120x60x105cm.

 

 

 

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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2 hours ago, aerogrower said:

Very informative link @DNF thank you.

Happy my googling skills could be of some use :).

 

I'm going to spend some time silencing my portable compressor tomorrow. I'll document the process in order to share on the off chance it works :)

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Thanks very much folk's, some really helpful stuff there.

I will have a look at the muffler and see what noise reduction I get with them compared to building a box.

I will then hopefully start getting thinks sorted and put some more photos up eventually.

Gary   

Where are you Ichthyosaur.  

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