air compressor conversion

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VonCramp

VonCramp

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A while back ago I purchased an oil-less maintenance free 6.5 Craftsman 60 gallon compressor. It has served me well over the years. However, it is severely noisy and getting on my neighbors nerves. So, I am thinking I could save some dough and change the motor and compressor and keep my tank. It would be even better if I could just change the motor. Anyone able to point in the right direction of a motor and compressor?Anyone ever done this sort of thing as well? Thanks for the help. Mopar people are usually the most creative.
 
Northern tool and others sell replacement motors and pumps, but for the price you might as well buy another compressor whole, even used off CL, and strip down what you have to use as an auxiliary air storage tank to extend your capacity. We do it at work all the time. Cuts down on run frequency under load, but also has to run longer to fill up. Still worth it if you're using tools that take a lot of cfm.
 
The compressor pump is what is noisy. The reason is because they have to spin at much higher RPM than a belt driven pump to pump air. Harbor freight sells a nice 5 HP rated pump and you can get a similarly rated imported motor for cheap.
 
IIRC most compressors are 3850 RPM (even the belt ones).

If you have some extra funds and are resourceful, you might can find a 1750 RPM one, but they are few and far between, and usually larger and more expensive.

The noise level difference is quite noticeable, however.
 
If it still runs fine and meets your needs, why not build a sound barrier around it ? Thin simple walls covered with egg cartons works. The shape of the egg carton breaks up the sound rings/waves.
 
just bolt on a 8 HP snowthrower engine
but don't forget to route the exhaust to the neighbors, that will teach them to whine
 
RedFish said:
If it still runs fine and meets your needs, why not build a sound barrier around it ? Thin simple walls covered with egg cartons works. The shape of the egg carton breaks up the sound rings/waves.
Click to expand...

I agree with this ^ There are lots of ideas on the web, such as: http://www.cianperez.com/Photo/Expo...ssor_Enclosure/Pages/Compressor_Enclosure.htm which can give you a pretty good idea on how to build one. I got the idea for the sound deadening box from folks that have noisy generators. Same principal there as well. The box, if built right, will deaden the sound considerably.
 
I have a compressor that is noisy also. I built a box with sound deadening foam. But what about the heat build up? It seems as though I get more water in the tank because of that. So what to do about the heat and moisture, other than what we should do any way like draining the tank after every use. I tried to install dryers, several, to mediate that. One thing is I used a hose and ran it up into the rafters to give it time to cool off, then a trap at the bottom of both runs. Kinda works, but two more places I have to crack open to drain. So do you just place the box over the compressor pump and motor only?
Just looked at the link, I forgot to mention that another thing I did was to get those soft rubber pads/tiles that are used for standing, see link below. I placed the compressor on top of that and it seems to help cut the noise/vibration down. Oh, and my box is nowhere near as nice, but it does work pretty good.

http://www.menards.com/main/floorin...les-18-x-18-9-sq-ft-pkg/p-2265825-c-19252.htm
 
Every time I painted a car even with a 60 gallon tank I would end up going through a motor. I finally purchased an old 500 gallon propane tank that a farmer had used to water his cattle. I put the Harbor Freight larger V-twin compressor on it with their 6.5 HP gas engine, a heavy duty centrifugal clutch and a 175 psi throttle whip and a couple of 200 psi pop off valves on it. It takes about 30 minutes to get up to 80 psi but I have air all week for minor stuff. It's not quite as convenient as an electric unit but a lot better than burning through a motor when porting or painting.
 
The reason I spent so much time on this compressor is the motor on it is bigger and has more output than a lot of 3-400 dollar units. I just ran a separate tank in the rafters for more capacity and I can sand blast and paint.
 
You could always trade the neighbors in for new ones.

I have the same compressor, and I am going to build a silencer around it.
 
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